Schools are teaching GCSES one year early

More than a third of schools start teaching GCSE courses a year early, an official report has found.

The Department for Education’s winter “snapshot” survey revealed that 35 per cent of secondary schools in England are starting to teach GCSE lessons at the start of Year 9.

It follows a review by the schools inspectorate into how schools “game” the system to boost their position in league tables, which also found that schools frequently teach the course over three years rather than two.

Officials asked 800 senior leaders and 909 classroom teachers questions about school life and education.