We have a problem with the number of boys taking English at A level.

Of course, anyone who has been involved in teaching English knows this is not a new problem. However, it is one that continues to get worse, with the number of boys being entered into A-level exams for English language, English literature and English language and literature decreasing notably.

New data from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) reveals that almost 8,000 fewer male students took an English subject at A level in 2021 compared with 2016 - declining from 22,980 to 15,035, a drop of 34 per cent.

If we break it down by subject, comparing 2016 to 2021, we see the following:

• Boys’ entries for English language dropped from 7,354 to 4,025 - a fall of 3,329.
• Boys entries for English literature dropped from 12,186 to 8,967 - a fall of 3,219.
• Boys’ entries for English language and literature dropped from 3,440 to 2,043
• - a fall of 1,397.

So, why is the number of boys taking English falling?

It could be tempting to blame demographics and assume that there are fewer boys in the system. However, data shows that there are 24,355 more boys choosing to take A levels now than in 2016. So, it’s no statistical anomaly - there are deeper issues at play.

For Mark Roberts, teacher and author of The Boy Question: how to teach boys to succeed in school, a big issue is the perception of English - often down to “cultural” issues.

“The first issue is the obvious stereotype around English being a ‘feminine’ subject,” he says. “Reading and writing are often seen by boys as feminine activities, which results in a reluctance to take a subject that relies heavily on reading and writing. This is particularly true of English literature, with fewer boys than girls choosing to read fiction for pleasure at home.”

However, Roberts doesn’t point the finger of blame solely at cultural concerns. Another possible issue is that boys don’t believe an English A level will increase their job prospects - or future earnings.

Increasing the number of entries for English A level

“When it comes to academic motivation, boys tend to be more likely than girls to be influenced by external factors, such as the prospect of getting a highly paid job, rather than learning a subject for the joy of the knowledge that it offers,” says Roberts.

“In an era in which financial factors are increasingly associated with the purpose of higher education, this is likely to put boys off taking English, when ‘masculine’ subjects, such as Stem [science, technology, engineering and maths], seemingly offer a better-paid career path.”

It’s true that many high-profile campaigns have placed a focus on Stem subjects, emphasising to students the financial rewards that finding employment in that sector can bring.

However, it is a myth that studying humanities subjects doesn’t lead to lucrative jobs. This view is something that those in the arts have been keen to challenge.

For example, last year, research from the British Academy found that humanities graduates could often end up being just as well paid as their Stem counterparts: “While starting salaries are lower, over the longer term, AHSS [arts, humanities and social studies] graduates make strong progress up the career ladder into roles attracting higher salaries.”

Its report also says that humanities graduates are just as employable as scientists and mathematicians, citing data from London Economics that shows employment rates between those with degrees in these fields are almost identical.

It’s clear, though, that this message is not landing at present and that, for many boys, studying English just doesn’t seem like a viable option.

For years, this problem in English may have been somewhat offset by the belief that girls have always flocked to the subject in high numbers.

However, the data from the JCQ makes it clear that it is not just the falling number of male students that poses a problem for English departments - girls’ interest in the subject is also waning.

Comparing 2021 with 2016, there has been a drop of 14,770 girls taking English subjects at A level, from 61,730 to 46,960 - a 23 per cent decline, across the following three areas:

• Girls’ entries for English language dropped from 16,221 to 10,509, a fall of 5,712.
• Girls’ entries for English literature dropped from 36,511 to 30,525, a fall of 5,986.
• Girls’ entries for English language and literature dropped from 8,998 to 5,926,
• a fall of 3,072.

Demographics may come more into play here as there were 6,748 fewer girls taking
A levels in 2021 compared with 2016, but it’s not enough to explain such a big decline.

So, what’s going on? Why are English A levels suffering a decline in both male and female students?

Perhaps it is something deeper than cultural concerns or future earnings issues: perhaps the answer lies in the subject itself.

That’s certainly a view that the National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) has expressed, with a 2020 report suggesting that students have been put off from the further study of English owing to their experience at GCSE, which underwent a significant overhaul in 2017.

This change involved the removal of the “spoken language unit”, which gave students a taste of English language A level. The open-book exam was also removed, as well as the element of teacher choice in the controlled assessment questions.

When, in 2020, NATE conducted a survey into the experiences of English teachers delivering the new GCSE specification, the findings were concerning.

The majority of English teachers - 58 per cent - reported that they did not believe their students found the course rewarding, while 52 per cent said they did not find delivering the new content rewarding either.

Given these sort of insights in the summary of the GCSE Language Survey Report, NATE said: “The survey results comprehensively support NATE’s view that key stage 4 curriculum change is urgently needed to attract and challenge students, and retain their interest in future English education.

“We believe that the current GCSE offer is damaging young people’s perception of the subject as well as adversely affecting students’ subsequent choices at post-16 and beyond.”

Looking beyond curriculum concerns, another explanation for the falling popularity of English could be the changes to the funding of 16-19 students. As a consequence of these, many schools and colleges now only require students to take three subjects at A level, rather than four.

With a narrowing of the number of options available to students, English may be being squeezed out. According to data collected by FFT Education Datalab, in 2019 English subjects featured only once in the 10 most popular three A-level subject combinations.

In comparison, the three traditional science subjects appeared 15 times, and maths and further maths were listed eight times.

So perhaps, then, it is something of a perfect storm of issues. None of this is great news for English departments, which know the inherent value, joy and learning opportunities their subject provides and want to pass this on to the next generation.

However, with no suggestion that a course specification change will happen any time soon or of a huge overnight cultural shift in how English is perceived by many, it’s clear that there is a long road ahead to reverse the decline in A-level English.

This article appeared in the 10 September edition of Tes magazine