COUNTY CLASS OF 2021 ARE GCSE RECORD BREAKERS!

9% improvement in standard passes

A RECORD seven out of 10 GCSE students across Staffordshire reached the national standard in maths and English this summer.

The final results, broken down at local authority level, were published by the Department for Education.

And for the second year in a row, they were based on teacher-assessed grades as external exams were cancelled due to the pandemic. Evidence included mock exams, coursework and class-based assessments.

That has inevitably led to claims of grade inflation, although the picture across the region is mixed.

In Staffordshire schools, 70.2 per cent of the 8,897 students taking GCSES achieved grade 4 or above in both English and maths – up 0.5 per cent on the previous year.

When compared to 2019 – the last year teenagers sat full exams – it marked a nine per cent improvement in standard passes.

There was also an increase in teenagers being awarded strong passes, known as grade 5, in these two core subjects. Altogether, 48.4 per cent of the county’s teenagers reached this higher standard.

But in Stoke-on-trent, results dipped in 2021. In total, 63.4 per cent of the 2,672 Potteries pupils taking GCSES got grade 4 or above in maths and English – down 0.4 per cent. There was also a 0.8 per cent fall at grade 5, with 41.1 per cent of pupils getting strong passes. Yet that was substantially up on 2019 – by 4.6 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively.

Now an analysis has shown Stoke-on-trent’s disappointing performance this summer was partly due to the narrowing of the gender gap. Although girls still performed better than boys overall, they dropped back significantly in English. In Staffordshire, male pupils also accounted for the lion’s share of the improvements in core subjects in 2021.

Jamie Henshaw is executive principal of Newcastle Academy and Sir Thomas Boughey Academy, in Halmerend, where results improved this summer. He said using teacherassessed grades was the ‘best option’ under the circumstances.

“We had a robust and purposeful process that gave the students the opportunity to be able to show their potential and to be awarded grades that matched their ability and expected outcome,” he added.

In Cheshire East schools, 75.9 per cent of the borough’s 3,988 GCSE students gained grade 4 or above in maths and English and 55 per cent reached grade 5 or above. It marked an improvement of more than one per cent.

But nationally, there have been concerns about the widening gulf between disadvantaged teenagers and their more affluent peers. A ‘disadvantaged gap index’ published today showed it has grown from ‘3.66 to 3.79’ over the last year.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, called for more investment to help young people catch up. He said: “It is clear that disadvantaged young people have been particularly badly affected by the pandemic and the associated disruption to education.”

Current Year 11 students are expected to sit GCSE exams as normal next summer. But some steps are being introduced to reflect the fact they have missed chunks of learning.

Some exams will include a choice of topics, while for others students will get advanced notice of topics to focus their revision.

Mr Henshaw said: “It does need to be on a fair and level playing field so that no student is disadvantaged for their future plans.”