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| A*-C grades in dramatic decline as GCSE results are published | A*-C grades in dramatic decline as GCSE results are published |
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| National GCSE results have fallen dramatically across the board, with the proportion who gained a C grade or above dropping by an unprecedented 2.1 percentage points compared with last year – including a sharp decline in the numbers gaining a C or above in English. | National GCSE results have fallen dramatically across the board, with the proportion who gained a C grade or above dropping by an unprecedented 2.1 percentage points compared with last year – including a sharp decline in the numbers gaining a C or above in English. |
| The falls are due in large part to new government policies that force 17-year-olds who got a D or lower in English or maths last year to resit those exams, meaning more students overall were sitting the tests. | The falls are due in large part to new government policies that force 17-year-olds who got a D or lower in English or maths last year to resit those exams, meaning more students overall were sitting the tests. |
| But some of the fall is unexplained. Of pupils taking their exams in year 11, the normal GCSE year, the proportion gaining A*-C grades was down by 1.3 percentage points. | But some of the fall is unexplained. Of pupils taking their exams in year 11, the normal GCSE year, the proportion gaining A*-C grades was down by 1.3 percentage points. |
| Of the 17-year-olds who took maths GCSE this year, a group that increased by 32% compared with 2015, fewer than a third got a C or above, compared with more than 70% of 16-year-olds. | Of the 17-year-olds who took maths GCSE this year, a group that increased by 32% compared with 2015, fewer than a third got a C or above, compared with more than 70% of 16-year-olds. |
| The pass rate of 16-year-olds in England was further harmed by increasing numbers of “middle ability” pupils switching to an alternative qualification, the iGCSE. | The pass rate of 16-year-olds in England was further harmed by increasing numbers of “middle ability” pupils switching to an alternative qualification, the iGCSE. |
| There were slight falls in the numbers gaining the highest A* qualification, for the fifth year in a row, while the proportion of 16-year-olds gaining A* or A fell by 0.6 percentage points. | There were slight falls in the numbers gaining the highest A* qualification, for the fifth year in a row, while the proportion of 16-year-olds gaining A* or A fell by 0.6 percentage points. |
| Falls in English and maths were among the most shocking. The overall proportion of pupils getting A*-C in English plummeted 5.2% to 60.2%, and maths suffered a drop of 2.3 percentage points for grades A*-C. | Falls in English and maths were among the most shocking. The overall proportion of pupils getting A*-C in English plummeted 5.2% to 60.2%, and maths suffered a drop of 2.3 percentage points for grades A*-C. |
| The fall in the number taking GCSE English – about 200,000 lower than the number taking maths – appears to have been the result of more schools entering pupils for the iGCSE English exam, an alternative qualification not included in these figures. | |
| There was a small increase in the proportion of A* grades in English, up 0.2 percentage points to 3.3%, but again A*-A was down by 0.9% to 13%. Maths at A* was also down 0.4 percentage points, and 0.6% for grades A*-A. | There was a small increase in the proportion of A* grades in English, up 0.2 percentage points to 3.3%, but again A*-A was down by 0.9% to 13%. Maths at A* was also down 0.4 percentage points, and 0.6% for grades A*-A. |
| There were significant drops in the A*-C proportion for several subjects, including computing (down 4.7 percentage points), science (-3.8), history (-3), geography (2.8) and maths (2.3). | |
| “There is a significant movement in this year’s entries, which impacts on results and creates a very complex national picture,” said Michael Turner, the director of the Joint Council for Qualifications, which represents the combined examination boards. | |
| “We see shifts not only between subjects but across qualifications and year groups. This is driven by several factors, including performance measures and resit policies in England.” | “We see shifts not only between subjects but across qualifications and year groups. This is driven by several factors, including performance measures and resit policies in England.” |
| The gender gap in exam results increased slightly, by 0.5%, with 71.3% of girls’ entries awarded at least a C grade compared with 62.4% of boys’. | The gender gap in exam results increased slightly, by 0.5%, with 71.3% of girls’ entries awarded at least a C grade compared with 62.4% of boys’. |
| Girls also outperformed boys in achieving the very top grades, with 7.9% getting an A* compared with 5.0%, although both saw a slight decline. | Girls also outperformed boys in achieving the very top grades, with 7.9% getting an A* compared with 5.0%, although both saw a slight decline. |
| In England alone the A*-C pass rate dropped from 68.8% in 2015 to 66.6%. | In England alone the A*-C pass rate dropped from 68.8% in 2015 to 66.6%. |
| Northern Ireland – where education is dominated by grammar schools, the subject of debate in England – bucked the national trend with a rise in A*s and As as well as a rise in the headline pass rate to 79.1%. | Northern Ireland – where education is dominated by grammar schools, the subject of debate in England – bucked the national trend with a rise in A*s and As as well as a rise in the headline pass rate to 79.1%. |
| Wales managed to hold steady with a pass rate of 66.6% – which will come as some relief after last week’s disastrous A-level results. | Wales managed to hold steady with a pass rate of 66.6% – which will come as some relief after last week’s disastrous A-level results. |
| The abrupt falls in England come as a surprise, because grades for year 11 pupils are set according to a process known as comparable outcomes, which links them to the performance recorded by the same cohort of pupils when they sat key stage 2 tests five years earlier. | The abrupt falls in England come as a surprise, because grades for year 11 pupils are set according to a process known as comparable outcomes, which links them to the performance recorded by the same cohort of pupils when they sat key stage 2 tests five years earlier. |
| The use of comparable outcomes has ended the charges of grade inflation that accompanied the increase in pass rates since 2000. The proportion of GCSE grades awarded has fallen at all levels from their peaks in 2011. | |
| For the first time schools will now be rated according to a new performance measure, known as Progress 8, which charts how well pupils performed compared to their peers nationally based on their key stage 2 exams. It replaces the government’s previous measure, the proportion of pupils achieving C or higher in five GCSE subjects including English and maths. | For the first time schools will now be rated according to a new performance measure, known as Progress 8, which charts how well pupils performed compared to their peers nationally based on their key stage 2 exams. It replaces the government’s previous measure, the proportion of pupils achieving C or higher in five GCSE subjects including English and maths. |
| School-level results under the new Progress 8 measure will not be available until the Department for Education releases its official calculations later this year. It will be published alongside another metric, Attainment 8. | School-level results under the new Progress 8 measure will not be available until the Department for Education releases its official calculations later this year. It will be published alongside another metric, Attainment 8. |
| This year’s results mark the last of the current format of GSCEs for maths and English, which will be replaced next year by exams graded on a 9-1 scale, with more rigorous content. Other subjects will be replaced over the following two years. | |
| Kevin Courtney, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said there were some troubling trends in the results, in particular the drop in entries for creative arts subjects as schools conformed to the government’s “prescriptive” English baccalaureate (Ebacc) requirements – a school performance measure. | |
| “Teachers were faced this year with the introduction of less accessible syllabuses, including cuts to course work and no oral element in English,” he said. | |
| “Similar practices are now being extended to other subjects and will reduce the opportunities for students to show what they can do.” | |
| Among the independent schools celebrating the results of their pupils was King’s College School in Wimbledon, south-west London, where three students each achieved 14 A*s. Overall, 96% of the £20,000-a-year school’s entries gained A*s or As, slightly fewer than in 2015. | Among the independent schools celebrating the results of their pupils was King’s College School in Wimbledon, south-west London, where three students each achieved 14 A*s. Overall, 96% of the £20,000-a-year school’s entries gained A*s or As, slightly fewer than in 2015. |