Today, GCSE and vocational results are sent to hundreds of thousands of pupils (25 August). As the UK returns to routine after Covid, kids are taking their summer GCSE exams for the first time in three years.
Students who get their results today may go on to a variety of excellent alternatives, such as A levels, T Levels, or an apprenticeship.
Teenagers in England will have access to 16 T Levels starting in September in fields including engineering, construction, accountancy, health, and digital technology at more than 175 schools and institutions.
In accordance with the policy objective outlined last year, little over 75 percent (75.3%) of GCSE grades for 16-year-olds in England are at grade 4 or higher, up from 69.9% in 2019 when official examinations were last administered and down from 79.1% in 2021.
The projected rise in top grades for 16-year-olds in England has also occurred, with 27% of entrants receiving grades 7 and above, an increase of 5.2 percentage points from 2019 and a decrease of 3 percentage points from 2021.
Overall grades are higher than in 2019 to reflect the unprecedented disruption students have experienced, but lower than in 2021 when extraordinary measures were taken to ensure progression, in accordance with the plans announced last autumn and as part of the transition back to pre-pandemic grading levels.
This year, a variety of modifications were made to help students, including formula sheets, content optionality for GCSE students, and extended assessment periods for those students pursuing vocational and technical certificates.
Additionally, our National Tutoring Programme, through which the government will provide up to 6 million tutoring sessions over the length of the program, will continue to provide help.
Sorry, but there are already 2 million courses in motion. The government will provide schools in AY22/23 £349 million in direct funding to help cover the cost of tutoring.
The government is investing more than £800 million to increase time in schools and colleges at 16-19 around 40 hours a year starting in September for all students.
This is in response to the larger learning gaps in older students’ learning and the shorter amount of time those students have left in education.
A typical secondary school is expected to receive £60,000 as part of the £1 billion recovery premium for evidence-based activities like extra support with English and math, attendance initiatives, and summer schools.
The additional funding that schools receive to support students’ recovery will also nearly double for secondary schools starting in September 2022.
James Cleverly, the education secretary, remarked
I want to congratulate each and every student who received their results today. They should all be very proud of themselves.
The teaching profession has put in a tremendous amount of effort, and these outcomes are proof of how resilient both our students and staff are.
Students may now pick from the most exciting choice of post-16 options, including one of our exciting new T Levels, an apprenticeship, or A levels.
Every person has a choice.
Whatever the kids’ future actions may be, I wish them the very best of luck.
Additionally, according to statistics released today, entries at grade 4 or above for 16-year-olds in England were 75.1% for GCSE arithmetic and 77.2% for GCSE English.
At the highest grades, the achievement gap between boys and girls has decreased since 2021.
Nearly 4 million people have registered for EBacc courses, up 10.1% and 5.7%, respectively, from 2019 numbers for geography and history.
The difference between academies and independent schools at this grade level has narrowed as the proportion of grades 7 and above in independent schools in England has decreased by 8.3 percentage points since 2021.
Since March 2022, 369,220 awards for 141 different qualifications have been given out, 96% of which are Technical Awards taken concurrently with GCSEs.
Young people have access to a variety of apprenticeship programmes that provide them the opportunity to earn while they study and develop the skills necessary to land fascinating professions in anything from space engineering, teaching, cyber security, nursing, social care, or film and television.
The government is spending around £5 billion, including £1.5 billion for tutoring programs, to help pupils recover from the pandemic’s effects.
Through the Government’s 55 Education Investment Areas, separate funding is also being directed at the regions of the nation where outcomes are the worst.
This funding includes investments to attract and retain the best teachers through bursaries and funding to increase the number of schools that can profit from the backing of a powerful trust.