NAO report highlights education success in STEM subjects

The Department for Education has made good progress in improving take-up and achievement in core subjects, according to a recent report from the National Audit Office.

The Department for Education has made good progress in improving take-up and achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, according to a recent report from the National Audit Office (NAO), although there has been less success in attracting more teachers to these areas.

The report, entitled Educating the Next Generation of Scientists, found that take-up and achievement in A-Level Maths and GCSE Triple Science has improved, and that the knock-on effect of the success has been that pupil take-up of the three individual sciences at A-Level has increased by almost 150 per cent in the past five years.

The NAO claims that there is evidence that pupils taking Triple Science GCSE are more likely than those studying combined science to choose science subjects at A-Level and to achieve higher grades. However, by June 2009, almost half of secondary schools still did not offer Triple Science.

It is often said that qualifications in the pure sciences are a good basis for a career in IT and technology. Meanwhile, take-up of Maths A-Level has already exceeded the targets for 2014 set by the Department of Education, but take-up of physics A-Level has increased only slightly since 2005-06.

The Department is not on course to meet the targets set by the previous government for recruiting more mathematics and physics teachers by 2014.

"The Department for Education has focused its resources on improving pupil take-up and achievement in school science and maths, and has made good progress in areas such as A-Level Maths and GCSE Triple Science," said Amyas Morse, head of the NAO.

"To make further progress, what's needed is a more joined-up approach, bringing together key success factors to maximise successful results and efficient use of public resources."