Report finds STEM subjects most popular among school students

News

A new report from education consultancy Dukes Plus has found that school students favour STEM subjects overall, but that schools are failing to fulfil this growing demand.

AdobeStock

The Dukes Education survey asked 1,000 school students which subjects they most enjoy to measure how this would align with predictions for the future job market.

Dukes Plus found that over four in 10 students said they most enjoyed STEM lessons, including computer science, biology and maths.

Humanities topics were second favourite, but creative subjects, like art, music, and drama, were only chosen by a quarter of school students.

The interest in STEM was found to seemingly continue into further education, with online monthly searches for ‘computer science A level’ seeing a 21 per cent year-on-year increase.

Dukes Plus said that this interest is a positive sign given that STEM careers are estimated to grow in importance due to a greater need for climate change specialists, digital skills and medical staff in the future.

However, further research suggested that school resources are not fulfilling this growing demand for STEM studies. Recent research found that nearly nine in 10 parents said their children’s schools needed more high-quality maths and science teachers.

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.  

Benefits of registering

  • In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends

  • Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year

  • Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox

Register
Or continue by

Signing in with your registered email address

STEM education and careers