These graphs show the numbers of providers offering the subject from one year to another. Using the unique identifiers of each school (URN) we are able to map the continuation or discontinuation of provision. Sometimes schools might shut, be newly established or change legal status, e.g. converting from a local authority school to an academy. This means that schools in one year might not exist in the subsequent year and vice versa, URNs for the same school might be different. To prevent this distorting the overall picture of school’s dropping or establishing exam subjects, the dropped data only considers schools that were open across both years. The overall subject URN figure, 23 and 22 include all providers that offered the subject in that year, including those providers that were not present in the comparison year.
comprehensive girls schools continue to see a large flux in provision, with 8 % of schools dropping the subject in 2023, whilst another 12 % of providers started provision.
special schools also see a large fluctuation in provision, schools of this type often have entries in low single figures, suggesting the course offerings might be responsive to the needs of these students on a year to year basis, rather than being offered more broadly.