Traditional subjects are gaining in popularity among pupils taking GCSEs.

This year's results show a trend towards courses such as English literature, history, physics and biology and a decline in pupils taking more diverse subjects such as drama and economics.

The biggest single increase has been for English literature, with 10,000 more candidates for the subject than last year, taking the total to over half a million.

But the cornerstones of a 'classical' education, Latin and Greek, continue to dwindle, with less than a thousand pupils now studying for GCSEs in Greek and 10,400 for Latin - compared to over 210,000 taking history.

However, among those pupils that do study Latin, a high proportion do very well - with over half receiving A* or A grades - compared to less than 10% for maths.

Business studies losing popularity

The rise and rise of business studies, which has become among the most popular subjects for higher education, has been reversed at GCSE, with figures showing a fall from over 103,000 last year to less than 99,000 this year.

Economics has also slipped in popularity, with less than 7,000 pupils taking the subject at this level.

Other subjects attracting fewer pupils than last year included drama, technology (excluding information technology), art and classical civilisation.

However the increase in interest in information technology has continued, with over 83,000 pupils taking the subject this year, compared to over 74,000 last year.

Science subjects have gained in popularity - for biology, chemistry and physics. There have also been increases in all three subjects for the percentage of candidates achieving the highest A* grade.

The greater emphasis on teaching 'core' subjects in schools has been identified as a possible cause for this shift towards mainstream subjects - with options such as drama and business marginalised.