GCSE and level 2 vocational results: Professional body for IT concerned too many pupils progressing without vital digital skills

In England, the number of students taking Computer Science GCSE in England has risen by 6% from 2024, broadly in line with the overall rise in number of GCSE entrants. This is the 10th highest rate of growth from 2023 (out of 31 subjects), making it the 15th most popular GCSE but attracts, for example, only almost half as many entrants as Chemistry, Physics, or Art and Design, and third as many entrants as subject like History and Geography.

The gender disparity remains stark. While entries by female students in England have risen by 11% from 2023 and those for male students rose by 5%, the ratio of male:female students is still worryingly high at 3.5:1 even though girls continue to attain higher grades than boys.

Figures for Northern Ireland and Wales are more mixed, although strikingly the awards focused on Digital Technology seem to be performing better than Computer Science in terms of attracting female students.

This year’s cohort in England has seen GCSE Computer Science grades rise by 3.9 percentage points for higher grades, from 2023. This may be as a result of the outcomes of the Ofqual enquiry into Computer Science GCSE grading, which BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT provided compelling evidence to, highlighting the need to adjust these as they appear to have been systematically more severe than they should have been.

The outcomes for Level 2 vocational and technical qualifications were also released today. These show that, in England for example, gaining qualifications in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) remains an attractive proposition, with 22,700 awards made in 2024 for Technical Awards (level 1/2) in 2024, up from 22,300 in 2023. Technical Certificate numbers in ICT also rose, to 600 in 2024, up from 500 in the previous year.

Figures for those taking GCSE Computer Science remain low

Julia Adamson, Managing Director, Education & Public Benefit, at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT said: "Congratulations to everyone who took this year's GCSE exams. It’s exciting to think that many pupils getting their results today will continue to develop their knowledge in this subject and go on to have fantastic careers in this area.

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However, It’s simply unacceptable for so many students to be leaving formal education without the digital skills for life and work. The overall figures for those taking GCSE Computer Science remain low and far too many students are taking their next step post-16 without the vital digital skills they need to succeed in a world which continues to depend on technology at a rapidly increasing pace.

In particular, more needs to be done to make this exciting, creative, and enabling subject relevant to female students. Data analysed by BCS shows that countries offering a more diverse range of digital qualifications appear to attract more female candidates, and the need to develop a wider suite of credible and meaningful digital qualifications may be one of the answers. While there have been small increases towards closing the gender gap, the figures are still unacceptably low and there is a long way to go so that every young person leaves school equipped to thrive in a world dominated by digital technology .”