Triple cause for celebration
NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE IS STILL THERE, SAY EXPERTS IN EDUCATION
GCSE pass rates have gone up across the North East, despite a “high-pressure” new system.
The number of students achieving top grades (As or 7s) is also up – but the rate is still the lowest in the country.
One regional education body said the disparity “shines a glaring light” on inequality faced by the region.
This is the second year of a new Government GCSE regime, designed to put more emphasis on final exams over coursework and offer greater differentiation between top students by introducing a new highest grade.
Twenty key subjects this year were awarded grades 9-1 (9 being the highest) instead of A*-G, ramping up the new system from last year, when only maths and English were examined in that way.
In total, 64.5% of GCSE grades were a pass (4/c or above) this year, up 1.1% on last year.
Teachers agreed the change had proved tough on pupils, with Claire Gibson, assistant principal of Newcastle’s Kenton School, saying the year had been particularly “stressful” for staff and parents as well as teenagers, and not just because of the change in grade format.
She said: “It’s also been the increase in content and the removal of all the coursework, so it’s been very heavy on exams, so a lot of preparation and that’s obviously caused a lot of stress. But we’re very pleased with the results. We’ve seen increased progress in English and maths again for Kenton students, which is fantastic.”
Jon Bird, deputy head of Cramlington Learning Village in Northumberland, said: “I would certainly say there’s been more pressure on the kids. Most of them have coped very, very well. There’s been lots more exams. Some of them have taken 24 exams this year.”
Nonetheless, many of the region’s schools celebrated record-breaking years, with highest-ever pass rates or rates of top grades.
Newcastle, Sunderland and South Tyneside all celebrated increases in the number of pupils securing passes or ‘high passes’ (5 and up) in vital English and maths.
North Tyneside Council said its average ‘attainment 8’ score (calculating students results across specific core subjects) of 45.9 was above the national average.
But despite these successes, just 16.7% of the region’s pupils netted 7/A or above grades this year, an increase of 0.5%.
That compares with 25.2% in London, which scored the most top grades in the country.
Chris Zarraga, director of operations at regional education body SCHOOLS NorthEast, said: “With this tougher GCSE system now in place, we want to praise our students and schools for the hard work and dedication that they have put in this year, which has led to the increase of 1.1% in our region’s students receiving the 4 pass grade or above compared with 2017.
“This is a huge achievement for our region as we are second only to the South West in this increase in pass rates this year, which shows that our students are triumphing despite the disadvantage that they face compared to their southern
peers. However, the results today also shine a glaring light on the disparity between advantaged and disadvantaged students and how it affects attainment levels.”
In 2014, the gap between the North East and London attainment at A and A* level was 7.4%. This year the gap between the two regions at the new top grades (7-9) stands at 8.5%.
Mr Zarraga added: “It is likely that there has been a direct effect from lack of funding in the North East compared with other areas in relation to embedding the new system.
“There is a significant difference between ‘disadvantage’ in the North East and ‘disadvantage’ in the south – in the North East, it is far more widespread, sustained, long-term and entrenched.”
Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the results “show a consistent gap between North and South”.
He said it was necessary to focusing on long-term disadvantage for the UK as a whole.