Schools told to brace for odd exam results after reforms

SCHOOLS have been warned of possible surprises in this year’s GCSE and Alevel results as reforms take their toll.

Sally Collier, chief executive of Ofqual, the exams regulator, has told head teachers to be braced for “more variation than usual” in exam grades.

This is the second year of revamped GCSES. The new exams, in a raft of subjects, were part of a package of reforms when Michael Gove was education secretary, designed to toughen syllabuses, make courses more linear, and cut the number of students getting A*s.

A-level courses have been redesigned, with coursework and modules axed in many subjects. The shake-up followed concerns from universities that school leavers were not prepared for the demands of higher education.

Schools have complained that thousands of “guinea pig” students will be disappointed with their results, with teachers struggling to predict grades.

Writing to head teachers, Ms Collier said that, while there had been normal levels of variation over the past two years, “some schools and colleges could see more variation than usual”.

Teenagers will sit the new GCSES for the first time in 25 subjects while there will be 19 new A-levels. It is the third and final instalment of the phased introduction which began in 2017.

Normal variations in results “either up or down” could be a result of the “ability mix of the students, different teaching approaches, changes to the qualification itself, changes in teaching staff, or the amount of time allocated to teaching a particular subject”, Ms Collier said. “Generally, when qualifications change, we expect that there might be more variation in school and college results.”