The DfE’s Statistical Release for January 2014 is concerned with changes in A Level candidate numbers in England over the period 1996 to 2013, particularly, it is true, with any signs of an increase in recent years in ‘facilitating subjects’ – here the data do seem to suggest a rise in Maths and Science entries since about 2005/06, though with a slight decline in A Level numbers in England overall since 2011.

The report notes that ‘[o]ne of the largest increases in the volume of students entering for a subject is psychology’, and includes a graph showing just how impressive this growth has been (reproduced below). It also includes  interesting information from UCAS that this rise in numbers at A Level has been accompanied by a rise in applications to study psychology at undergraduate level from around 12,000 in 2004 to over 15,000 in 2010 – a number that has remained stable since 2010, too.

From the Department of Education, 2014