What steps she is taking to encourage girls and young women to lead in science, technology and emerging industries.

Professor Sarah Gilbert in vaccine research; Kate Bingham in vaccine operations; Baroness Harding in testing; Dr Jenny Harries in medicine—all fantastic examples of highly qualified professionals leading the UK’s response to this once-in-a-century pandemic, and they all happen to be women in STEM. Does my right hon. Friend agree that they are setting a wonderful example for future generations of girls and boys in South Ribble, Lancashire and beyond?

We are making good progress in getting more girls and women into science, technology, engineering and maths, with a 31% increase in girls studying STEM subjects since 2010 and 1 million women now working in core STEM occupations.

Investing in research is vital if we are to meet the challenges of climate adaptation. Will the Secretary of State be a champion for an increase in our science budget, so that we can encourage innovation in both the public and private sectors?

The number of girls taking separate science GCSEs increased between 2010 and 2013 from 53,000 to 74,800 (41%) in biology, from 51,400 to 73,600 (43%) in chemistry and from 50,700 to 73,200 (44%) in physics. Girls now make up approximately 49% of all those taking each of the separate sciences, compared to approximately 45% in 2010.

The Government is committed to increasing take-up of separate science GCSEs, including increasing the proportion of girls as part of its commitment to improve overall take up of STEM subjects at A level and beyond.

The “Your Life” Campaign, launched in May 2014, brings together business, educators, civil society and Government to show how science and mathematics leads to exciting, successful careers. This will include a publicity campaign aimed at 14 to 16-year-olds, which will aim to change the way they think about science-based subjects from boring, specialist and niche to empowering, exciting, enabling and for everyone.

We are funding the Triple Science Support Programme to provide intensive support to schools with either no take-up or relatively low take-up of all three separate science GCSEs, and more general support to all other schools. We are also funding the Stimulating Physics Network to increase progression to physics A level, especially of girls. Much of the work the network does focuses on improving engagement and interest of pupils in physics at GCSE.

Excellent teaching is vital and we are offering bursaries worth up to £20,000 and teacher training scholarships worth £25,000 to recruit more specialist science teachers. We are also funding up to 50 local science learning partnerships to provide CPD for existing science teachers.

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills funds the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of over 27,000 volunteers from industry and academia, 40% of whom are women, who work with schools across the UK to raise awareness of the range of careers that STEM qualifications can offer.

The main objective of the Your Life campaign is to increase the number of young people choosing A levels in maths or physics.

The campaign will be led by an independent organisation chaired by Edwina Dunn, and it will run for three years.

It will seek support and resources from leading employers and organisations. The Government has provided limited funds to establish a website and other set-up work.

The requirement that students study the genome and gene expression in the revised GCSE combined science and GCSE biology criteria covers all organisms, and is not specific to the human genome. It is therefore given at a level of generality that applies to all living things. The only specific reference in this section of the criteria to the human genome is in the context of the statement that requires students to be able to discuss the potential importance for medicine of our increasing understanding of the human genome.

In developing their specifications which meet these criteria, awarding organisations may choose to include micro-organisms, humans or any other organism when they cover the genome and gene expression.

Ofqual has recently consulted on whether the outcomes of the practical assessment should contribute to the overall A level science grade. The Department for Education has separately hosted a consultation on the content for A level sciences. A number of organisations included views about the separate reporting of practical skills In A level science in their responses to the Department.

Ofqual is due to announce its decision on the assessment of practical skills in science in the spring.

Currently, science practical work and geography fieldwork are assessed by controlled assessment, a form of internal assessment. The government's response to its public consultation on reforming key stage 4 qualifications set out that internal assessment should be kept to a minimum in new GCSEs and used only where there is a compelling case to do so. The response accepted that some aspects of assessment lend themselves less easily to externally marked examinations.

The Government will publish draft subject content requirements for consultation shortly, alongside Ofqual's consultation on regulatory requirements for new GCSEs. Together, those requirements will set the framework for the development of the new GCSEs, including the assessment of practical work and fieldwork.

[holding answer 23 April 2013]: The requested information can be found in the following tables.

The Department does not hold information on the subjects offered by schools but does have data on the subjects that pupils were entered for. Data underlying the School Performance Tables show that 85% of mainstream schools had entries in biology,

chemistry and physics GCSEs or regulated iGCSEs by pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in 2011/12. Only mainstream schools (including independent schools) published in the 2012 Secondary School Performance Tables having more than five pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 are included in this answer.

The Government is committed to increasing the number of pupils studying science and mathematics subjects at A level and at university and we are taking action to support this. We are funding the Further Mathematics Support Programme (FMSP) to encourage more students to study Further Mathematics A level, the Cambridge University mathematics project to improve the teaching of mathematics at A level and 16-19 Maths Free Schools to provide a more challenging curriculum for mathematics. The Government also funds the Stimulating Physics Programme which supports schools to improve progression into physics at A level. These programmes help prepare students for STEM subjects at university.

Wider Government reforms such as improving the recruitment of top science and mathematics graduates into teaching and strengthening the curriculum and qualifications will also improve the teaching and take-up of these important subjects.

[holding answer 11 February 2013]: The Government is committed to finding ways to ensure that young people have the opportunity to engage with science subjects, and pursue science and engineering careers, especially among under-represented groups; such as girls and those living in disadvantaged areas. The key to encouraging more young people to take up such careers is to ensure that they are inspired by, and achieve well in, science and technology at school. To encourage this, the Government is investing up to £135 million over the current spending review period to support schools to improve the quality and provision of science teaching. This includes: high quality professional development opportunities; subject knowledge enhancement courses for pre-Initial Teacher Training graduates and teachers without a specialist science qualification; and support for schools to improve participation in GCSE triple science and A level physics. Science GCSEs are also included in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). This is promoting and increasing the number of pupils with science GCSEs, and in turn there is an increase in pupils who progress to take science and physics at A level. For young people wishing to pursue a career in engineering, in November 2012 the Chancellor announced that the Government will be supporting the Royal Academy of Engineering to develop a series of new Engineering qualifications at KS4. These qualifications are for inclusion within the ‘Wolf’ list of high value non-GCSE qualifications to be taught from 2014 and reported in school performance tables from 2016. In addition, physics, which is a key foundation for science and engineering study at university and for many science and engineering careers, is being supported through the Stimulating Physics Network.

Information on GCSE science unit level exam entries, awards and remarking requests is not held by the Department but is collated by the qualifications regulator, Ofqual.

Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's Chief Regulator, has written to the hon. Member with such information relevant to the questions as Ofqual holds. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.

Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 14 January 2013:

The Secretary of State has asked Ofqual to respond to the parliamentary questions you have raised. Please find our responses below.

If you would like to discuss any of these in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.

PQ 135916

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the AQA Unit 1 science examination papers sat for GCSE (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics were (i) requested to be remarked and (ii) were remarked in (A) June 2011, (B) January 2012 and (C) June 2012.

For the summer exam series 2012 we collected the number of enquiries for remarks by unit from awarding organisations. These figures are set out in the table below. The column "enquiries" shows the number of requests received and re-marked. The "%" column shows those enquiries as a percentage of the total number of entries for that unit.

Previous to this, we collected for each summer exam series the total number of unit enquiries. These figures do not break down at an individual unit level. Awarding organisations sent Ofqual individual units only if the percentage of enquiries for remarks to the total entry was greater than 5%. None of the science subjects for AQA fell into this category.

PQ 136058

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade for the AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.

In January 2012, 0.6% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 0.9% in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136059

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students received an A* grade for AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.

In January 2012, 561 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1,168 in Chemistry unit l and 710 in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136061

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

In June 2012, 10,273 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 11,077 in Chemistry unit 1 and 8,022 in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136062

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

In June 2012, 6.9% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 7.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 5.4% in Physics unit 1.

Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss these issues or any others in relation to our regulatory role.

Information on GCSE science unit level exam entries, awards and remarking requests is not held by the Department but is collated by the qualifications regulator, Ofqual.

Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's Chief Regulator, has written to the hon. Member with such information relevant to the questions as Ofqual holds. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.

Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 14 January 2013:

The Secretary of State has asked Ofqual to respond to the parliamentary questions you have raised. Please find our responses below.

If you would like to discuss any of these in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.

PQ 135916

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the AQA Unit 1 science examination papers sat for GCSE (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics were (i) requested to be remarked and (ii) were remarked in (A) June 2011, (B) January 2012 and (C) June 2012.

For the summer exam series 2012 we collected the number of enquiries for remarks by unit from awarding organisations. These figures are set out in the table below. The column "enquiries" shows the number of requests received and re-marked. The "%" column shows those enquiries as a percentage of the total number of entries for that unit.

Previous to this, we collected for each summer exam series the total number of unit enquiries. These figures do not break down at an individual unit level. Awarding organisations sent Ofqual individual units only if the percentage of enquiries for remarks to the total entry was greater than 5%. None of the science subjects for AQA fell into this category.

PQ 136058

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade for the AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.

In January 2012, 0.6% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 0.9% in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136059

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students received an A* grade for AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.

In January 2012, 561 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1,168 in Chemistry unit l and 710 in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136061

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

In June 2012, 10,273 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 11,077 in Chemistry unit 1 and 8,022 in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136062

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

In June 2012, 6.9% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 7.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 5.4% in Physics unit 1.

Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss these issues or any others in relation to our regulatory role.

Information on GCSE science unit level exam entries, awards and remarking requests is not held by the Department but is collated by the qualifications regulator, Ofqual.

Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's Chief Regulator, has written to the hon. Member with such information relevant to the questions as Ofqual holds. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.

Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 14 January 2013:

The Secretary of State has asked Ofqual to respond to the parliamentary questions you have raised. Please find our responses below.

If you would like to discuss any of these in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.

PQ 135916

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the AQA Unit 1 science examination papers sat for GCSE (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics were (i) requested to be remarked and (ii) were remarked in (A) June 2011, (B) January 2012 and (C) June 2012.

For the summer exam series 2012 we collected the number of enquiries for remarks by unit from awarding organisations. These figures are set out in the table below. The column "enquiries" shows the number of requests received and re-marked. The "%" column shows those enquiries as a percentage of the total number of entries for that unit.

Previous to this, we collected for each summer exam series the total number of unit enquiries. These figures do not break down at an individual unit level. Awarding organisations sent Ofqual individual units only if the percentage of enquiries for remarks to the total entry was greater than 5%. None of the science subjects for AQA fell into this category.

PQ 136058

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade for the AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.

In January 2012, 0.6% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 0.9% in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136059

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students received an A* grade for AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.

In January 2012, 561 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1,168 in Chemistry unit l and 710 in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136061

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

In June 2012, 10,273 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 11,077 in Chemistry unit 1 and 8,022 in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136062

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

In June 2012, 6.9% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 7.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 5.4% in Physics unit 1.

Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss these issues or any others in relation to our regulatory role.

Information on GCSE science unit level exam entries, awards and remarking requests is not held by the Department but is collated by the qualifications regulator, Ofqual.

Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's Chief Regulator, has written to the hon. Member with such information relevant to the questions as Ofqual holds. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.

Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 14 January 2013:

The Secretary of State has asked Ofqual to respond to the parliamentary questions you have raised. Please find our responses below.

If you would like to discuss any of these in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.

PQ 135916

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the AQA Unit 1 science examination papers sat for GCSE (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics were (i) requested to be remarked and (ii) were remarked in (A) June 2011, (B) January 2012 and (C) June 2012.

For the summer exam series 2012 we collected the number of enquiries for remarks by unit from awarding organisations. These figures are set out in the table below. The column "enquiries" shows the number of requests received and re-marked. The "%" column shows those enquiries as a percentage of the total number of entries for that unit.

Previous to this, we collected for each summer exam series the total number of unit enquiries. These figures do not break down at an individual unit level. Awarding organisations sent Ofqual individual units only if the percentage of enquiries for remarks to the total entry was greater than 5%. None of the science subjects for AQA fell into this category.

PQ 136058

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade for the AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.

In January 2012, 0.6% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 0.9% in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136059

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students received an A* grade for AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.

In January 2012, 561 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1,168 in Chemistry unit l and 710 in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136061

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

In June 2012, 10,273 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 11,077 in Chemistry unit 1 and 8,022 in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136062

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

In June 2012, 6.9% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 7.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 5.4% in Physics unit 1.

Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss these issues or any others in relation to our regulatory role.

Information on GCSE science unit level exam entries, awards and remarking requests is not held by the Department but is collated by the qualifications regulator, Ofqual.

Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's Chief Regulator, has written to the hon. Member with such information relevant to the questions as Ofqual holds. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.

Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 14 January 2013:

The Secretary of State has asked Ofqual to respond to the parliamentary questions you have raised. Please find our responses below.

If you would like to discuss any of these in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.

PQ 135916

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the AQA Unit 1 science examination papers sat for GCSE (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics were (i) requested to be remarked and (ii) were remarked in (A) June 2011, (B) January 2012 and (C) June 2012.

For the summer exam series 2012 we collected the number of enquiries for remarks by unit from awarding organisations. These figures are set out in the table below. The column "enquiries" shows the number of requests received and re-marked. The "%" column shows those enquiries as a percentage of the total number of entries for that unit.

Previous to this, we collected for each summer exam series the total number of unit enquiries. These figures do not break down at an individual unit level. Awarding organisations sent Ofqual individual units only if the percentage of enquiries for remarks to the total entry was greater than 5%. None of the science subjects for AQA fell into this category.

PQ 136058

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade for the AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.

In January 2012, 0.6% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 0.9% in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136059

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students received an A* grade for AQA Unit 1 GCSE papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in January 2012.

In January 2012, 561 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 1,168 in Chemistry unit l and 710 in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136061

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

In June 2012, 10,273 students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 11,077 in Chemistry unit 1 and 8,022 in Physics unit 1.

PQ 136062

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students received an A* grade in the AQA Unit 1 GCSE science papers sat in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in June 2012.

In June 2012, 6.9% of students achieved a unit-level A* grade in Biology unit 1, 7.4% in Chemistry unit 1 and 5.4% in Physics unit 1.

Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss these issues or any others in relation to our regulatory role.

Responsibility for managing and agreeing the process of setting grade boundaries, grading and awarding GCSE qualifications is a matter for the independent exams regulator Ofqual and exam boards. The Department has no role in those decisions.

Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's chief regulator, has written to the hon. Member with such information relevant to the questions as Ofqual holds. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.

Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 14 January 2013:

The Secretary of State has asked Ofqual to respond to the parliamentary questions you have raised. Please find our responses as follows.

If you would like to discuss any of these in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.

PQ 135914:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the allowable level of change between science GCSE examination results of A*-C grade is following the introduction of a new syllabus.

Given the more challenging nature of the new GCSE science syllabuses, students had to perform at a higher standard to achieve the same grades. Exam boards took this into account when judging where to set grade boundaries on the new GCSE Science units in summer 2012. Exam boards agreed a common statistical mechanism to predict likely results and these predictions were used as a starting point for the awards of new GCSE science qualifications last summer.

These statistics were only part of the information used during the awarding process, which also includes evidence of student performance. Exam boards used a range of qualitative and quantitative evidence as required by our Code of Practice. If their results differed from the original predictions by more than 2% the exam boards were required to provide evidence to justify those results but this did not set a limit on the level of change between this new qualification and its predecessor.

PQ 135915:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what procedure is used to determine grade boundaries for a new syllabus in GCSE science examinations.

The procedure for determining grade boundaries for new GCSE science specifications is no different from that used for ail other GCSEs. These are described in the Code of Practice and Ofqual’s General Conditions of Recognition. Exam boards are required to use a range of evidence, including evidence of student work, recommendations from senior examiners, and statistical evidence.

PQ 136060:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the accepted level of grade fluctuation is when a new syllabus is introduced for GCSE science in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics.

New GCSE qualifications in biology, chemistry, physics and additional science will be awarded for the first time in summer 2013. Only new GCSE Science qualifications were available in summer 2012 (the other titles were available in the predecessor qualification). As mentioned in response to PQ 135914, given the more challenging nature of the new GCSE science specifications students have to perform at a higher standard to achieve the same grades. For this reason we have been discussing with exam boards the expected standards for new GCSE qualifications in biology, chemistry, physics and additional science and will continue to do so ahead of the first qualifications being awarded in summer 2013.

We do not define how much fluctuation there should be in performance across grades for new GCSEs in science. It is for the exam boards themselves to set appropriate grade standards using all the information available to them as described in our regulatory documents. Ofqual monitored the awards of GCSE Science qualifications in 2012 and will do so for the separate and additional science qualifications in 2013. We will challenge any exam board's qualification outcomes if it is necessary to do so.