Post-16 students study narrowing range of subjects, NFER finds

Post-16 students are studying a narrower range of subjects than 20 years ago, which could limit their future education and career options, according to a new National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) report.

Ahead of tomorrow’s A-level results, and in light of the government’s recently announced curriculum review, the report, commissioned by the British Academy, shows a sharp reduction in the range of subjects chosen by students since 2015 to 2016 when AS- and A-level qualifications were separated.

This separation may have led to fewer students studying humanities subjects like languages, English and history. The research showed that while 56 per cent of AS- or A-level students studied a humanities subject in 2015 to 2016, only 38 per cent of students studied one in 2021 to 2022.

 Michael Scott, lead reporter of the report and senior economist at NFER, said: "Students’ post-16 education choices matter. They affect both their short-term learning outcomes, such as the skills they develop, and their long-term outcomes, including wellbeing. Young people are studying a narrower range of subjects, which is probably due, at least in part, to reforms introduced over the last two decades."

He said: “It is critical that future reforms to the post-16 landscape carefully consider possible impacts on the nature and the range of subjects that students choose.”

The research also revealed students are increasingly choosing all of their AS-and A-levels from a single subject group - for example, only taking social sciences subjects, or only taking Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. 

Between 2015 to 2016 and 2021 to 2022, the proportion of students taking AS or A-levels from a single subject group, increased from 21 per cent to 36 per cent.

The subject choices available to students have also narrowed over the past two decades. While almost all post-16 education providers still offer some form of study in the arts, humanities, social sciences and STEM, most individual subjects appear to have declined in availability.

This is particularly stark in the case of modern foreign languages where the proportion of providers offering French AS or A-level has fallen in almost every year since 2009 to 2010, from 78 per cent of providers to 53 per cent in 2021 to 2022. The decline in availability of subjects could be down to provider choice or a decline in student demand.