Maths has topped our poll as one of the ‘core’ subjects at GCSE level that Brits feel should count towards school league tables, with English Language and Science coming in a close second and third, meaning that more Brits agree than disagree with Education Secretary Michael Gove as to which subjects should be considered the ‘most important’.
- 86% of people chose Maths GCSE as a subject which should count towards the compilation of school league tables, making it the most popular subject
- In second place was English Language at 85%
- 79% thought that Science should make a difference to school league table positions
- While English Literature (67%) and History (66%) rounded off the top five.
- At the opposite end of the scale, Media Studies, Drama and Dance GCSEs were ascribed the lowest priority as subjects which should count towards league tables, with 15%, 13% and 8% respectively. A shift in focusThe results come as new school league tables are published showing how many students have achieved five or more A*-C passes in what the Government now considers as core academic subjects, namely Maths, English, Science, a modern language and a humanity such as History or Geography. The Government states that pupils who achieve this will then be granted the ‘English Baccalaureate’ as proof of their results.Many schools have decried the move to such criteria since it means this year’s results judge them on measures that were not in place during last year’s GCSE exams. However, the Education secretary, Michael Gove, feels the shift in focus is necessary, to stop schools encouraging pupils to move away from ‘core’ subjects and towards so-called ‘easier’ GCSEs in a bid to boost league table rankings.See the survey details and full results
