The UK Royal Society's  "State of the nation" report   Preparing for the transfer from school and college science and mathematics education to UK STEM higher education (issued: February 2011)

This fourth and final Royal Society ‘state of the nation’ report considers the ‘pool’ of the  UK’s 16-19 year old students taking mainstream science and mathematics combinations suitable for entry to higher education. It attempts to strengthen further the link between mainstream 5-19 science and mathematics education and higher education.

"It is only by working together coherently that interested parties in both arenas will collectively defend their case for a high quality education that can give everyone with potential the opportunity to progress, whatever their initial life circumstances." (Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society)

 > Full report

• Across the UK in 2009, approximately 17% of the UK’s eligible 16-18 year old population took core sciences with or without mathematics in potential preparation
  for STEM studies at university.
• Across the UK in 2009, nearly two-thirds of students who took at least the minimum required number of core sciences and mathematics subjects expected to gain entry to undergraduate UK STEM higher education courses gained A-C grades needed in these subjects.
• A significant and increasing number of institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland do not enter any candidates in A-level physics or mathematics.

The study sought answers to the following questions:

• What proportion of students in a particular annual cohort take science and/or mathematics A-levels and their equivalents, and does this change very much over time?
• What are the characteristics of students who take science and mathematics A-levels and their equivalents, eg gender, ethnicity, origin in terms of school type? Are patterns distinguishable over time? What factors may be responsible for producing the observed trends?
• What combinations of science and mathematics subjects have students taken, what are their relative popularities, and do these change much over time?