A level results 2026 - Building a stronger STEM pipeline for girls remains critical for the UK’s future workforce 

Today's A level results highlight continued interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, with more than one million results across A levels, AS Levels and T Levels being awarded today. The number of A level entries has increased slightly this year, reflecting a growing 18-year-old population. 

As students consider their next steps, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) are urging policymakers, educators and employers to focus on strengthening the UK's future STEM talent pipeline, especially for young women. 

The call comes as the UK continues to face significant skills shortages across STEM sectors, with engineering vacancies representing a quarter of all job adverts* and an estimated shortfall of 173,000 workers* across the wider STEM workforce. Attracting and retaining a more diverse range of talent will be critical to meeting future demand. 

Interestingly, UCAS figures* from today show that the top subjects with the largest growth in acceptances are engineering and technology, with 34,100 placed applicants (+14% on last year). However, only around 1 in 5 of these are female. While it’s encouraging to see growth in these figures and in the general STEM pipeline, there is still a way to go in improving the representation of young women within these subjects. 

Key headlines from today’s results: 

• Slight growth (3.7%) for girls’ participation in core-STEM subjects, as they make up 42.9% of core-STEM A level entries.   
• No change to the top 10 most popular subjects with Maths remaining number one with over 115,000 entries this year. Biology and Chemistry maintain the third and fourth spots, as both see a rise in entries – 3.5% and 3.2% respectively.  
• Physics dropped down to eighth after rising to sixth last year. Most notable is a 10.5% increase in Economics entries which now sits in fifth.  
• Most significant growth in girls’ participation is seen in Digital Technology, up 18.8% from 2025 (making up 30.3% of the overall cohort in 2026 compared to 27.7% in 2025). 

Dr Laura Norton, Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and WISE Director at the IET, said: 

"Firstly, congratulations to the thousands of young people across the UK receiving their results today. The subject choices young people make now will shape the future STEM workforce that the UK depends on to deliver innovation, economic growth and solutions to some of society's biggest challenges. 

"While it's encouraging to see continued interest in STEM subjects and positive progress in the number of young women entering STEM pathways, we know there is still a significant skills challenge ahead. The UK's engineering and technology sectors need a larger and more diverse talent pool if we're to meet future workforce demand. 

"Women make up more than half of the UK population, yet remain significantly underrepresented in STEM careers. If we're serious about closing skills gaps, we must ensure more young women see STEM as a pathway where they can belong, succeed and lead. 

"Visible role models remain critical. When girls see women thriving in STEM careers, they are more likely to believe those opportunities are available to them too. By widening participation and creating inclusive pathways into STEM, we can build the diverse workforce needed for the future." 

ENDS

Notes to editors: 

More detailed statistics: 

• There were 359,786 core-STEM A level qualifications awarded this year – 43% of which were to girls. 
• We see an increase of 3.7% in the number 5,500 core-STEM qualifications awarded to girls this year. We also see an increase of 6,549 core-STEM qualifications awarded to boys this year (a 3.5% increase). 
• Core-STEM A levels represent 49.1% of all those taken by boys, and just 31.6% of all those taken by girls. 
• Mathematics remains the most popular A Level, with over 115,000 entries. Just 37.1% (42,761) were to girls this year demonstrating a persistent gender gap in the subject. 
• Further Mathematics continues to grow too this year, with an extra 1,600 qualifications being awarded (334 to girls, 1,308 to boys). 
• Statistics has been separated from Mathematics, with a relatively small number of students (1,140) taking this subject. 
• Biology and Chemistry see growth in the number of girls taking these subjects, as well as the proportion – with a 4.7% and 4.3% increase respectively. Representation in both these subjects is consistently above 50% at 65% (Biology) and 56.6% (Chemistry). 
• Physics only sees an extra 40 girls (increase of 0.4%) taking the subject this year, dropping representation down to 23.7%, from 24.1% last year. 
• Other Sciences has been broken down this year into individual subjects – Life & Health Sciences (Single award), Life & Health Sciences (Double award), Geology and Electronics. These subjects are mostly seeing a reduction in qualifications awarded to girls this year (only 1,592 for all four subjects). 
• In Computing, we see a 2.8% increase in qualifications awarded to girls (3,782 compared to 3,679 in 2025). 
• Digital Technology continues to grow, seeing an 18.8% growth in qualifications offered to girls. It’s noted that this only represents 50 qualifications. 

Why now? 

• The UK faces a shortfall of approximately 173,000 workers across the STEM sector.  
• Engineering vacancies account for around 25% of all job adverts. 
• Women make up 51% of the UK population but only 16.9% of those working in engineering and technology roles.  
• Increasing participation in STEM, particularly among women and girls, will be essential to strengthening the future engineering talent pipeline. 

Scottish Advanced Highers – STEM breakdown 

Last week’s results in Scotland showed that STEM subjects continue to be the most popular at Advanced Higher level, with Maths (4,770 entries), Biology (3,110 entries) and Chemistry (3,045 entries) taking the top three spots. 

Girls' participation is also strong in these subjects, accounting for 69% of Biology entries, 60% of Chemistry entries and 40% of Mathematics entries. 

While entry numbers remain relatively low in entries across other core-STEM subjects, participation by girls has increased in Physics, Statistics and Mathematics of Mechanics. Entries in Engineering Science and Computing Science have both stabilised after dropping last year. However, girls continue to be underrepresented in many of these subjects; making up just 26% of Physics entries, 20% of Computing Science entries and 26% of Mathematics of Mechanics entries. 

Overall, across all Advanced Higher core-STEM subjects, representation of girls still sits at 47%. 

For readers outside Scotland, Advanced Highers are Scotland's highest school-level qualification and are broadly equivalent to A-levels. 

About the Institution of Engineering and Technology 

• We inspire, inform and influence the global engineering community to engineer a better world. 
• We are a diverse home for engineering and technology intelligence throughout the world. This breadth and depth mean we are uniquely placed to help the sector progress society. 
• We want to build the profile of engineering and technology to change outdated perceptions and tackle the skills gap. This includes encouraging more women to become engineers and growing the number of engineering apprentices.
• Interview opportunities are available with our spokespeople from a range of engineering and technology disciplines including cyber-security, energy, engineering skills, innovation, manufacturing, technology, transport and diversity in engineering.
• For more information, visit www.theiet.org
• Follow the IET on LinkedIn and Instagram @TheIET / @InstitutionofEngineeringandTechnology.

Media enquiries to:

Megan Stearn 
Senior Communications Executive
E: meganstearn@theiet.org