Overall entries for year 11 GCSEs have been steadily increasing and are now higher than at any time in the past five years, partly driven by a 10% rise in the 16-year-old population over the same period, according to Ofqual’s latest exam entry figures for summer 2023.  Main trends for this year include:

GCSE

• GCSE entries are up 3.6% on summer 2022 (to 5,543,840 entries) across all subjects. 
• The rise in entries is across both EBacc and non-EBacc subjects but the majority of entries (82%) are for EBacc subjects – an increase of 4%. 
• The largest percentage increase for an EBacc subject is Computing (up 11.9%) with 88,530 entries.  History is up 7% (298,155 entries) and Maths is up 5% (786,815 entries).  Entries for Combined Science, English Literature, Geography and Spanish have increased each year for the last five years.
• The proportion of entries by tier in tiered GCSE subjects is broadly similar to last year.
• The percentage of post-16 entries for Maths, English Language and English Literature has increased for year 12 and above this year when compared to summer 2022.  
• Most non-EBacc subjects had an increase in entries. The largest percentage increases were in Business Studies (up 13% to 114,525 entries), Social Science subjects (up 16% to 49,270 entries), and Statistics (up 18% to 26,785 entries). However, there was a decrease in entries in Art and Design subjects, Drama, Music, and Citizenship Studies.
  

• Cohort increases have again pushed the number of entries up by 2.3% from last summer to 806,410 entries. 
• Most A Level subjects have increased in entry size this year.  Chemistry is up 5% (to 57,620 entries), Business Studies is up 5.9% (41,265 entries), Economics is up 7% (38,325 entries), and Computing is up 14% (17,420 entries).  Decreasing entries can be seen for German, Spanish and French.  Entries for Business Studies, Psychology and Sociology have increased each year for the last five years.
  

• Overall entries for AS decreased by 2% to 62,785 following an increase last year which was partly affected by the exceptional nature of awarding during the pandemic. AS Level entries had significantly decreased in previous years following the decoupling with the A Level.

Data is based on provisional entries as at 20 April 2023.