High grade of confusion at new GCSEs

SO LET’S get this straight – an A* at GCSE is now a grade 9, and what used to be a B is now a grade 6 – although only for English and maths this year, with the other subjects following over the next two years?

Confused? Well pity the poor pupils, teachers and parents who are grappling with the new examination system introduced this year – not to mention the employers who have to make recruiting decisions based on grades few understand.

Around the country I suspect grannies are putting a consoling arm around youngsters and saying: “Never mind dear – I am sure you did your best.”

“But nan you don’t understand – a grade 9 is good!”

“Of course it is dear, but I am sure you’ll do better next time.”

And if your daughter comes home with the news that she’s got two As, four Bs, a 6 and two 5s are you supposed to be happy or disappointed? It is hard to tell.

Despite these confusions, there is a lot to like in the new system. The exams in English and especially maths are said to be much tougher and will act as a corrective to the “grade inflation” that has devalued the top grades over recent years.

The new system also allows examiners to introduce more differentiation grade they would have to resort to having 1* or suchlike.

Let’s hope that, unlike Spinal Tap, they never have to turn it up to 11.

The results released for half a million 16-year-olds show a slight drop in both the overall pass rate and in the numbers achieving the top grades.

Given this is the biggest upheaval in the exams system in a generation, this is a very creditable performance.

The youngsters taking the exams this year have done incredibly well considering they were the “guinea pig” cohort trying out the new system for the first time.

But also spare a thought for employers. Seamus Nevin, head of employment and skills policy at the Institute of Directors, said many employers would only discover the new grading system once they start receiving CVs from pupils.

They might think it is “gibberish”, he said, and reject those applications in favour of ones they do understand.

Let’s hope any such confusion is shortlived. I am sure we will all get used to the new system in time. In the meantime repeat after me: “9 is the best!” one foot in front of the other – and according to research released by Public Heath England (PHE) this week it can have a major beneficial impact on your health.

PHE says if people aged between 40 and 60 took a brisk 10-minute walk every day it could reduce the risk of early death by 15 per cent.

But the statistics show that 41 per cent of people in this age group do not even manage one brisk walk a month, and overall we are 20 per cent less active than we were in the 1960s.

One newspaper this week described this as a “laziness epidemic” that is likely to have a devastating impact on people’s health as they get older.

I can recommend walking as a form of exercise. As a regular user of public transport, I reckon I walk briskly for about an hour in each working day.

You don’t need to learn any new skills or need expensive equipment. All you need is a rainproof coat and a decent pair of shoes – which, given the British climate, you would have to buy anyway.

It is easy and cheap, and if you pass a pub during your walk, who could blame you for popping in for a quick livener?