IT A-level numbers fall by more than 20 per cent

Less people are taking ICT at A-level

The number of students taking Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Computing A-levels has fallen again this year, the fifth consecutive year of decline.

Figures released today by the Joint Council for Qualification showed that 3,999 students took Computing A-Level this summer, compared to 5,068 in 2008 – a 21 per cent drop.

And 9,376 students took ICT A-level this year, compared to 12,277 last year, a fall of 23 per cent.

Less than half the number of students took Computing A-level this year than five years ago in 2009, where 8,488 pupils sat the exam.

And there has been an equally steep drop in numbers taking ICT A-level, a 42 per cent fall in the4 same period.

The number of girls taking Computing A-level has seen a particularly sharp decline, with only 302 this year, 37 per cent less than the 480 last year and less than a third of the 1,037 who sat the exam five years ago in 2004.

An Ofsted report in March recognised this as a serious problem.

"Fewer girls than ever are studying for formal qualifications in the subject in the sixth form and the number continues to decline. Less than one quarter of IT graduates are women. This has serious implications for the IT industry, where just one in five workers is female,” says The importance of ICT report.

It found the courses on offer at GCSE level are not challenging students enough, contributing to the decline in A-level numbers.