README File
About the Dataset
Dataset title:
GCSE Design and Technology Entries 1996 to 2025
Dataset creator: Matt McLain 
Affiliation: Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU)
ORCID: 0000-0002-8691-3155
Rights holder: Matt McLain
Year of publication:2026
Description
This dataset records annual General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination entries in Design and Technology (D\&T) in England between 1996 and 2025. It provides a thirty-year longitudinal record of participation in the subject.
For each year, the dataset includes:
* Total national GCSE cohort size
* Number of Design and Technology entries
* Design and Technology entries as a percentage of the GCSE cohort
The dataset also contains comparative data for:
* Food Preparation and Nutrition (2018–2025)
* Art and Design (2008–2025)
The data illustrate significant changes in participation over time. Design and Technology entries increased from approximately 159,000 in 1996 to a peak of approximately 416,000 in 2001 (around 69% of the GCSE cohort) before entering a prolonged decline. By 2025, entries had fallen to approximately 78,000 (around 11% of the cohort), representing a reduction of more than 80% from the 2001 peak.
Three broad trends can be observed:
1. High participation during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
2. Accelerating decline between approximately 2005 and 2016.
3. Continued but slower decline from 2017 onwards.

The dataset was compiled from multiple publicly available and official sources, including Ofqual Analytics, UK Government statistical releases and data supplied through a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Education.
Citation
McLain, Matt (2026) GCSE Design and Technology Entries 1996 to 2025[Data Collection]. 
https://doi.org/10.24377/LJMU.d.00000278
Any associated publications should be cited separately where applicable.
Contact Details
Matt McLain M.N.McLain@ljmu.ac.uk 
Terms of Use
License (Dataset Analysis)	Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
License (Public Data)	https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ 
License (FOI Data)	Department for Education (Freedom of Information Act 2000)
Deed (summary)	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en
Legal code	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode
You are free to	"Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format (noncommercial purposes only).
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for noncommercial purposes only.
If you share adapted material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license (ShareAlike)."
Conditions	"Attribution (BY) — Give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
NonCommercial (NC) — You may not use the material for commercial purposes (i.e., not primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation).
ShareAlike (SA) — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits."
Notices	"No warranties are given. The license may not give you all permissions necessary for your intended use (e.g., privacy, publicity, or moral rights may still apply).
This is a plain?language summary for convenience and is not legal advice."
Third?party content	This workbook draws on third-party examination entries obtained from Ofqual Analytics (https://analytics.ofqual.gov.uk/apps/GCSE/Outcomes/) and gov.uk statistics, supplemented by a freedom of information (FOI) request to the Department for Education (DfE) for dates outside the scope of current public data. Those sources are not covered by this workbook's CC licence; follow their stated terms.
Contents
Files Included
GCSE\_Design\_and\_Technology\_Entries\_1996\_2025.xlsx
Primary dataset containing annual GCSE cohort sizes, Design and Technology entries, and percentage participation rates from 1996 to 2025. Includes comparison data for Art and Design and Food Preparation and Nutrition where available.
README.txt
Documentation describing the dataset, data sources, methods, licensing and file contents.
File Format
Microsoft Excel Workbook (.xlsx)
Plain Text README (.txt)


 Methods
* Data were compiled from the following sources:
* Ofqual Analytics GCSE Outcomes database
* UK Government statistical publications available through GOV.UK
* *nformation supplied by the Department for Education through a Freedom of Information request for years not covered by current publicly accessible datasets

Data from the various sources were manually extracted, collated and standardised into a single spreadsheet. Annual entry counts were checked against original source publications where available.
For each year, Design and Technology entry counts were compared with the total GCSE cohort to calculate participation percentages. Additional data for Art and Design and Food Preparation and Nutrition were included to enable comparison between Design and Technology and related creative curriculum subjects.
No personal data are included in this dataset. All data are aggregated national statistics relating to GCSE examination entries in England.
Data Sources
Ofqual Analytics GCSE Outcomes Database: analytics.ofqual.gov.uk/apps/GCSE/Outcomes/
GOV.UK Statistical Releases
Department for Education Freedom of Information response