A-level physics highly rated by undergraduates, survey finds

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Physics has been rated as one of the best taught subjects at A-level and one that will most likely lead to a good career, a survey of undergraduates has found.

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However, the survey, commissioned by physics charity The Ogden Trust, also indicated that the response to GCSE-level physics was more problematic.  

The study asked 1,004 current undergraduates about their opinions on the subject, half of whom are currently studying STEM and half non-STEM disciplines at a university in the UK, and all of whom had taken A-levels in England. 

While three-quarters (76 per cent) of students who took A-level physics said they had enjoyed studying it, a slightly higher proportion than those who took other STEM subjects, two-fifths (42 per cent) of those who chose not to continue to do so cited a lack of enjoyment at GCSE as the main reason, followed by a quarter (24 per cent) who cited poor teaching. 

The same proportion (24 per cent) also said that physics had ‘no relevance’ to their future and one in five (19 per cent) blamed a lack of encouragement by teachers. 

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A-level Physics