More than 44 per cent of 16-year olds obtained entry requirements for Sixth Form this year, an increase of 1.1 per cent - or 135 students - compared to 2018, according to official exam results.

According to a University of Malta report on the 2019 SEC exams, approximately 94.1 per cent of 16-year olds applied for the exams this year, the highest share ever.

In total, there were 5,478 candidates for the exams, of whom 3,672 were born in 2003.

Female candidates were more likely to register for the SEC exams, and to obtain the entry requirements for Sixth Form: 47.9 per cent of girls got the necessary results, compared to 41.4 per cent of boys.

Girls were also more likely than boys to opt for the three science subjects and to sit for one, two, or three foreign languages.

Although male candidates are still more likely to choose vocational subjects, the gap has narrowed dramatically: from 70 per cent more males in 2018 to just 20 per cent this year.

There were a total of 895 results for vocational subjects in 2019, a sharp increase from the 543 of 2018 and the 92 of 2017. Of these, more than three-quarters were awarded Grades 1-5 and 84% registered a pass, results similar to those seen last year.

A considerable number of those who received the lowest, ‘unclassified’ grade were students who dropped the subject.

Meanwhile, the number of absent candidates - who failed to show up for the exams - increased in virtually all subjects: in English Language and Literature, Maltese and Physics the percentage nearly doubled between last year and this.

“The sharp increase in the percentage of absent candidates and the larger ratio of Paper IIB candidates in virtually all subjects makes it difficult to compare the results of 2019 with those of previous years,” the University said.

“This is especially so given that candidates who are not absent for all components of a subject are awarded a grade, probably U [unclassified] rather than ‘abs’ [absent]. This may mean that the percentage of unclassified grades in the various subjects is large than those in previous years.”

This year's exam session took place between March 18 and June 13, and results were sent out on July 15.

A total of 39 exam centres, 27 heads of centre and 797 invigilation staff were used for the 49,310 registrations across SEC, Advanced and Intermediate level exams.