We’re closing the live blog for the rest of the day.
Thanks for following, and of course congratulations to everyone who received their results today, and good luck with your next chapter at sixth form or in further education.
You can catch up on the main news of the day here:
As usual, science topped the list of most popular subjects in England this year...but, as those sitting at the front of the class will know, science is a bit of a cheat because it is a double award, meaning there were 904,116 exam papers but only 452,058 students.
Unfortunately for science, this means it misses out on a podium finish, falling into fourth place behind English language and maths (both compulsory) and English literature. Other subjects attracting more than 200,000 students include history (303,668 sittings), geography and religious studies.
When smaller subjects (those attracting 50,000 or fewer students) are excluded, business studies saw the biggest boost in numbers this year at more than 10%.
But a special mention here for statistics here which grew by a whopping 31.8% in one year, well above the overall rise in papers (3.9%).
And, after years of bad news, finally some buenas noticias/bonnes nouvelles/gute Nachricht for language lovers. French, Spanish, German and “Other Modern Languages” all saw a jump in entries this year (albeit below the overall increase in sittings for French and German).
The big winner is Spanish which has seen entries skyrocket in recent years to 123,805 this year, closing in on French which attracted 126,214 students in 2024.
Updated
Sixth form and further education colleges are urging the government to reconsider the policy of requiring students who do not achieve a grade 4 or above in English and maths to resit their exams.
Cath Sezen, Director of Education Policy, Association of Colleges, said:
Congratulations to the post-16 students who have achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths at the second, third or more attempt; this is a big achievement, and we need to celebrate those who are successful.
However, we do need to question whether there is a better approach for the 100,000 students who sat English and maths and weren’t successful in achieving a grade 4 or above. Up and down the country there will be teachers and heads of English and maths at a loss about what more they can do to shift the dial, while under pressure to provide English and maths teaching in the 2024/25 academic year to increasing cohorts of young people.
After 10 years of condition of funding the time is right to review government policy and look at a different way to support students to gain crucial English and maths skills, rather than putting them through a system which can leave many of them feeling that they have failed again and again.
The number of students taking full course Religious Studies in England and Wales at GCSE has remained stable at 233,288 following a 0.5% rise in entries from 2023, making it one of the most widely studied humanities at GCSE.
223,034 students took RS GCSE (full course) in England, an increase of 0.3%. In Wales 10,254 students took the subject, an increase of 6.4%. For the third year running, the number of students taking a GCSE short course rose in England, this year by 9.5% to 20,627. In Wales however, entries fell by 27.1% to 2,201.
The Religious Education Council of England and Wales (REC) and the National Association for Teachers of RE (NATRE) are calling called on the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to introduce a National Plan for RE that provides a fair allocation of resources and prioritises the subject as part of Labour’s plans to recruit more specialist teachers.
Deborah Weston, chair of the RE Policy Unit, said:
Poor quality, tokenistic RE taught by non-specialists without subject training, has a knock on effect on not just our communities, but the depth and quality of a young person’s education. Properly taught, GCSE RS provides invaluable academic and life skills that enables young people to think meaningfully about life’s big questions in relation to their own beliefs and those of others. On average, pupils studying the subject at GCSE do significantly better on the Attainment 8 school performance measure, with disadvantaged pupils scoring a full 9 points higher than those who do not take GCSE RS.
If the Labour government is serious about breaking down barriers to opportunities, a national plan for RE that provides a fairer allocation of resources is vital. It would build on the brilliant RE practice that already exists, deliver a new generation of specialist teachers and ensure all students receive their entitlement to an academically rigorous programme of RE.
More students studied GCSE geography this year, according to analysis from the Royal Geographical Society.
97,111 students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland sat GCSE geography examinations this year, an increase of 1.4% on last year and up 12% since 2019 (293,319 in 2023, 289,351 in 2022, and 265,169 in 2019). Geography retains its place as the GCSE subject with the sixth highest number of entries.
The Royal Geographical Society’s Vice President for Education, Alan Parkinson, said:
Geography is the subject that connects the science of how our climate is changing with an analysis of how we need to respond, through mitigation and adaptation, to these changes. We need more climate-aware young people who take what they have learned into the workforce, recognise the impact of their own lifestyles, and are able to solve current and future real-world problems - geographers in other words.
Those receiving their GCSE geography results today will already have recognised the relevance and importance of the subject and hopefully will be considering taking their studies further.
The Society is looking ahead to the government’s curriculum and assessment review and the opportunity this provides to embed climate change in the geography curriculum at Key Stage 3 and to update and strengthen the GCSE specifications, thus ensuring that all students are introduced to robust climate change knowledge alongside humanity’s potential for collaborative action in challenging times.
While girls outperform boys at GCSE level as a whole, there are subjects in which boys tend to do better, maths being one of them.
The last pre-pandemic year in which girls outperformed boys was in 2016. They have only done so once since - in 2021 - an entirely teacher-assessed cycle, when, and I quote my esteemed colleague Richard Adams here, they “stormed the last bastion of male academic attainment by capturing more top grades in maths than boys”.
Alas, that pattern has reversed since the return of exam-based marking. Indeed this year that gap widened significantly: 22.5% of boys achieved a grade of 7 or above (an A or A* in old money) compared with 20% of girls.
By contrast girls stole a (slight statistical) march on boys in the only other (mainly) compulsory subject, English Language, with almost a quarter (23.6%) of girls getting achieving a 7 grade or better, compared with 14.5% of boys, a bigger gap than last year but not as big as pre-pandemic cycles.
Gap between top grades at private and state schools grows
The gap between private and state schools in top grades has increased compared to last year, according to Sutton Trust analysis.
The charity’s analysis found that 48.4% of grades in independent schools were at A/7 or higher, up from 47.5% last year. In contrast, at academies it rose slightly from 21% to 21.2%, and at comprehensives 19.3% to 19.4%.
This means the gap between independent and comprehensive schools rose from 28.2 percentage points to 29 percentage points. Grammar schools similarly saw bigger rises than non-selective schools.
Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, said:
It is concerning that the gap in attainment between private and state schools has widened this year. This reflects a broader pattern of widening gaps between the most and least well-off young people since the pandemic and cost of living crisis.
The stubborn regional disparities in attainment are unchanged. London continues to outperform the rest of the country, and the North East is still the region with the lowest level of top grades. Looking at pass rates (grade 4 and above), all regions have seen drops, but the West Midlands, which had the lowest rate of passes last year, has dropped the most.
To close these gaps and enable pupils to reach their potential, we need sustained investment in teaching, particularly in areas with lower attainment.
Updated
Outcomes in English have fallen below pre pandemic levels in 2024, while maths performance remains below pre-pandemic levels but has shown signs of recovery this year, according to analysis by the Education Policy Institute.
This year, pupils achieved the highest per cent of grade 7 or above in mathematics since 2019, the think tank observed.
Louis Hodge, Associate Director for School System and Performance at EPI, said:
While outcomes are now broadly the same as they were in 2019, it is important to remember that students receiving their results in GCSEs, BTecs, and other vocational qualifications today have had their secondary education significantly disrupted by the effects of the pandemic.
Following the pandemic’s disruption and over a decade of austerity, the education system in England faces significant challenges in the years ahead. Amongst them are the high levels of pupil absence, geographical inequalities, and a growing attainment gap between pupils from low income backgrounds and their peers – equivalent to 19 months of learning by the time they sit their GCSEs.
Though top grades have been relatively stable across England today, there have been notable rises for some types of school -- mostly independents and state selectives.
The share of GCSE entries at independent (private) schools achieving at least grade 7 has risen by 0.9 percentage points to 48.4%, according to the data released today by Ofqual. State selectives also saw top grades rise by 0.9 points, to 60.3% - the highest share of any school type.
By contrast, secondary comprehensives have seen just a 0.1 percentage point rise in top grades - 19.4% of all entries – while secondary moderns saw top grades fall by 0.2 points - 12.6% of all entries.
But overall, the biggest rise in top grades was seen at free schools, a type of non-selective state school that isn’t run by local authorities. Top grades at these schools have risen by 1.5 percentage points, to 21.6%.
SHAPE subjects (social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy) made up more than half (54%) of GCSE students’ subjects in 2024, according to the British Academy.
Data on GCSE entries across England, Wales and Northern Ireland released today by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and analysed by the British Academy show that there has been an increase in entries to SHAPE subjects of around 4.8% from 2023 to 2024, and around 10.7% from 2019 to 2024.
Some SHAPE subjects have become more popular with students who sat their GCSEs this year. Today’s JCQ data on GCSE results in 2024 also shows that:
Across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, the highest growing SHAPE subject at GCSE this year was business studies, with around a 9.7% increase from 2023 to 2024, in line with a longer-term increase of 41% between 2019 to 2024.
The second highest growing SHAPE subject was music, with an 8.7% increase between 2023 to 2024. However, this recovery followed a 12.5% decrease between 2022 to 2023, and long-term trends show a 6.9% decrease between 2019 to 2024.
Other higher growing SHAPE subjects between 2023 to 2024 include other modern languages (8.1%) including Chinese, Polish, Arabic, Italian, and Urdu, economics (6.9%), Spanish (6.2%), and social science subjects (6.2%) like sociology and psychology, all of which have also seen healthy longer-term increases.
Finally, Irish, a SHAPE subject which is generally only offered in Northern Ireland, saw entries increase by 14.8% between 2023 to 2024.
Children affected by crumbling reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in their schools should be able to appeal their grades, the Lib Dems are urging.
Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said:
As we saw last week with A Level results, there will be thousands of students across the country whose education has been disrupted by crumbling RAAC in their schools, leaving their schooling in turmoil.
The estimated 19,700 children taking GCSEs who have been affected by RAAC should be able to access a special appeals process which would allow schools to appeal for higher grades.
There has been a growing gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and their more affluent peers and this is something that must be tackled. It is vital that all children, regardless of their background are given the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Updated
The National Union of Students is helpfully reminding pupils that “your grades do not define you”.
Qasim Hussain, Vice President Further Education, said:
Congratulations on getting your GCSE results! No matter your grades, you should be so proud of yourself for all the hard work you put in.
Your grades do not define you. If you haven’t got the grades you expected, don’t panic. It may feel like the end of the world, but there are lots of ways to achieve your goals, be that sixth form, college or an apprenticeship. If you don’t know what you want to do, make sure to talk to your teachers, or guidance or careers counsellors to help identify what is the right path for you.
I am excited to see you as part of the student movement! If you’re going to a sixth form or college, get involved in your students’ union. If you’re going into an apprenticeship, get involved with the National Society of Apprentices.
English GCSE resit pass rate falls
There has been a big fall in the pass rate of English GCSE resits in England, exam board data shows.
It follows recent warnings from social mobility experts of the risks of pupils leaving school never passing the key subject.
The share of entries for English Language — compulsory at GCSE — that achieved at least grade 4/C was 20.9% in 2024 among pupils aged 17 and over.
That’s down on the 25.9% seen in 2023 and far below the pre-pandemic figure of 30.3% in 2019.
By contrast, the pass rate for English Language among 16 year olds taking the exam for the first time has remained stable: 71.2% of 16 year olds in England passed English GCSE the first time round in 2024, versus 71.6% in 2023 and 70.5% in 2019.
Updated
The government should scrap the requirement to resit English and maths GCSEs for those who fall short of achieving a Grade 4, the Association of School and College Leaders is urging.
Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
A significant proportion of students who fall short of achieving at least a Grade 4 GCSE pass in English and maths…will be consigned to a remorseless treadmill of resits in post-16 education under rules drawn up by the last government. As this year’s results show, most of these students once again fall short of the Grade 4 benchmark in their resits. This is completely demoralising
It is imperative that the government’s curriculum and assessment review considers how we can do better for these young people – and a good start would be to scrap the requirements which compel mass resits.
Today’s results also show significant differences in regional outcomes for GCSEs in England, particularly between the results in London and the South East compared to the North and Midlands. This suggests that relative levels of prosperity and socioeconomic disadvantage continue to play a huge part in educational outcomes, and addressing these gaps must be a key priority for the new government working alongside the education sector.
We have to do more to support our schools and colleges. Funding and teacher shortages, combined with post-pandemic issues around mental health, behaviour and attendance, have made circumstances particularly challenging. An improvement to school and college funding in general, and the special educational needs system in particular, is absolutely key to improving matters. The government must grasp this nettle in the autumn budget.
The examination system is “urgently in need of reform”, the largest education trade union is warning.
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
Today’s results have been achieved against an examination system that does not plays to all strengths and is in urgently in need of reform.
The sheer volume of formal written testing required for GCSEs is beyond burdensome – for teachers and students. In the vast majority of subject entries, it is the only way students are allowed to show what they know and can do, and this simply does not do them all justice. It also causes significant, avoidable stress and anxiety given the high stakes attached to this all or nothing method of assessment.
The EBacc forces the arts, vocational and technical subjects increasingly further out of the curriculum. The content is not representative of all students and their communities, and is not sufficiently engaging, inclusive or modern.
NEU members welcome the government’s upcoming review of these issues, to ensure future cohorts do not have the same inadequate experience. It is vital that their expertise, as well as student voice, is central to any changes.
Desperately high levels of child poverty are also a huge barrier to children and young people’s education, making concentrating and learning an almost impossible daily struggle. Long standing regional disparities in results have continued this year and we know that levels of child poverty are not equal across the country. We will have to wait for further analysis to know if these regional disparities are a reflection of unequal circumstances nationally, but should that be the case it would further highlight the injustices that need addressing. The new cross-government task force on child poverty is welcome because tackling child poverty levels are going to need a joined-up plan.
There have been slight increases in all modern foreign language GCSE entries since 2023 and improvements in GCSE French and German results, according to the National Consortium for Languages Education.
The increases include:
2.9% increase in French entries
3.5% increase in German entries
6.2% increase in Spanish entries
8.1% increase in other modern foreign languages entries
Vicky Gough, British Council schools adviser, said:
It’s wonderful to see a rise in the uptake of all languages. Notably, German has increased after experiencing one of the steepest declines last year, while the popularity of Spanish continues to soar, bringing it nearly on par with the number of French entries.
The government’s plan to increase teacher numbers is a positive step towards improving language education in the UK.
Fewer students from the least privileged backgrounds are studying arts subjects, according to Schools Minister Catherine McKinnell.
She said:
I want to congratulate both students and teachers on their achievements today despite the many challenges they’ve had to overcome over the past few years to get here.
While this is a moment to celebrate, I am deeply concerned about the inequalities in our education system with where you live and what type of school you attend still being too big an influence on your opportunities.
Our review of the curriculum will break down barriers and ensure art, sport, music and drama are no longer the preserve of a privileged few.
Whilst more students entered art and design this year compared to last, entries to all other arts subjects are lower than in 2019.
The largest declines are in performing and expressive arts (-28.7%) and Drama (-14.4%), with both subjects having also seen decreases in entries from 2023.
Arts are a vital part of students accessing a broad and balanced curriculum and along with culture and sport, are essential in supporting children and young people to develop life skills and creativity, according to the Department for Education.
The government’s curriculum and assessment review will seek to ensure curriculums are “broad and rich” and that the arts and music are no longer the preserve of a privileged few.
Here are some more photos of apprehensive pupils opening their GCSE results today:
Top grades fall in Wales and Northern Ireland
While the results in England stayed relatively stable, it was a different story in Wales and Northern Ireland where top grades have fallen with a bump, interactive journalist Alex Clark explains.
Unlike in England, the 16-year-old cohort in the other two nations which sit GCSEs (pupils in Scotland have a different, equivalent qualification) have only returned to pre-pandemic grading this year.
As a result, the share of entries in Wales achieving at least a grade 7 (equivalent to an A grade or above in the old marking system) was 19.8%, compared with 22.3% in 2023, while in Northern Ireland it was 30.4%, down from 34.1% in 2019.
It means that, broadly speaking, top grades have returned to where they were before the pandemic across the UK. In 2019, 19.1% of GCSE entries in Wales were a grade of 7 or above, while in Northern Ireland the share was 30.4%.
Updated
Here is the PA news agency’s take on the main figures from this year’s GCSE results:
The proportion of entries receiving the highest grades has fallen from last year but remains higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
A total of 21.8% of entries were awarded grade 7/A or above, down slightly from 22.0% in 2023 but above the 20.8% in 2019.
Some 67.6% of entries received a grade 4/C or above. This is down from 68.2% last year but higher than 67.3% in 2019.
The overall rate for grades 1/G or above is 97.9%, down from 98.0% in 2023 and also below 98.3% in 2019. This is the lowest 1/G figure for nearly two decades, since 97.8% in 2005.
The lead enjoyed by girls over boys for the top grades has narrowed slightly. The proportion of total female entries awarded grade 7/A or above was 24.7%, 5.7 percentage points higher than total male entries (19.0%). This is the narrowest lead enjoyed by girls since 2009, when it was also 5.7 points. Last year, girls led boys by 5.8 percentage points (24.9% girls, 19.1% boys).
The gap at grade 4/C is unchanged from last year. Some 71.0% of total female entries were awarded 4/C or higher, compared with 64.2% for boys, a lead of 6.8 points. Last year the figures were 71.7% for girls’ entries and 64.9% for boys’ entries, also 6.8 points. This is the narrowest lead for girls at 4/C since at least 2000.
The most popular subject in terms of entries this year was the science double award, with a total of 980,786 entries, up 4.8% on 2023.
Maths remains the second most popular subject, with 878,165 entries, up 6.9% on 2023. English language was the third most popular subject, with 845,834 entries, a rise of 7.2%.
Among subjects with more than 100,000 entries, business studies saw the largest percentage increase in entries this year, up 9.7% from 123,166 in 2023 to 135,090 in 2024.
Among subject with under 100,000 entries, statistics saw the biggest percentage increase, up 19.9% from 26,559 in 2023 to 31,844.
Across the regions of England, London saw the highest proportion of entries awarded grades 7/A or above (28.5%, up 0.1 percentage points from 28.4% in 2023), while north-east England had the lowest (17.8%, up 0.2 points from 17.6% in 2023).
Overall, there were a total of 6,186,879 GCSE entries, up by 4.8% on last year’s figure of 5,905,000.
Some 1,270 16-year-olds in England taking at least seven GCSEs achieved a grade 9 in all their subjects. This is up from 1,160 in 2023 and from 837 in 2019.
GCSE results gap between London and north east of England narrows for first time in nearly 10 years
The GCSE results gap between London and the north-east of England has narrowed for the first time in nearly a decade.
Both regions continue to have the highest and lowest proportion of GCSE entries awarded grade 7/A or above respectively, though this has fallen to 10.7 percentage points from 10.8 points in 2023.
It is the first time this gap has narrowed year-on-year since 2016, when it fell from 7.7 points to 7.5 points.
Since 2016, it had got larger in every year, peaking at 10.8 points in 2023, before narrowing slightly in 2024.
In London, 28.5% of entries were awarded 7/A or higher this year, up slightly from 28.4% in 2023, while for north-east England the figure was 17.8%, up from 17.6%.
The gap this year at grade 7/A between south-east England (24.7%) and north-east England (17.8%) is 6.9 points, up slightly from 6.8 points in 2023 but lower than 7.1 points in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Some six of the nine regions of England saw a rise this year in the proportion of GCSE entries awarded grade 7/A or above, with one showing no change (north-west England) and two seeing a fall: the East Midlands, down 0.2 points from 18.5% to 18.3%, and eastern England. down 0.5 points from 21.9% to 21.4%.
Nearly all regions of England saw a higher proportion of entries getting the top grades this year compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2019, with two exceptions: the East Midlands and north-west England, where the figures were unchanged.
Elsewhere, Northern Ireland continues to record the best GCSE performance of any nation or region, with 31.0% of entries this year awarded A/7 or above, down from 34.5% in 2023.
In Wales, the proportion is down from 21.7% in 2023 to 19.2% this year.
Updated
Ofqual has published some useful maps showing the breakdown of GCSE results by region in England and by gender.
GCSE results for England’s 16-year-olds back at pre-Covid levels
The aftermath of the Covid pandemic has been squeezed out of GCSE results in England, as 16-year-olds received grades similar to last year and only slightly above pre-pandemic levels, writes the Guardian’s education editor Richard Adams.
But there were wide regional variations in results across England, with students in London powering ahead of pre-pandemic grades, while top grades in Wales and Northern Ireland came down with a bump compared with last year.
Read the full story here:
Morning class! So, what have we learned today?
Well, it seems the turbulence wreaked by the pandemic is behind us – at least in England where this year’s GCSE’s results are stable with last year’s.
That’s good news for exam boards, but bad news for journalists trying to find interesting things to write on results day.
Among the 16-year-old cohort (which we are using as a proxy to exclude students who resit the exams) the class of 2024 achieved almost identical (although ever-so-slightly better) results when compared to the 2023 cohort. However, they slightly outperformed those who sat their exams in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.
Ian Bauckham, the head of England’s exams regulator Ofqual, said this year’s grades were “evidence that we have settled back into a pattern of dependable and trustworthy results”.
Boys did well: close to one-in-five achieved a grade of 7 or above. And while girls did better, with a quarter receiving one of the two highest grades this year, the gap between the two shrank to 5.7 percentage points. This is a big drop on the pandemic years gap (which favoured girls who tended to do even better when teacher-assessed marking was in place) and closer than in pre-pandemic years.
Updated
Here are some tips from a mental health nurse on supporting children on results day:
Harriet Finlayson, Specialist Mental Health Nurse at Bupa, recommends:
Encouraging conversation by creating a safe space for open and honest communication. Encourage your child to express their anxieties and concerns about exams and results without judgement. Sometimes, simply talking things through can be incredibly helpful in managing stress. Validate their feelings and remind them that it is ok to feel disappointed or upset, and no matter what the result there are always options that will open new doors.
Avoiding comparison with classmates or siblings, if their results aren’t as good as they expected. It’s important to note that doing so can make them feel worse. Instead try to remind them of their own achievements which may sit outside of academia.
Seeking a teacher’s advice, whether that be discussing resitting exams, foundation years, vocational qualifications, or apprenticeships. Try scheduling a meeting with your child’s teacher or the school’s advisor and ask your child if they’d like you to attend with them as well.
Being a positive role model by sharing your own setbacks or past experiences and how you dealt with them. This can help to put into perspective for your child that this is something you can come back from.
Here are some photos of student celebrating their GCSE results:
Updated
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is congratulating GCSE students on their “incredible job”.
He wrote on X:
Congratulations to those receiving their GCSE results today - you’ve done an incredible job.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 22, 2024
I know the power of education and opportunity. My government will make sure everyone’s path is determined by their talent, skills and ambition, not where you come from.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens has sent “llongyfarchiadau” (congratulations) to pupils receiving their GCSE grades in Wales.
The wait is over! Llongyfarchiadau to everyone in Wales receiving their #GCSE results this morning. Wishing you all the best as you embark on your next chapter. pic.twitter.com/aGqZC8NGbW
— Jo Stevens (@JoStevensLabour) August 22, 2024
Wales’ first minister Eluned Morgan wrote a message in Welsh translating as: “Good luck to all throughout Wales who are receiving their GCSE results today.”
She added: “Diolch (thank you) to all the teachers and parents too.”
Pob lwc i bawb ledled Cymru sy’n derbyn canlyniadau TGAU heddiw.
— Eluned Morgan (@PrifWeinidog) August 22, 2024
Good luck to everyone receiving GCSE results today. Diolch to all the teachers and parents too.
Diolch i’r holl rieni ac athrawon a pob lwc gyda’ch camau nesaf.
Updated
Charging VAT on private school fees from January will help pay for teachers in state schools, the schools standards minister has said.
Catherine McKinnell told Times Radio:
We’ve been very clear about this policy for quite some time.
We know how difficult the fiscal situation is in this country but, as I’ve said, this is an absolute priority for us. We cannot allow the situation where we just don’t have enough teachers in our schools. The teachers that are teaching are overstretched and feel undervalued, and so we need to put that investment into our state sector.
And, you know, there are some difficult choices to make, but we’ve been very clear that we won’t shy away from those, and we’ve been very transparent about it as well.
We really want to do politics in a grown-up way. We’ve been very clear about these plans and we really can’t delay in putting them in place because we need to see that investment in our state system where 93% of our children are education.
Really, this is a matter for private schools to consider how they manage this situation. I mean, they are businesses at the end of the day, they need to cut their cloth accordingly.
Critical thinking and problem solving are among the skills children could be encouraged to develop as part of a revised curriculum, the school standards minister has said.
Catherine McKinnell told Sky News:
I think there’s been a lot of quite right discussion about the curriculum.
We know that times move on and young people need to develop not only a knowledge that sets them up for life but the skills as well, and we know that there are so many important skills that young people need today that perhaps in my day were not quite the priority – critical thinking, problem solving, being adaptable to what comes next whatever their future holds.
So, we will be looking at the curriculum across the board. We’ve got a curriculum and assessment review because the two are very linked – what you teach and how you assess it are very connected.
And, you know, that won’t be a short process because it needs to be done really well. It needs to be done in consultation with schools and with experts, and also take input from young people as well.
And we want to make sure that we have a really rich and broad curriculum that gives every young person the best start in life, and that’s what we’re going to make sure we deliver.
Schools standards minister Catherine McKinnell has echoed the message that “a whole range of options” are available for young people after finishing their GCSEs.
She told Sky News:
I think for young people there are a whole range of options, and I think that’s a really important message to give today as well that, you know, some young people will get the results they’re expecting; some will do better; some may not get what they hoped for.
But actually, there are opportunities available, whether that’s in vocational training, whether that’s in sixth form, whether that’s in a college, whether it’s an apprenticeship, or whether it’s going into the workplace, and I just think it’s really important as a government that we make sure that those opportunities are available and that we keep building those opportunities as well.
And that’s one of the big priorities for this government, it’s to make sure that those opportunities are spread far and wide because, as you say, young people need to make their choices but we know that across the country it’s not always evenly spread how those decisions can be made.
We want to make sure that they are choices and it’s not down to a lack of opportunity or anything the government could do to make sure that they get the best education and the best opportunities available.
Updated
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is reminding GCSE students that apprenticeships are an alternative option to A-levels.
Jennifer Coupland, chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), said:
I want to say huge congratulations to all the students getting their GCSE results today. They are a massive credit to their schools and parents. A Levels will be an excellent next step for many of them, but continuing full-time academic learning doesn’t work for everybody.
There are now over 700 apprenticeships and 20 T Levels, which all involve substantial on-the-job training. More and more young people are choosing this route into exciting careers every year.
There’s more information on apprenticeships and T-levels at www.instituteforapprenticeships.org.
School results are expected to be “in line with last year”, according to school standards minister Catherine McKinnell.
McKinnell told GB News:
We’re expecting the results this year to be in line with last year.
And I think we do need to remember that this is a cohort of young people that have overcome incredible challenges in their time in secondary education.
They were the generation of children that have gone through Covid and they’ve experienced huge amounts of – they should be incredibly proud today of their achievements.
And I think it is incredibly exciting, it’s also incredibly nerve-racking for these young people, so I know they’re waiting for their results, and it’s a very exciting day.
I think it’s a day of celebration of these young people and also the teachers, who have worked incredibly hard to get them to this point today.
Teachers’ salaries should be increased to attract them into the deprived communities where pupils are less likely to achieve top grades to address the attainment gap, Teach First has said.
Teach First CEO Russell Hobby said:
Congratulations to all pupils receiving their GCSE results this morning. While many will be celebrating today - we know pupils from poorer background are significantly less likely to be receiving top grades. This is despite them having the same hopes, dreams and potential as their wealthier peers.
Great teachers are key to cracking this – so we need to pay them fairly, treat them well and get them to the communities where they can make the greatest difference. A results day where every child receives the grades they deserve is possible, but that means investing in their futures today.
Teach First is a teacher training social enterprise.
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GCSE students need “change and significant improvements” to their experience, including broadening the curriculum and reducing the number of exams they sit in year 11, the school leaders’ union is urging.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:
It is high time for change and significant improvements to the experience of students in key stage 4. That includes broadening the curriculum and the choices students have, reducing the number of exams they sit at the end of Year 11, scrapping the restrictive EBacc and abandoning the Maths and English re-sit policy.
We warmly congratulate students as they receive their results across a wide range of qualifications. Today’s results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of students and the school and college staff who have supported them.
Students receiving their results today should feel especially proud of what they have achieved - they navigated the start of secondary school during the pandemic, some have been taught in unfit school buildings, and support from the previous government left much to be desired.
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Today’s GCSE results are likely to show “the same unacceptable, entrenched regional disparities” seen every year, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has warned.
She said:
We know this week’s results are likely to show the same unacceptable, entrenched regional disparities we have seen time and time again. That is why we are committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity - including by delivering a broader, richer curriculum - and ensuring that young people in all corners of our country can reach their potential.
In 2023, the gap between the lowest performing region (North East) and the highest performing region (London) grew by 1.4ppt since 2019 at grade 7 and above.
Phillipson added:
Congratulations to each and every young person receiving their results today and thank you to the dedicated teachers and staff who have worked tirelessly to guide and support them.
These pupils have shown remarkable resilience and determination, defying unprecedented disruption throughout the pandemic, RAAC and strike action. From A levels and T Levels to apprenticeships, they now have an exciting range of options available to them.
Ofqual is expecting overall results for GCSE to be broadly similar to last summer as grading returns to pre-pandemic levels for the second year in a row.
Apart from Maths, English and Science subjects, provisional entries data shows that among the top 10 most popular subjects are History, Geography, Religious Studies.
Provisional entries data shows that the biggest overall percentage increase in entries this year (since 2023) is in Statistics.
Hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland await grades
Good morning and welcome to our GCSE blog.
Hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are nervously awaiting their grades today.
Last year, top grades in England were down more than four percentage points on 2022 results with 22.4% of grades for 16-year-olds at 7 or above, equivalent to an A.
In Wales, which adopted a different approach to grading, there were falls in the proportion of 16-year-olds getting A and A* grades, dropping from 26% of entries in 2022 to 22% last year. Northern Ireland recorded a 2.5-point fall in top grades.
This year could see a further fall, disappointing many who need certain grades to go on to sixth form or college. However last week an expected fall in A-level grades in England did not materialise, with students instead achieving their best results in a generation.
Can their younger peers now do as well?
Stay with us to find out, along with the answers to other key questions, such as whether the regional gap is growing, if girls are still doing better than boys, and whether too many pupils are still failing their maths and English resits.
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