Sum total doing maths A levels low

Statistics published by the Department for Education (DfE) show that 22.2 per cent of A-level students in Yorkshire and the Humber were entered for maths in 2012/13 – some way behind London, which had the highest proportion at 31.6 per cent.

Barnsley had the lowest uptake of any council area in Yorkshire, with 14.3 per cent. In neighbouring Sheffield, by contrast, 27 per cent of students were entered for A-level maths.

Across the region, 19.7 per cent of students took A level biology, 16.2 per cent did chemistry and 10.4 per cent were entered for physics.

The DfE has for the first time published the percentages of students at each school and college in England taking science and maths, as part of a bid to encourage a greater uptake by over-16s.