LEADER

Science First

18/08/06

With yesterday's A-level results revealing that the overall pass rate has risen for the 24th consecutive year (if this continues, no one will be failing this exam a decade from now), it is tempting once again to decry grade inflation and the dumbing down of the examination system. In reality, the problem is being addressed, albeit belatedly.

Plans for a new A* grade and tougher questions that require more essay answers should help universities and employers identify the brightest students. The more interesting issue to emerge from the latest set of results is the way self-interest and the market are already combining to sort the wheat from the chaff.

The detailed breakdown of the 2006 figures shows that brighter students are focusing on tougher subjects, because they realise this will give them a better chance of the plum university places and so improve their career prospects.

So it is that the number getting A grades at chemistry (31.3 per cent), mathematics (43.5 per cent) and physics (29.4 per cent) outstrips the proportion of As at "softer" subjects such as media studies (13.8 per cent), psychology (17.8 per cent) and business studies (16.7 per cent).

The cleverest pupils are going for the in-demand - and ultimately most lucrative - subjects. This is an encouraging step in the right direction but, as Richard Lambert, the CBI's director-general, said in these pages yesterday, there remains much to do. He pointed out that, while there is a welcome increase in the number of sixth formers studying mathematics, the number studying chemistry and physics continues to fall - chemistry down by three per cent over the past decade, physics by no less than a quarter.

Mr Lambert blames too few inspirational teachers and poor career advice for a decline that presents a serious, long-term threat. Our science base is key to our success in the global economy. Governments of both stripes have for decades paid lip service to the need to boost the teaching of these subjects, but the results remain disappointing. With both China and India now churning out science graduates on an industrial scale, such neglect is potentially disastrous.