Record number of students receive highest GCSE grades
More than one-in-four GCSE students in England received the highest possible grades this year, after the government’s U-turn on how grades are assessed.
Ofqual released this year’s GCSE results today, with 25.9 per cent awarded a 7, 8 or 9 – equivalent to A or A* under the old system – which is up from 20.7 per cent last year.
This included a 40 per cent increase in people receiving a 9 – the highest possible mark.
Pass rates are also up by 13 per cent, with 76 per cent of students receiving a 4 or higher.
Before the Open newsletter: Start your day with the City View podcast and key market data
GCSE students were awarded the higher of their moderated marks, under the government’s controversial grading system, or their predicted marks as judged by their teachers.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson U-turned on the original plan to give all students marks based on the algorithm, after a fiasco involving A-level results saw many students’ final scores downgraded.
Every subject saw an increase in the number of students awarded a 7 or higher, with the largest increases in engineering, economics and the performing arts.
Half a million BTEC students who were expecting to receive their grades today have been forced to wait at least another week.