More As in maths as courses dumbed down

The sharp rise in students getting the top grade in maths A-level was welcomed last night in spite of concern among some teachers that the subject had been dumbed down. Yesterday's A-level results revealed that 43.5% of candidates got an A grade - up almost 3% on last year. The subject, traditionally seen as the preserve of the brightest students, also witnessed an increase in the number sitting the exam - up almost 6% for maths and 23% for further maths, although there were still fewer candidates than in 2000.

Ellie Johnson Searle, the director of the Joint Council for Qualifications, welcomed the results, which follow a series of curriculum reforms designed to make the subject "more accessible". "The turnaround in mathematics - both in overall numbers and in achievement - is encouraging in the first year of the new specifications," she said.

However, a report from the government's exam watchdog this year found that the changes had left some teachers "shocked and appalled" at the "unacceptable dumbing down" of the course. Alan Smithers, professor of education at the University of Buckingham, said it was a mistake to try to attract more students to maths A-level "by making it more accessible, in other words, easier".

Schools minister Jim Knight said the reforms had not diluted the exam, adding that the changes were made in consultation with teachers and maths experts. Ken Boston, the chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, welcomed the jump in the number of students taking maths after a slump at the start of the decade. "It was necessary to make changes to A-level maths to encourage greater participation and progression on to higher education and employment, and we hope that trend will continue," he said. "The changes came about after we listened to the views of the mathematics profession by giving students and teachers a more flexible and manageable A-level course." Tony Gardiner, an academic specialising in maths education at Birmingham University, said the rise in A grades was evidence that the exam was now easier than ever.

But Roger Porkess, the chief executive of Mathematics in Education and Industry, rejected the claim that the exam had been dumbed down. "These results are excellent news and a step towards being able to run a competitive economy."

Yesterday's results also revealed that the number of students taking physics dropped by 2.7% this year and around 17% over the past decade. Daniel Sandford Smith, the education manager at the Institute of Physics, said the trend was worrying and would have an impact on a wide range of degree subjects and careers.

Martin Rees, the president of the Royal Society, said that physics "remains on the critical list" with no sign of improvement. He was more optimistic about the other sciences. "Chemistry is showing some signs of recovery with the highest number of entries since 2000. This is 3.1% higher than last year, but 9.8% lower than in 1991. Biology looks healthy with 1.7% more students taking the subject than last year and 17.8% higher than in 1991."

There was a slight rise in the numbers taking A-level French, and a bigger increase in those taking German and Spanish. However, the number of students taking French and German has dropped by 47% and 42% respectively over the past decade, according to figures published by the University of Buckingham. The number of students taking modern community languages such as Russian, Portuguese, Punjabi and Chinese continued to rise, this by year by around 9%. The number of students taking media, film and television studies increased by 10%.

Steve Sinnott, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said last night that the "bottoming out" of entries in traditional modern languages was a serious problem. He called on ministers to make them compulsory in secondary schools as part of the education bill going through parliament.

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