GCSE system ‘insists on rubbing noses’ of thousands of pupils in disappointment, heads’ union says

‘We’ve ended up with a system where 16-year-olds are sitting more than 30 hours of exams’

David Jones, chair of Qualifications Wales, said we need to make sure the technology works first (PA)

The current GCSE system “rubs the noses” of thousands of pupils in disappointment and then forces them to resit tests again and again, the head of a school leaders’ union will warn.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), will question whether a system where 16-year-olds sit more than 30 hours of exams is “necessary”.

Addressing more than 1,000 headteachers at the union’s conference in Birmingham, Mr Barton will highlight that a third of pupils every year are deemed to have failed under the government’s exam reforms.

It comes after ASCL published a report looking into the pupils who fail to achieve at least a grade 4, the government’s new “standard pass” which has replaced the C grade, in GCSE English and maths.

The report questions whether students should have to continue to resit English and maths GCSEs post-16 – a current government requirement – if they do not achieve a pass, saying there is evidence the policy is not working and “is a significant waste of student potential and teachers’ resources.”

Mr Barton will say: “What are we as a nation saying to a young person who after 12 years of being taught by teachers through early years, primary and secondary education, gets a grade 3 and then two years of mandatory resits. Why do we insist in rubbing their noses in disappointment?

“Last summer, there were nearly 190,000 children who didn’t achieve at least a grade 4 in English and maths. This year, because of the way our examination system works – determined not to allow accusations of grade inflation – there will be a similar number.”

The school leaders’ union head will also question whether too much pressure is being placed upon the GCSE system in general, adding that the qualification is “buckling under the weight of expectations”.

He will add: “We use it to judge the child, the cohort, the teacher, the head, and the school. And in the process of reform, we’ve ended up with a system in which the average 16-year-old is sitting more than 30 hours of exams.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (STEAM Co/YouTube)

“How can that possibly be necessary, given the GCSE should chiefly be there to help a young person make the right choice in post-16 progression?”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We have reformed GCSEs to equip pupils with the knowledge and skills they need to prepare for their future. These new, gold standard GCSEs are regulated by the independent qualifications regulator, Ofqual, to ensure their rigour and quality.

“To support teachers and provide stability as these improved qualifications bed in, the education secretary has committed there would be no further changes to the national curriculum and no more reform of GCSEs beyond changes already announced for the rest of this parliament.”