Press Release
Date: Thursday 18 August 2011
Excellent results for Northern Ireland students as more than ever choose to study A Levels
Students in Northern Ireland are increasingly opting for A Levels with entries reaching a record high of 32,582 this year.
The Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has released figures for the performance of Northern Ireland students in this summer’s A Level examinations. CCEA presented the information on behalf of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) representing the five main awarding bodies offering A levels here.
- The percentage of A* - A grades awarded to students has decreased slightly to 34.5% (compared to 35.9% in 2010).
- The overall pass rate has remained unchanged with 98.1% of grades awarded at A*-E again this year.
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects have remained among the most popular choices and continue to show strong performance.
Commenting on this year’s Northern Ireland GCE results Anne Marie Duffy, Director of Qualifications at CCEA said:
The figures released today show that our students have achieved a first class set of results. STEM subjects such as Mathematics and the Sciences rank among the most popular choices for Northern Ireland students and performance in these areas remains particularly strong. Overall, performance is comparable with previous years.
Our best wishes go to every student receiving their results this morning. We wish them every success in their endeavours, whether in further study or in the world of work.
Popular Subjects
The most popular subjects this year were Biology, Mathematics and English, followed closely by Religious Studies and History. The popularity of traditional subjects among students in Northern Ireland has been consistent year on year.
Generally, languages saw a decrease in entries with German down by 21.9% and French by 19.7%. Irish entries decreased by 6.8% whilst Spanish saw the only increase in language entries by 3.9%.
STEM subject entries remain healthy despite a small decrease in Chemistry and Physics. Further Mathematics entries increased by 33.1% followed by ICT (+7.9%), Biology (+7.5%), Mathematics (+3.6%) and Technology (+2.8%)
Gender Differences
Females continue to perform better than males as 7.9% of the grades achieved by males were A* compared with 9.1% for females.
The performance gap between males and females achieving grades A* – E remains unchanged from 2010 at 0.7%.
Applied subjects
This is fifth year in which applied A levels have been awarded and this year has seen a small rise in overall entries for these subjects, from 5,294 in 2010 to 5,379 in 2011.
Helpline
Students or parents with queries about GCE results should contact:
By telephone
Tel No. (028) 9026 1260
By website
Search for answers from the Frequently Asked Questions section.
By e-mail
Northern Ireland GCSE results statistics will be made available on Thursday 25 August 2011.
Additional Information
A Level entries and results
2010 figures in brackets
| 2011 | NI | NI, England & Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Entries | 32,582 (31,741) | 867,317 (853,933) |
| %A* | 8.6 (9.5*) | 8.2 (8.1) |
| %A*-A | 34.5 (35.9*) | 27.0 (27.0) |
| %A*-C | 84.2 (84.5) | 76.2 (75.4) |
| %A* - E | 98.1 (98.1) | 97.8 (97.6) |
5 most popular subjects
| Subject | % entries | Entries |
|---|---|---|
| Biology | 10.6 | 3450 |
| Mathematics | 9.5 | 3092 |
| English | 7.7 | 2525 |
| Religious Studies | 7.3 | 2373 |
| History | 7.1 | 2307 |
Gender comparisons
| NI 2011 | NI 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Male | Female | |
| %A* | 7.9 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 9.9 |
| %A*-A | 31.5 | 36.9 | 33.1 | 38.1 |
| %A*-E | 97.7 | 98.4 | 97.7 | 98.4 |
AS Levels results and entries
| Entries | %A | %A – E | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 41,921 | 33.9 | 94.4 |
| 2011 | 42,666 | 31.6 | 94.3 |
