BRITISH PUPILS AMONG LEAST LIKELY TO STUDY SCIENCE

The Young People and Science study for the European Commission surveyed nearly 25,000 15 to 25-year-olds across the 27 countries of Europe.

When asked how they felt about studying science-based subjects, 86% of young Britons said they would probably or definitely not consider natural sciences, while 76% would consider neither engineering nor mathematics.

But the findings for young people in Britain were echoed by those in other European countries, where a minority said they would consider studying sciences.

When asked about natural sciences, the Netherlands (81%), Ireland (80%), France (75%) and Germany (78%) had similar results to the UK.

Young people in the newer European members in eastern Europe are somewhat more keen on studying science subjects - in Slovenia 53% were not considering natural sciences, and 62% in Romania.

Those surveyed were most likely to say that they would study social sciences, followed by economics and business studies. Mathematics was selected by the smallest group.

Next in line were those who wanted to study natural sciences or mathematics to become teachers.

The smallest group of respondents wanted to become technicians (9%).

Read the full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/nov/14/science-highereducation