Top grade GCSES to halve
THE number of children receiving the top GCSE mark today is expected to be cut in half under new reforms.
Students will receive their results for the first time under a system which uses grades 9 to 1, rather than from A* to G. But grade 9 is reserved for pupils who demonstrated “exceptional performance”, with only a few hundred students expected to achieve a clean sweep of straight 9s. The new grades were part of a package of reforms by Michael Gove as education secretary, designed to toughen up syllabuses and to cut down on the number of students getting A*s by splitting the group between the two highest grades, 8 and 9.
Pupils will be marked under the new system for English literature, English language and maths, while the rest of their subjects will be marked under the old A* to G grades.
Ofqual, the exam regulator, said that just 2 per cent of students – roughly
16,000 – will be awarded grade 9 for English language this year, compared with 4 per cent who got A* last year.
They predict that 3 per cent of students – almost 11,000 – will get a 9 in maths, compared to 7 per cent who last year were awarded an A*.
Sally Collier, chief regulator of Ofqual, predicted a “few hundred” children will receive straight 9s this year.
Several independent schools opt for the International GCSE (IGCSE) in English and maths, meaning that students who will achieve the coveted straight 9s in all three subjects are likely to be at grammar schools.
The Daily Telegraph understands that 12 students at Colchester County High School for Girls, a leading grammar school, will achieve straight 9s today, which is 10 per cent of the year group.
Ten pupils at Queen Elizabeth’s School, a boys’ grammar school in north London, will get straight 9s, and around half a dozen at Tonbridge School. Seven pupils at Reading School and eight pupils at The Judd School in Tonbridge, Kent, are also set to receive a clean sweep of 9s.
The head teacher of a leading independent school warned that the new grading system will leave even the brightest children disappointed. Helen Pike, of Magdalen College School in Oxford, told The Daily Telegraph: “I have been preparing parents for this all year, saying we don’t want pupils to feel like a failure if they get an 8 rather than a 9.
“I do welcome exams which are challenging but I don’t want to see children feeling like a failure and for success to become more elusive.” Ms Pike said that 15 per cent of the year group had achieved grade 9 in English literature and language. The school does IGCSES for maths. Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said that the “calamitous, rushed-through reforms” had put “extreme pressure” on pupils.
“We can only hope pupils aren’t put at a disadvantage after being used as guinea pigs,” she said. “A lack of information about the new 9 to 1 grade boundaries has left pupils, parents and employers confused about what now constitutes a pass at GCSE.”
Meanwhile, the former chief executive of a leading exam board has urged ministers to abandon resits. Mark Dawe, the former boss of OCR, said that young people were forced to take endless resits until they achieved at least a C in Maths and English GCSE due to the funding agreements between further education colleges and the Department for Education.
Last year, more than three quarters of students in England failed to achieve a C during their resits in these subjects. Mr Dawe, who is chief executive officer of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said that the resits policy was leading to “mass failure”, and warned that this year’s resits figures would be “pretty dire”.
“Some are having to retake exams over and over,” he said. “Whereas you could be teaching them maths and English that is much more relevant to the subject they enjoy and relevant to their course.”
A DFE spokesman said: “Over the last six years we have incorporated the best features of successful curricula and qualifications from the around the world into our education system and signalled our intent to continue raising standards with the introduction of a standard and strong pass at GCSE. Those students achieving a grade 9 should be pleased with their performance.”