The percentage of top grades among GCSE results for 16-year-olds in England fell from last year, with the overall pass rate also down, as students whose education has been disrupted by the pandemic sat their first exams in three years. The top grades of 7 and above – equivalent to A and A* – fell by three percentage points this summer, under government plans to tackle grade inflation over the past two years and gradually reduce results to pre-pandemic levels . The proportion of pupils achieving grade 4 and above – a 4 is a pass – has also fallen by four percentage points, from 79% last year to 75%, meaning thousands more pupils could now face resits in English and maths . Girls continued to outperform boys – almost one in three entries from girls in England scored a grade 7 or above (30.7%) – although the gender gap in the top grades narrowed by 1.6 percentage points compared to last year . Figures published by England’s exams regulator Ofqual, meanwhile, showed that 2,193 16-year-olds in England got a grade 9 in all their subjects – including 13 students who completed 12 GCSEs. regional differences chart The fall in the top tiers – 7, 8 and 9 – is not as sharp as last week’s results from A levels, which saw more inflation during the pandemic. At A-level, results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland revealed top grades down 8.4 percentage points on last year’s record results, while A* alone fell by 4.5 points. As with A-levels, the GCSE drop was expected after Ofqual announced that grades this summer would be midway between 2019 and 2021, with a full return to pre-pandemic grades next summer. Chief regulator Jo Saxton said: “Students collecting their GCSE results today can be so proud of their achievements – a testament to their hard work and resilience over the past two years. “As with A-level results, today’s GCSE results are overall higher than 2019 and – as we’ve always said – lower than 2021 when a different assessment method was in place. It makes sense to compare this year’s results with those of 2019, when the last exams were held.” This year, 27% of GCSE grades in England were 7 or above The results come after two years of unprecedented school disruption due to the Covid pandemic, when schools were closed, learning was moved online and exams were canceled and replaced with teacher assessment. Even as schools reopened, disruption continued with large groups of children being sent home after coming into contact with the virus and high levels of teacher absenteeism. This summer’s exams therefore included a number of adjustments intended to take account of learning lost due to the pandemic, including less content or subjects in some GCSEs and lower grade limits. Achievements in maths and English are critical for students seeking to progress. In maths, 24.9% of grades were below 4, up from 22.1% last year, although this is still lower than in 2019 when it was 28.5%. Similarly, in English, 22.2% of grades were 3 or below, two percentage points higher than in the past two years. The failure rate for GCSEs in England was almost four points higher than in 2021 – chart In Wales almost 70% of results were grade C or higher. Around 69.7% of entries from 16-year-olds got at least a C, compared to 63.8% in 2019, the last time official exams were held in Wales. Jeremy Miles, Education Secretary for Wales, said: “I welcome these results as we return to exams this year – it’s great to see what our students have achieved. “Don’t get too down and too hard on yourself if things didn’t go to plan today. There are a number of options available to you, whether you’re not sure what to do next or maybe you didn’t take your exams.” Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of Headmasters of Schools and Colleges, said: “The fact that grades are generally lower this year compared to last year has nothing to do with student performance, but reflects the decision by the Government and Ofqual to return the grading standards to the 2019 standard in two stages, with this year representing a midpoint between 2019 and 2021. “The Government and Ofqual will now have to decide whether to put mitigation measures in place for next year. The strong indication we are hearing from school and college leaders is that this needs to happen because next year’s cohort will also have been heavily affected by Covid.” The most popular subject in terms of entries was the science double award, with a total of 904,012 entries in the UK, up 0.9% on 2021, with maths remaining the second most popular. Business studies saw the largest percentage increase in participation of any major subject, jumping 4.6%. While students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland all take GCSEs, the devolution of education to each country’s governments has seen course content, grading and assessment methods diverge significantly, making any comparison across the UK difficult . The traditional A*-G grades are used in Northern Ireland and Wales, while in England they have been replaced by a 9-1 system, where 9 is the highest grade. In Scotland, where students received their exam results on August 9, the pass rate at National 5 level fell to 80.8%, down from 85.8% in 2021. Chart Around 7,000 students across England may not receive their BTec level 2 results as planned on Thursday. The Pearson examination board said it was trying to provide any missing results as soon as possible. It comes after Pearson apologized last Thursday for BTec level 3 students who did not receive their grades as planned on the day A and T level exam results were released, casting doubt on the universities’ positions. Kath Thomas, interim chief executive of the Joint Council for Qualifications, said: “As planned – and as with last week’s A-level results – these results are higher than the last set of summer exams in 2019, but lower than last year’s teacher -assessed the grades. This reflects the special arrangements put in place to support students, schools and colleges in yet another challenging year due to Covid.”
