MyEdSpace Biology Teacher Emma Williams says this year’s A-level results should prompt greater efforts to encourage girls into STEM subjects, with male students continuing to account for a large majority of entries in computing, physics and further maths.
This year’s A-level results have renewed concerns over the number of girls choosing STEM subjects, with boys continuing to dominate entries in computing, physics and further maths.
Boys achieved a record lead over girls in A* and A grades this year, with 28.9% receiving the top grades compared with 28% of girls. However, the subject entry figures reveal a much wider gender divide across several STEM disciplines.
According to figures highlighted by online learning platform MyEdSpace, 81% of A-level computing entries were male, alongside 76% in physics and 74% in further maths.
Emma Williams, Biology Teacher, MyEdSpace, believes addressing the imbalance requires intervention well before students make their A-level choices.
Williams said: “Girls can be hugely engaged, curious and ambitious in science, yet somewhere between those early years and choosing their A-level subjects, too many appear to decide that STEM isn’t for them.
“The answer has to start much earlier than A-level.
“By the time a student is making their sixth-form choices, we may already have spent years inadvertently telling them what subjects are ‘for’ them. We need to give girls more opportunities to see what STEM actually looks like in the real world, and to meet people who can make those careers feel tangible and achievable.”
Williams argues that schools could provide greater exposure to STEM careers through visiting speakers, work experience, dedicated activities and opportunities for girls to explore STEM subjects in environments where they feel confident participating.
She also believes more attention should be given to STEM provision at primary school level, including access to specialist expertise and opportunities for children to experience science, technology, engineering and maths in practical settings.
Online education could have a role in widening that access by providing specialist teaching and resources to pupils whose schools may not otherwise be able to offer them, according to Williams.
Greater visibility of female STEM role models could also influence students’ perceptions of potential careers.
“The lesson from this year’s results shouldn’t be that boys are better at A-levels. It should be that subject choice matters enormously – and that the subjects most closely associated with quantitative skills, STEM and many of the careers of the future remain heavily male dominated,” said Williams.
“If we want more women in STEM careers in 10 or 20 years’ time, we have to start by convincing more girls that science, maths and computing belong to them too. This year’s results give us another opportunity to do exactly that. We shouldn’t waste it.”
