Chemistry A-level results 2015

Congratulations to all those students who have received A-level and AS-level results today.

The proportion of chemistry A-level exams taken by girls has risen slightly this year to almost half. Girls now make up 49.1% of the chemistry A-level cohort so are increasingly close to equalling the number of boys who take the A-level. Chemistry AS-level also showed a similar trend. 

There was an overall increase in the numbers taking all A-level subjects in the UK, however the number of students taking chemistry A-level dropped slightly from 53,513 in 2014 to 52,644 this year. This is the first time the numbers have dropped for over a decade, although in line with a similar drop in the numbers taking AS-level chemistry last year. Although there was a slight decrease in entries this year, the numbers had been steadily increasing for a number of years.

There was also a slight improvement in A-level chemistry grades achieved, with 78.2% of entries awarded A*-C grades compared to 78% last year. It also appears that attainment has gone up slightly for boys and down for girls when compared to last year. 78% of boys achieved A*-C grades this year (up from 77% last year) whilst 78.3% of girls achieved A*-C grades this year (down from 79.1% last year).

Looking at the results in more detail reveals more very high achieving boys than girls this year. 10.60% of boys taking A-level chemistry achieved an A* compared to 8.10% of girls. Whilst this trend was visible last year, the difference has become wider. 

So, what happens next? Here are some handy links to our careers pages.

• What jobs can I do? 
• Explore your future in chemistry