Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students (a) in total and (b) eligible for free school meals took physical education at A level in each year since 2010.

The total number and percentage of students entering A level physical education in each year is provided in the tables attached, as well as the percentage of entrants into each subject who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM). The Department has published[1] the number of students entering A level physical education or sport/physical education studies (up to 2015/16), split by FSM, from 2010/11 – 2017/18. Figures for 2009/10 are not available

Figures for 2010/11 – 2015/16 are based on exam results achieved in the report year. In addition, for 2015/16 figures only include students who were included in the ‘best 3 A levels’ measure. From 2016/17, figures cover exam results achieved in all years of 16-18 studies (up to three years) and inclusion in the best 3 A level measure was no longer used in the methodology, resulting in more students being included and correspondingly higher rates of entry. Due to the changes in methodology 2015/16 is not comparable with any other year, and 2016/17 and 2017/18 are only comparable with each other. There are also changes in how the cohort of students and FSM eligibility is defined which mean that comparisons between these years are not possible.

[1] For 2010/11 – 2015/16 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-level-attainment-by-pupil-characteristics. For 2016/17 and 2017/18 - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-attainment-at-19-years.