First pupils to sit GCSE exams since before Covid receive their results
The head of the headteachers’ union has warned that GCSE results will be uneven across the country because of the varying impact of the pandemic – describing the government’s Covid recovery programme as “lacklustre and chaotic”.
The number of top grades at A-level fell sharply this year and a similar decline is anticipated for GCSE grades as the government seeks to reverse the grade inflation caused by teacher assessment during the pandemic.
The fact that grades will be lower than last year is no reflection on the performance of pupils but the result of a decision by the government and exam regulator Ofqual to begin returning grades to the 2019 standard in two steps.
Schools have not been helped by the government’s lacklustre and chaotic support for education recovery.
A coalition of school leaders, charities and the Northern Powerhouse Partnership has written to the Conservative leadership candidates urging them to commit to fixing growing regional disparities in education.
They predicted Thursday’s results would show 24.4% of pupils in the north-east of England achieving GSCE grade seven or above, compared with 37.8% in London. The forecast followed “stark” regional disparities that were exposed in A-level results last week, with the top grades falling faster in the north-east compared with the south-east.
Continue reading…
