A report on the uptake of and long-term outcomes associated with triple science GCSE, based on analysis of the National Pupil Database and HESA data. It is divided into two parts: a descriptive analysis of the uptake of the various Key Stage 4 science options between 2006 and 2019, and an analysis of the association between those options and a set of long-term outcomes. This research was commissioned by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
The headline findings are summarised below:
- Selective schools, schools with sixth forms, those with high levels of average prior attainment and those with low levels of disadvantage entered a higher proportion of their pupils for triple science.
- Schools in the South East were more likely to enter a high proportion of their pupils to triple science; 10% of schools in the region entered 75% or more in 2019 compared to 5% nationally.
- Sponsored academies and free schools tended to be more likely to enter no pupils to triple science than other school types. On the other hand, the small number of university technical colleges were more likely to enter a high proportion of pupils to triple science.
- Pupils who took triple science were more likely to go on to study science post-16 than those who took double science. For pupils who completed KS4 in 2017, the odds of a triple science pupil going on to take A-Level chemistry were 4.4 times higher than for a double science pupil, while for biology they were 3.6 times higher and for physics 2.9 times higher.
- The association between triple science and going on to study science post-16 grew stronger in the more recent years covered, appearing to increase as the proportion of pupils studying triple science increased.
- We found some indications that the association between triple science and studying science post-16 varies depends on school science curriculum offer, but these were tentative. The indications suggested that the association may be weaker for pupils who attended a school in which most pupils took triple science than for pupils who attended in school in which a minority did so.
- There were some indications that the association between triple science and going on to study science post-16 varies by gender; it is slightly stronger for female pupils.
