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Chris Brignell, Associate Professor & Deputy Director, Observatory for Mathematical Education, University of Nottingham, University of Nottingham

Record number of students took A-level maths in 2024 – but they hide a worrying decline

Mathematics United Kingdom GCSE

Ground Picture/Shutterstock

On August 15 2024, over 107,400 young people in the UK nervously scanned their results, looking for their grade in A-level mathematics. It is the first time more than 100,000 people have taken any A-level subject in a single year.

Maths has been the top A-level choice for a while, but in 2024 it’s up by 11%. There are a few reasons why this might be, and part of it may be down to students’ greater confidence in their own abilities.

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