School performance is expected to be “similar to last year’s”According to School Standards Minister Catherine McKinnell.
McKinnell told GB News:
We expect this year’s results to be on par with last year’s.
And I think we need to remember that this is a group of young people who have overcome incredible challenges during their secondary education.
They are a generation of children who have lived through the COVID pandemic and have had enormous experiences, and today they should be incredibly proud of their achievements.
And this is an incredibly exciting day and I think also a very nerve-wracking day for the young people, I know they’re waiting for the results and it’s a very exciting day.
I think today is a day to celebrate our young people and the teachers who have worked incredibly hard to get them to this point today.
We need to increase teacher pay, attract teachers to poor areas where students are less likely to achieve top grades, and close the achievement gap.says Teach First.
Teach First CEO Russell Hobby said:
Congratulations to all the students who received their GCSE results this morning. While many of you will be celebrating today, we know that students from poorer backgrounds are significantly less likely to achieve top results, despite having the same hopes, dreams and potential as their more affluent peers.
Great teachers are the key to solving this problem, so we need to pay them fairly, treat them well, and deploy them to the communities where they can make the most difference. A results day where all students get the grades they deserve is possible, but it means investing in their futures today.
Teach First is a social enterprise that trains teachers.
GCSE students need ‘changes and significant improvements’ to their experienceSchool leaders’ unions are demanding improvements, including a broader curriculum and fewer exams for year 11 students.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:
Now is the time for change and significant improvements to the experience of students in Key Stage 4. This includes expanding the curriculum and student choice, reducing the number of exams taken at the end of Year 11, scrapping the restrictive EBacc and abolishing the maths and English retake policy.
Heartfelt congratulations to all the students who received successful results in a wide range of qualification exams. Today’s results are testament to the hard work and dedication of the students, and the efforts of the staff in their schools and colleges who have supported them.
The students receiving their results today should be especially proud of what they have achieved: They managed to get through the start of secondary school during a pandemic, some in inadequate school buildings and many with inadequate support from the previous administration.
Today’s GCSE results are likely to show “the same unacceptable and deep-rooted regional disparities”. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson warned that this phenomenon occurs every year.
She said,
We know that this week’s results are likely to show the deep and unacceptable disparities we have seen so often before. That’s why we’re working hard to break down barriers to opportunity, including by offering a broader and richer curriculum, so that young people in every part of the country can fulfil their potential.
In 2023, for grades 7 and above, the gap between the lowest performing areas (the North East) and the best performing areas (London) has widened by 1.4ppt since 2019.
Phillipson added:
I congratulate each and every young person who receives their acceptance letter today and thank them for their dedicated teachers and staff who have worked tirelessly to guide and support them.
These students have shown incredible resilience and determination by resisting unprecedented disruption through the pandemic, the RAAC and strike action, and now have exciting options open to them, from A-Levels and T-Levels to vocational training.
Ofqual expects overall GCSE results to be broadly similar to last summer, returning to pre-pandemic levels for the second year in a row.
According to provisional entry data, besides Mathematics, English and Science subjects, the top 10 most popular subjects include History, Geography and Religious Studies.
Provisional entry data shows that the field of statistics is set to see the largest increase in overall entries this year (2023 and beyond).
Good morning and welcome to the GCSE blog.
Hundreds of thousands of 16-year-olds across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are nervously awaiting their results today.
Last year, top grades in England fell by more than four percentage points compared to the 2022 results, with 22.4% of 16-year-olds achieving a grade of seven or above, the equivalent of an A.
In Wales, which has a different approach to grading grades, the proportion of 16-year-olds getting A and A* grades fell from 26% of those entering in 2022 to 22% last year. In Northern Ireland, the top grades fell by 2.5 percentage points.
Further declines in results are expected this year, disappointing many who need certain grades to get into sixth form or university. But last week it was revealed that a predicted drop in A-level results in England did not materialise, and instead pupils achieved their best results in a generation.
Can their younger contemporaries now do the same?
Join us to find out, along with answers to other important questions, including whether regional disparities are widening, whether girls still outperform boys and whether too many pupils are still failing retake exams in maths and English.
