UK A-Level STEM Surge: Good News—But We Need to Move Faster

21 Aug

This year’s A-level results brought a welcome lift for STEM. Entries in core subjects rose again, and the signals are pretty clear: more young people are choosing maths, physics and computing, and they’re sticking with them. That’s great news for the UK’s talent pipeline—but when you zoom out to the wider European picture, you see both the opportunity and the urgency.

What the UK data tells us

Entries are climbing: Compared with 2024, A-level entries grew in mathematics (+4.4%), further maths (+7.2%) and physics (+4.3%), reversing the slow drift away from these subjects since around 2020/21. CaSE
Big volumes in key subjects: Maths remains the UK’s biggest A-level with 112,138 entries; physics recorded ~44,957 entries this year. IET
Signs of quality as well as quantity: Sector bodies note improvements in attainment in computing, physics and maths—an encouraging sign that more students are not just taking STEM but succeeding in it. STEM Learning Royal Society
Official picture: The JCQ press notice and subject tables confirm the broader trend: Level-3 results are stable-to-up, with STEM holding or growing its share. JCQ Joint Council for Qualifications+1

In short: the UK pipeline is pointed in the right direction.

How this sits alongside the EU’s STEM plan

Back in March 2025, the European Commission published the 5 Year STEM Education Strategic Plan as part of its Union of Skills package. The plan addresses a growing shortfall—2 million professionals across Europe—and aims to raise secondary STEM enrolment and university participation. It emphasises vocational pathways, inclusive learning, and collaboration across member states to build a resilient future workforce, with very specific targets, including:

45% of learners in initial VET enrolled in STEM (with at least 25% women),
32% of students in tertiary STEM (with at least 40% women), and
5% of doctoral candidates in ICT (with at least 33% women). European Education Area

The UK’s uplift in A-level STEM is meaningful, but it’s only the front end of a much longer pipeline. EU-level data still shows:

Only ~25% of secondary students are currently in STEM streams (target 45%).
Tertiary STEM participation needs to rise to 32% by 2030. stemcoalition.eu

So while UK entries are up, the European system—our wider talent market—still needs a step-change in volume and progression. That means more learners continuing from A-level into apprenticeships, higher technical qualifications, and degrees, not just taking STEM at 16–18.

Why “good” isn’t yet “good enough”

Two forces are reshaping work faster than our institutions can adapt:

AI and automation are rewriting job content across engineering, manufacturing, transport, health and the creative industries.
Industrial policy is tilting toward strategic sectors—clean energy, semiconductors, space, defence—where STEM capability is the currency of growth.

The Commission calls it a “transformation speed gap”—and they’re right. If we don’t accelerate, we’ll train brilliant young people for yesterday’s jobs. European Commission

What to do next (practical and doable)

Lock in progression: Use UCAS, apprenticeship providers and local skills bodies to convert A-level interest into places on high-value STEM routes. Treat progression like a KPI. (JCQ/Ofqual data gives you the baselines.) JCQ Joint Council for Qualifications GOV.UK
Back teachers and practical learning: Growth in entries sticks when labs, kit and teacher time are protected. (Sector analyses this summer stress the role of hands-on work in engagement and attainment.) STEM Learning Royal Society
Blend formal + informal: Community spaces (like RC Vision’s RC engineering workshops) extend learning beyond timetables—keeping curiosity alive and building the habits of mind industry actually hires for: iteration, data-led thinking, teamwork.
Align with EU targets: Whether you’re UK-only or operating cross-border, design programmes that visibly move the needle against the 2030 metrics (VET STEM share, tertiary STEM share, women’s participation). It helps unlock partnerships and funding. European Education Area

THE Bottom line

Let’s absolutely celebrate the UK A-level STEM surge—more students choosing maths, physics and computing is exactly what we need. But set against Europe’s two-million-person STEM gap and the pace of change driven by AI, steady progress won’t be enough. We need to scale what’s working (teacher capacity, practical learning, real pathways) and stitch it together with community-based experiences that make STEM feel relevant and joyful.

That’s how we turn this year’s positive blip into a durable trend—and make sure the next generation isn’t just exam-ready, but future-ready.

Keywords:
UK A-level STEM surge, EU STEM Education Strategic Plan, STEM pipeline UK, vocational STEM pathways, AI and jobs, practical science, women in STEM, computational thinking, Skills England, lifelong learning, community STEM, RC Vision

Andy Hyde