GCSEs 2023: Calls for more humane exam system so students do not get trapped in ‘demoralising’ retakes cycle

A headteachers’ union has called for a more “humane” GCSE exam system in order to prevent teenagers becoming trapped in a “demoralising” cycle of retakes when they do not pass Maths or English.

Currently, in England, students who do not secure “a standard pass” in the two ‘core’ subjects - which is equivalent to a grade 4 - must continue retaking the exams until they leave school. But Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), has urged the government to implement a new literacy and numeracy qualification to replace this system.

His comments come the day before students in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are due to receive their GCSE results, in a year when around 300,000 fewer top grades are expected to be awarded. This is due to examiners trying to bring results back in-line with those achieved in 2019 - the last year before the pandemic - after record grades were achieved in 2020 and 2021.

The return to pre-pandemic grading means the number of pupils in England who achieve at least a grade 4 in Maths and English GCSE is also expected to fall. Results are likely to be nearer to 2019 levels, when more than a third (35.4%) of state school students failed to secure a pass in each of English and Maths.

Commenting on what happens to students who fail English and/or Maths, Mr Barton said: “These young people then have to go through the grind of retaking these qualifications in post-16 education – where most fall below the benchmark again.

“It is incredibly demoralising and instead of building confidence in the vital skills of literacy and numeracy, it has precisely the opposite effect. We have to introduce a more humane qualification system in which this forgotten third is not accepted as some sort of necessary collateral damage.”

On what could be introduced instead, Mr Barton said: “The answer is to develop a new style of English and Maths qualification which can be taken by pupils at the point of readiness, which builds confidence, and which does not represent a cliff-edge over which many must fall.”

This would come in the form of creating a “certificate of proficiency” in literacy and numeracy - with the qualification taken by all students whenever they are ready, and not just at the age of 15/16. The ASCL envisions that many pupils would still take GCSE exams in English and Maths, but that this would demonstrate “mastery in the disciplines”, and an alternative option would be offered for those who simply need to demonstrate proficiency in the subjects.

Mr Barton’s calls were backed by Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, who pointed out how few students who resit their English and Maths GCSEs actually pass the second, third, or even fourth time around.

In a recent report, the education expert said: “It must be soul destroying to continually have to retake exams that you have failed in, perhaps several times, and to be denied entry to apprenticeships and much else if you cannot pass them. Surely, there is an urgent need for a policy rethink.”

Meanwhile, Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, called it a “national scandal” that many teenagers will miss out on a grade 4 or above in Maths and English. “We need a long-term inquiry to investigate why successive governments have failed to address an issue that continues to plague the British education system,” he said.

Prof Elliot Major also added that a major concern for pupils is that one dropped grade in English and Maths GCSEs “can mean missing out on a sixth-form place - damaging future life prospects”.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We remain committed to driving up standards as demonstrated by England’s continued rise up the international league tables in English and Maths.

“This is so important as we know students who leave education with a good grasp of English and Maths increase their chances of securing a job or going on to further study. This is why we support [and fund] students who do not hold GCSE grade 4 or above in English and Maths at age 16 to continue studying these subjects.

“We will also be driving up standards through the Prime Minister’s ambition for all students to study Maths to 18.”