Influencers ‘could be driving greater uptake of business-related A-levels'
The current generation of young people have an 'entrepreneurial spirit' and are choosing subjects that will help open up career opportunities, according to exam bosses.
New figures show a rise in entries for A-levels in both economics and business studies this year – with business studies entering the top five subjects for the first time.
Claire Thomson, executive director of regulation and compliance at the AQA exam board said both subjects have a 'real world relevance' which helps students understands how the world works and businesses operate.
She said: 'They are clearly relevant for lots of career opportunities whether it's finance, marketing, management.
'I also wonder if there's a little bit about the social media phenomenon these days and the amount of influencers people see making what seems like lots of money, and that idea of gaining some entrepreneurial skills so that they can go out and emulate the people that they see all the time on social media.'
Ms Thomson added these A-level subjects involve critical thinking, problem-solving and data analysis skills which lend themselves to many vocational and higher education opportunities.
Jill Duffy, chairwoman of JCQ board of directors and chief executive of the OCR exam board, said it was good to see an increase in interest for the subjects.
She said: 'I think it's true, we see a very entrepreneurial spirit in this generation of young people. They've often got side hustles going on.'
Figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland show a 5.5% increase in entries for A-level economics this year, compared to 2024, while business studies entries are up 0.6%.
Business studies' entry into the top five most popular subjects means it is the first time a humanities subject has not been in the top five since the current grading system began.
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