New study reveals the areas that produce the smartest students for each subject

• Rutland students are among the smartest in England with their percentage of A* in A levels in the top three in eight subjects
• Oxfordshire students are the smartest in the wider subject categories of Humanities, Social Sciences and Science
• The Isle of Wight comes at the bottom of the list with the lowest percentage in 12 subjects

The smartest students in England are in Rutland and Oxfordshire, a new study has found.

The research, conducted by tutoring platform Superprof, collected data regarding 2021 A levels results throughout England, and compared the percentage of A* obtained by students in each county on each major subject. The highest percentages for each subject were then compared again to make an inclusive ranking of the areas with the smartest students in the country.

Students in Rutland, in the East Midlands, managed to appear in the top three of the counties whose students achieved the most A* during their A levels in eight different subjects. Rutland recorded the best percentage for Art and Design, Business, English Literature, Geography, History, the second-best percentage for Design and Technology, Drama, and Mathematics, and the third best for Religious Studies.

The county of Oxfordshire obtains the best percentages in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences subjects.

Oxfordshire is also one of the two second-best counties in England in the subject-by-subject list, as the percentage of A* obtained by students is the highest in three subjects (Chemistry, French and Physics), on a par with Surrey (Biology, Music and Religious Studies).

Students from Surrey, on the other hand, take another credit as they have obtained the best overall average for Art subjects, specifically in Music, but also in Religious studies and Biology A levels. Other Art subjects such as Art and Design, Media studies and Drama were all above the national average with respectively 27.2%, 9.1% and 26%.

In the Languages category Northumberland has the best average, also scoring first place in German with 100% of its students getting an A* in their exams in a tie with Cornwall, and having a percentage above the national average in Spanish, 33.3%.

The Isle of Wight is one of the protagonist of the list, but for different reasons: the county has the least percentage of A* achieved by A levels students in 12 subjects, including German, Business, Chemistry, Law and Physics, making it the area with the least impressive results in the country.

The scores were also hardly above the national average, as the percentage of students that managed to obtain an A* was below the national average in 19 subjects out of 30. However, the students of the small area managed to reach the top in two subjects, Design and Technology and Political studies with a percentage of 50% and 38.5% of A*.

The second-worse areas by single subject results are Herefordshire and Cornwall, with the percentages of four subjects placing at the bottom of the list each: Design and Technology Film studies, Philosophy and French for Herefordshire, and English Literature, Geography, Physical education and Political studies for Cornwall. Both have also one percentage at the top, English language and Literature and German respectively.

Other counties that did well and have at least two subjects in which their students achieved the highest percentages of A* in the country are Buckinghamshire in Classical civilization and Spanish with 54.5% and 44.9% respectively, County of Bristol with Economics with 26% and Physical education with 27.4%, and Shropshire with Mathematics and Further Mathematics with 28.9% and 69.1% respectively.

Commenting on the study, a spokesperson from Superprof has said: “It is really interesting to see how the students of a smaller area like Rutland have been able to achieve so well during the 2021 A levels. The good results might be connected with the lower levels of stress that students might be exposed to when not living in larger cities like the capital or Manchester and Liverpool.”

“It is also fascinating how Oxfordshire students are second on the subject-by-subject list and first on the category list. Living in such a popular area might influence them to do their best, maybe in the aspiration of securing a place in the world-renowned University of Oxford”.

The study was conducted by Superprof, an online platform which helps connecting tutors and students in need.