Plea to fix slump in engineers

A DROP in pupils studying design and technology (D&T) could be preventing the less affluent becoming engineers, a report says.

Researchers say D&T is a “potential pathway” into engineering degrees. But the number of pupils taking it fell by 42 per cent from 2010 to 2017.

Engineering is more socially diverse than other professions. But it still ranks just 13th out of 31 in how those from less well-off backgrounds are represented on university courses.

That, the Sutton Trust and Bridge Group study says, is partly driven by pupils’ “limited access” to triple-science GCSEs.

The report says: “This is compounded by the decline of design and technology (also more acute among schools in areas of socio-economic disadvantage) – a subject that is considered key to developing young people’s skills and interests in this area.”