Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils were entered for art and design GCSE in (a) England and (b) each Local Education Authority area in each year since 2010.

​The number of pupils entered for art and design GCSE in England and each Local Education Authority area in each year since 2010 can be found in the excel spreadsheet attached.

The number of pupils entered for art and design GCSEs in England1 has fluctuated across the last 10 years, but the current year’s figure of 155,731 pupils entered is the highest number of pupils entered since 2015, and the second highest of the last 10 years. In 2019, there has been a 10.6% increase in number of pupils entered for art and design GCSEs compared to 2018, and a 5.7% increase compared to 2010.​

Any trends observed in the attached figures should be treated with caution and considered against changes in methodology over the ten year period, changes in cohort and more recently, changes in entry behaviour from schools following the introduction of 9-1 reformed GCSEs across all GCSE subjects, including art and design.