GCSEs remain stable, but we can do more!
This year’s GCSE results have shown continued success for girls in Core-STEM subjects as they outperform their male counterparts to achieve the top grades in most subjects.
With the pandemic now behind us, results have returned to pre-pandemic standards across the UK. This allows us to directly compare to last year’s results, something we’ve been unable to do in recent years.
In 2024 we’ve seen a 5.2% increase in female participation across Core-STEM subjects. This is a step in the right direction as it continues to close the gender gap, with girls now making up 47.8% of the overall Core-STEM subject cohort.
Despite a slight dip in grade across the board GCSE results remain stable for Core-STEM subjects and participation continues to thrive. This translated well at last week’s A-Level results too, with an increased female participation across nearly all core-STEM subjects. You can read more about A-Level results here.
GCSE students are opting in to take more STEM subjects as one of their options with Statistics seeing the largest growth in popularity amongst the young people with a 19.9% increase. Positively for girls in particular, we have seen a noticeable increase in female participation in Computing, Statistics and Additional Maths. Computing GCSE continues to go from strength to strength as female entrants rose again this year with a 10.3% increase. As Computing nears 100,000 entrants, the gender gap is still far too high with girls making up just 21.9% of the overall cohort. We are continuing to take a step in the right direction though, as this is nearly a 1% increase from last year.
Creating solid foundations for future female talent
WISE Managing Director, Dr Laura Norton said: “A huge congratulations to all GCSE students today. It’s fantastic to see sustained success in Core-STEM subjects, the future is bright for our industry.”
“However as always, days like this highlight the work we still have to do in closing the gender gap within STEM. It is essential girls see a place for themselves and continue to pursue their passion and utilise their talent in STEM subjects. We need to close the gender gap to diversify the talent by encouraging girls to pursue STEM subjects beyond GCSE and embark on careers within our sector.
“At WISE, we want to work with teachers and students to showcase the possibilities in STEM. Our outreach platform, My Skills My Life, is a great tool for young people to find out about their career personality types and matches them with role models who have rewarding and successful careers in STEM. We encourage schools to use this tool to provide tangible role models to encourage and support girls in particular.”
How can I get involved?
If you’re a teacher, parent or work in education you can find our fantastic My Skills My Life resource here. This resource is for all young people, but specifically targets girls. It’s quick and easy to sign up, and a great starting point when getting girls to think about the future opportunities available to them in the STEM sector.
If you’re an organisation within the education or STEM sectors, we’d love to work with you! We’re always looking for more role models to add to our My Skills My Life resource. Showcase the amazing work your organisation and employees do by becoming a role model. We’d love for you to join us on the journey to achieving gender parity in STEM. If you’d like to find out more about what we do at WISE and how you could get involved please visit our membership page or email info@wisecampaign.org.uk.
For more information on what we offer at WISE, visit our website, or you can explore the My Skills My Life tool here.