‘With 82% of students male, computing sadly remains the subject with the biggest gender imbalance’

Computing has established itself as core subject at A level, with more students choosing to study it than French and English Language. It’s continuing to grow, too, with a 13.5% increase in student numbers this year, making it the subject with the second highest increase only behind Design and Technology.

This is fantastic progress for a subject that was only introduced to the curriculum in 2014, opening up rewarding careers to more people and giving a much-needed boost to the country’s digital skills.

… this year’s A level results are a stark reminder that we cannot take our foot off the pedal when making tech more accessible to girls and young women

However, this year’s A level results are a stark reminder that we cannot take our foot off the pedal when making tech more accessible to girls and young women. With 82% of students male, computing sadly remains the subject with the biggest gender imbalance.

But progress is being made at a grassroots level, with predominantly female teachers in primary schools becoming positive, early, computing role models. Teacher resources, hardware and software used in the classroom are all being designed with greater inclusivity in mind, which will undoubtedly have an impact in the years to come too.

You might also like: Why primary school teachers are so important for a digitally literate workforce

About Micro:bit Educational Foundation

The Micro:bit Educational Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to inspire every child to create their best digital future, by:

• developing hardware and software that inspires young people to get excited about technology and the opportunities it presents for them
• creating free, user-friendly educational resources to support teachers in delivering engaging and creative lessons
• working with like-minded partners to deliver high-impact educational programmes across the globe.