GCSE results: Students find out grades as thousands more hit by Btec delays
It comes as efforts to curb grade inflation kick in
Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email
Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter
Students have picked up GCSE results while thousands more were hit with delays to Btecs grades.
The pass rate and proportion of top grades dropped in GCSEs this year as efforts to crack down grade inflation kicked in.
But as hundreds of thousands found out their results on Thursday, an exam board said around 5,700 students had been deemed ineligible to get grades in another qualification.
”We need to work with schools and college to resolve queries, run eligibility checks and confirm if the student still wishes to claim a grade,” a spokesperson for Pearson said. “We apologise to any student waiting for a result.”
It came a week after other pupils faced delays in getting results from the same awarding body.
In other exam news, London came out on top in England for GCSE results. Around 32 per cent of grades in the capital were the highest marks, compared to 22 per cent in other regions - including Yorkshire and the North East.
GCSE students to receive grades
Pupils will receive their GCSE grades this morning, after sitting exams for the first time since the pandemic.
Similar to the pattern with A-level results, published last week, it is expected that grades will drop below last year, but remain above those from 2019.
Following the publication of A-level results last week, social mobility charity The Sutton Trust said regional gaps are growing and the differences in levels of achievement at private schools compared with state schools and colleges are still above 2019 levels.
On the eve of GCSE results being published, Labour has accused successive Conservative governments of leaving “legacy of unequal outcomes” that are holding back children and communities.
Shadow schools minister Stephen Morgan said: “Young people receiving results have worked incredibly hard, but 12 years of Conservative governments has left a legacy of unequal outcomes that are holding back kids and holding back communities.
“As we head into results day, every child should know that they are supported by a Government which believes in them and their ability to succeed, but sadly that’s simply not the case. The Conservatives are failing our children.
“Labour is ambitious for every child. We would end tax breaks for private schools and invest in thousands of new teachers, to give every child the brilliant teaching and school experience they need to achieve and thrive.”
Following the publication of A-level results last week, social mobility charity The Sutton Trust said regional gaps are growing and the differences in levels of achievement at private schools compared with state schools and colleges are still above 2019 levels.
GCSE results: Here’s how students can overcome stress, anxiety ahead of grades
Students with jittery nerves awaiting their GCSE results can turn to Open Your Mind for mental health support as the campaign is immediately available for pupils and their parents across the country to fight out the nervous pangs.
The Cavendish Square Group’s initiative is a collective of 10 NHS trusts and offers tips and suggestions to those worried ahead of collecting their grades.
Experts at Open Your Mind suggest that if someone you care for is feeling overwhelmed and people are worried that they might not be able to keep themselves safe, then you should call your local NHS mental health helpline which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Calling your local NHS 24/7 urgent mental health support line, which is supported by trained mental health advisors and clinicians, will help make an assessment to help decide on the best course of care. You will not be wasting anyone’s time,” the campaign assures.
Students have been urged to reach out for help early and at the sign of slightest duress to ensure they don’t reach a crisis point — especially when there’s just days and hours to go for announcement of results.
Younger ones can access assistance via digital text support, NHS mental health crisis lines, and counselling.
Special steps taken for GCSE result this year
Authorities have introduced leniency in this year’s grade boundaries, which means the number of marks needed for each grade, as opposed to those set in 2019 before the pandemic struck.
This is the first set of students after the Covid pandemic to receive their GCSE result.
Students were also given prior information about the content of the exam, the selection of topics in certain subjects and assistance with certain exams such as formulae sheets.
Labour accuses Tories of ‘failing our children’ ahead of GCSE results day
The Conservatives have been accused of leaving a “legacy of unequal outcomes” by the Labour party for holding back children and communities as students across the country await their GCSE results today.
Pupils will receive their grades on Thursday, after sitting exams for the first time since the pandemic.
Similar to the pattern with A-level results, published last week, it is expected that grades will drop below last year, but remain above those from 2019.
Read the full story here:
Labour accuses Tories of ‘failing our children’ ahead of GCSE results day
Pupils will receive their grades on Thursday, after sitting exams for the first time since the pandemic.
Teachers, well-wishers cheer for students awaiting GCSE results, wish luck
Teachers, lawmakers, community members and well-wishers of the students have started wishing the expectants luck ahead of the GCSE results today.
Around 700,000 young people are set to receive their GCSE results today, starting 8am.
According to the estimates, 75,000 fewer pupils than last year are in line to get equivalent of As or A*s.
Options for students after GCSEs: A levels, T levels, Apprenticeships, Higher Education, Traineeships
The Education department has shared a range of routes for students who will receive their GCSE results today, suggesting them to look at A levels, T levels, apprenticeships, higher education, traineeships as they move forward.
A Levels is among the exciting options for post-16 education in which students can pursue two-year subject-based qualifications for students aged 16 or older who plan to go to university or want much deeper knowledge of a study area.
The education department has also listed T Levels, broadly an equivalent in size to three A Levels.
In this, students can combine study in a “learning environment with a substantial industry placement so that students gain the skills and experience they need to progress into work, an apprenticeship or higher study.”
Students spend 80 per cent of their time in the classroom and 20 per cent on a minimum 9-week placement with an employer, the education department said.
Officials are also suggesting apprenticeships to students as a “brilliant option for people of all ages to launch their careers in a huge range of exciting industries or upskill at various levels”.
Students can also pursue higher education and apply to go to university or into another type of higher education earlier than 18 years old.
How are GCSEs graded across the UK
Students across the country are going to receive their GCSE results in a few minutes from now, having sat exams for the first time in two years due to the pandemic.
Grading is different in England, compared with Northern Ireland and Wales.
In England, traditional A* to G grades were replaced in recent years with a 9 to 1 system, with 9 being the highest mark.
Read more on GCSE grading here:
How are GCSEs graded across the UK?
Traditional A*-G grades are still used in Northern Ireland and Wales but a 9 to 1 system is used in England.
GCSEs: Fears over students forced to drop full-time education in cost of living crisis
Results are also being handed out this year against the backdrop of a cost of living crisis - which has sparked fears some may be forced to give up on full-time educuation to work instead.
Read our exclusive here:
Fears students may be forced to drop full-time education amid cost of living crisis
Exclusive: Likely ‘some students will go straight into work due to financial concerns’, social mobility charity boss says
Closing attainment gap ‘government priority'
An education minister has insisted closing the attainment gap is a “huge priority” for government on the day GCSE results are handed out.
“Ensuring that wherever you live up and down our country that you have access to a world-class education, and you have the same opportunity - whether you live in Bournemouth or Barnsley - is really important to us, and every year up until the pandemic we’ve been closing the attainment gap,” Will Quince told Times Radio.
He added: “The pandemic has without question set us back on that mission. But to say that I am back on that with gusto would be an understatement.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies