Report

A narrowing path to success?

Think tank: Education Policy Institute

Author(s): David Robinson; Felix Bunting

September 14, 2021

This report from UK think tank the Education Policy Institute looks at 16-19 curriculum breadth and employment outcomes.

This report finds that the proportion of students with A and AS levels or equivalent covering at least three of the main subject groups such as humanities, sciences, maths and languages, has now halved since 2010. England already has one of the narrowest curricula in the developed world, with few other rich countries forcing learners to specialise in a small set of subjects from the age of 16. The new report shows that this uniquely narrow offer is becoming narrower still, with students increasingly unlikely to take a mix of subjects. The average student now takes subjects from fewer than two of the main subject groups.