Church reveals 'best kept secret' that faith and belief interest young people in increasing numbers

Today's A-level results see the seventh consecutive year-on-year increase in the number of students taking Religious Studies A-level, with a slight increase of 0.7 per cent against 2009 capping a total increase of 47.3 per cent in the five years since 2004.

Church educationalists interpret the continued increase as further evidence that young people are interested in exploring religious perspectives on the big questions in life, and in studying how different moral and cultural frameworks shape people's understanding of the world around them.

Up to 21,233 students in the UK will today find out their results for Religious Studies A-Level (compared to 21,079 in 2009), and 79.3 per cent of them will be celebrating achieving a A-C grade (against 80.1 per cent in 2009). The subject also sees an above-average proportion of candidates, 6 per cent, achieving the new A* grade. The number taking AS Levels also increased to 27,742 (up 4.6 per cent against 26,519 in 2009).

The Revd Janina Ainsworth, the Church of England's Chief Education Officer, comments: "This is another record year for the number of students taking Religious Studies at A and AS Level. Young people are clearly indicating their growing interest in a humanities subject that encourages them to explore different viewpoints, and understand more about their culture and that of their neighbours.

"The growing popularity of Religious Studies remains one of post-16 education's best kept secrets. It's rather an inconvenient fact for those who seek to portray the world in purely secular terms, and who like to suggest that young people have no interest in religion.

"Turning specifically to our own schools, this is an opportunity to stress that, contrary to suggestions by some commentators, religious education syllabuses taught to younger students in church schools require them to learn about at least the six major world faiths. The introduction of the non-statutory Framework for RE reinforces this requirement, and we can see some merits in introducing a National Curriculum for RE, which could potentially help improve the consistency and quality of teaching materials and teacher training for RE specialists."

The period of uncertainty and decision-making now facing many young people receiving A-Level results has led the Church of England to reissue prayers on its website for those considering their options. Last year, more than 1,100 people viewed the special prayers, available here.