Written question asked by Chris Skidmore (Conservative) on Tuesday, 10 January 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 12 January 2012. It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Thursday, 2 February 2012 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Science: GCSE

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils were entered for GCSEs in the three separate sciences in (a) 1997 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Answer

The number of pupils that were entered for GCSEs in the three separate sciences in 1997 and 2011 is given as follows.

Pupils (thousand)
	Number of pupils¹ entered for GCSEs² in:
	Biological sciences	Chemistry	Physics
1997	36.8	35.2	34.6
2011³	133.7	132.0	131.1
¹ In 1997, this was based on pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year while in 2011 it was based on pupils at the end of Key Stage 4.
² For each subject, only one attempt is counted—that which achieved the highest grade. This is including attempts by these pupils in previous academic years.
³ Figures for 2011 include pupils in Alternative Provision, earlier years do not.
Source:
1997 Statistical Volume 'Public Examinations GCSE/GNVQ and GCE in England' and Statistical First Release 'GCSE and Equivalent Results in England, 2010/11 (Revised)' available at the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001056/index.shtml

Secondary information