English is a more useful subject than the sciences for those who decide to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem), a report by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust suggests.

The trust’s From School Work to Real Work report reveals that almost half (45.3 per cent) of Stem workers aged between 20 and 35 think that English has been one of the three most useful subjects for them since leaving education, ahead of biology (16.3 per cent), physics (14.3 per cent) and chemistry (10.6 per cent), but behind maths.

English also emerged as the third most popular subject among young Stem workers, behind maths and computer science.

Almost 60 per cent of respondents said that maths had been the most useful subject for them since leaving school, while drama was regarded as the least useful, with only 1.6 per cent of young Stem workers saying that the subject had been useful since they had left education.

In Scotland, statistics from the Programme for International Student Assessment show that Scottish students were more likely than those in other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries to agree that making an effort in science subjects at school would help them in later life.

Nearly a third of Scottish students “strongly agreed” that making an effort in science was worthwhile because it would help them in their careers, compared with a quarter of students in other countries.

Will Martin