GCSE pupils are finally receiving their results today, ending an anxious wait to discover how they fared in their exams this summer.
The number of top grades awarded to A-level students fell significantly when they received their results last week, after exam boards returned to pre-pandemic grading standards – and similar is expected from GCSEs.
It means that thousands of pupils are likely to be left disappointed after missing out on predicted grades.
The number of results marked grade 7 or above, the equivalent of an A or A*, could fall by a record 230,000 this year, according to analysis by Professor Alan Smithers, head of the Centre for Education and Employment Research, while the number of overall passes is also set to fall.
How do GCSE grades work?
Ahead of the 2017 GCSEs, the Government changed the GCSE grading system from A* to G to a numerical system of 9 to 1 (9 being the top grade and 1 being the lowest).
As per the guide below, issued by the exams regulator Ofqual, the numerical system essentially boils down to the following:
- 9 = high A* grade
- 8 = lower A* or high A
- 7 = lower A grade
- 6 = high B grade
- 5 = lower B or high C
- 4 = lower C grade
- 3 = D or high E
- 2 = lower E or high F
- 1 = lower F or G
- U = U, remains the same
The numerical system means that, while a pass used to be a simple C grade, there are now two marks considered a “pass” for GCSE students.
Schools are judged by the proportion of its pupils that achieve a “standard” pass and above, which is denoted by a grade 4, though they are also held to account for the proportion of pupils that gain a “strong” pass or above, which is a grade 5.
Only a grade 4 pass is required in English and maths to allow pupils to stop studying the subjects, if they wish.
How do grade boundaries work?
Grade boundaries are set after students have taken their exams and the assessments have been marked by independent examiners using published mark schemes.
The boundaries are set to ensure that there is consistency in grades from year to year. So for example, if a paper is easier than the previous year, the grade boundaries will be increased to take this into account. Ofqual has said it will raise grade boundaries this year compared to the past two years to bring results back in line with pre-pandemic grades.
Grade boundaries are published on the exam boards’ websites on GCSE results day, with AQA, OCR and Pearson Qualifications – which owns Edexcel – all releasing them at 8am on Thursday.
You will be able to access the relevant grade boundaries via the links below:
- AQA A-level grade boundaries can be foundhere
- OCR A-level grade boundaries can be foundhere
- Edexcel A-level grade boundaries can be foundhere
How are GCSEs being graded this year?
Dr Jo Saxton, head of Ofqual, explained results would be more similar to pre-pandemic levels after they were significantly higher between 2020 and 2022. Teacher-assessed grades were used in place of exams during the pandemic, and last year grades were only partially brought closer to pre-pandemic levels.
However, Dr Saxon said that examiners will use data to set grade thresholds that are “fair to students”.
“There’s no doubt that the pandemic has cast a long shadow, and that’s partly why we’ve put some protections in place,” she told the BBC.
“A student should be able to get a grade that they would have got had there not been a pandemic, even if the quality of their work is a little bit weaker.”
In a blog post for Ofqual, Rachel Taylor, associate director of standards and technical issues, said that exam comparisons should be made with those taken before the pandemic.
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She said: “It will be most meaningful to compare this year’s results with 2019, the last year that summer exams were taken before the pandemic.
“As in any year, results for individual schools and colleges will vary. The approach to grading means that results for individual schools and colleges are highly likely to be lower than last summer.”
The number of results marked grade 7 or above, the equivalent of an A or A*, could fall by a record 230,000, according to analysis by Professor Alan Smithers, head of the Centre for Education and Employment Research.
Professor Smithers told i that this year’s GCSE results are “going to be very painful” for some students and will likely mirror those handed out on A-level results day last week, when the number of top grades dropped more than eight percentage points.
“A number of pupils will miss out on the grades that they need to move on to the next stage because sixth forms, schools and apprenticeships have minimum requirements,” he said.
“A lot of pupils might think they’ve done very well because the exams were a little easier this year, but actually the grades are being lowered. So they’re going to be disappointed.”
He added that large numbers of students repeatedly missing school over the past year will have hampered their learning and revision, meaning performance could be much worse.
“[Persistent absence] could have a real impact on GCSE results this year because I think the social impact of Covid has been as great as its actual impact on the health of people,” he said.
“What seems to have happened is that because people were told to keep away from school, more and more are regarding school as optional. If they don’t like it, they feel they don’t have to go.”
Around 22.3 per cent of all students in England were persistently absent over the past academic year, meaning they missed more than 10 per cent of the school year, according to figures from the Department for Education.
It means absence levels have almost doubled since 2019, when around 10.9 per cent of pupils were persistently absent, and remain near to record levels seen during the peak of the pandemic.
