GCSE results 2018: Only 700 teenagers in England get clean sweep of grade 9s after major reforms - as it happened
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The number of students receiving the top GCSE grades rose for first time in seven years despite major reforms
The proportion of entries scoring a C or above – or a 4 under the new grading system – increased by 0.5 percentage points from 66.4 per cent last year to 66.9 per cent.
Tens of thousands of teenagers received their GCSE results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland amid major exam reforms.
Last year, the GCSE pass rates fell and the number of pupils attaining the top grades dropped to the lowest point in a decade.
Grades were awarded in the new tougher GCSE subjects – maths and English – last summer. Students in England received the new numerical grades in a further 20 subjects this year.
Headteachers have raised concerns that the new GCSE grading system sends a "demoralising message" to students who are likely to score lower results in their exams.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said it had concerns about pupils performing at the lower end of the grading scale.
"Our concern, however, is over those pupils at the other end of the scale who are taking exams which are harder than their predecessors and who have been told by the Government that a grade 4 is a 'standard pass' and a grade 5 is a 'strong pass'," Malcolm Trobe, ASCL deputy general secretary said.
"That is a very demoralising message to those who achieve grades 1, 2 and 3, and the new system does not work very well for them at all."
See below how we covered GCSE results day
Those in Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to receive their grades in the traditional A* to G format.
The new linear GCSEs – which have harder content, less coursework, and more exams at the end of two years – are now being graded using 9 to 1, rather than A* to G.
Only 732 16-year-olds in England, who took at least seven new GCSEs, scored a clean sweep of 9s in all subjects.
A number of GCSEs have been reformed in England to be tougher. Take this test to see if you could pass a GCSE in science:
Teachers, parents and mental health experts have been warning that the tougher GCSEs have had an impact on students' wellbeing
Students protest school exclusions on tube
A group of South London students have chosen GCSE results day to highlight the link between exclusions and ending up in prison.
A mocked-up underground tube map as appeared on the northern line showing how life can lead from school to prison.
The poster read: "While most pupils across the country are excitedly waiting for news about their future, thousands remain left behind.
"Every day, 35 pupils (a full classroom) are permanently excluded from school. Only 1% of them will go on to get the five good GCSEs needed to succeed.
"It is the most disadvantaged children who are disproportionately punished by the system. We deserve better."
School which banned talking in corridors sees rise in results
A strict rule of silence in corridors has seen a school's GCSE results shot up by 10 per cent in just a year, the headteacher has said.
Pupils are banned from talking to each other walking between lessons and three times a day in the playground.
The Albany School in Hornchurch, Essex, said the behaviour policy introduced last year had led to better exam results.
Val Masson said the new rules have transformed the classrooms and led to a spike in results, particularly in English and Science.
She said: "These fantastic results showcase the impact this new behaviour policy has already started to have on our students in a very short space of time.
"We have some way to go but with our new compulsory silent revision sessions for Year 11s being introduced next year, we expect results to get even better.
"These teaching methods have been called old fashioned but I would describe it as pure common sense.
"Students deserve the right to learn in a calm, quiet and academic atmosphere."
SWNS
The decline of the arts and D&T
GCSE entries in art and design increased by 1.8 per cent this year - but entries for design and technology and other arts subjects have fallen.
The latest figures out today show that entries for D&T have plummeted by nearly a quarter (23 per cent) compared to last year.
Performing and expressive arts entries have fallen by 45 per cent in a year, while music entries have dropped by 7 per cent.
Media, film and TV studies entries have dropped by 6 per cent and drama entries are down 5 per cent.
Industry experts and headteachers have argued that government reforms – which prioritise core academic subjects – are to blame.
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) – a league table measure introduced in 2011 – only judges schools on the number of students that take up maths, English and science, a foreign language and either history or geography at GCSE.
A group of associations representing subjects not included in the EBacc have today warned that the curriculum is narrowing and is producing "factory-farmed kids".
Chris Lawrence, trustee for National Drama, said restricting the availability of drama to children, such as in the current EBacc, "deprives them of a means to further develop their human potential.”
More top grades in English and Maths
A higher proportion of English and maths GCSEs were awarded top grades this summer.
A fifth of entries for English Literature and maths scored at 7 or above, along with around one in six English entries.
Boys outperformed girls for top grades in maths, but girls significantly surpassed their male classmates in the two English GCSEs.
Overall, 17.5 per cent of entries scored at least a grade 7 - equivalent to an A grade - in GCSE English, up from 16.8 per cent in 2017.
In English literature, 20 per cent of entries was awarded a 7 or above, up from 19.1 per cent.
And in GCSE maths, 20 per cent got at least a 7, up from 19.9 per cent last year.
A gender breakdown shows that for the second year, boys scored more of the highest grades in maths than their female peers, with 20.9 per cent of boys' entries awarded 7-9, compared to 19.1 per cent for girls.
But almost twice as many girls' entries were awarded at least a 7 in English than boys' (22.5 per cent compared to 12.6 per cent), while in English literature, one in four (25.8 per cent) of girls' entries gained a 7 or above compared to 14.1 per cent for boys.
The figures cover 16-year-olds in England only.
PA
Exam resits
Teenagers who fail to secure at least a grade 4 – the equivalent to a C - in GCSE English and maths have to resit the qualification.
Figures out today show that the proportion of students aged 17 and above that achieved a “standard” grade 4 pass in the reformed GCSEs in English and maths fell.
Of this cohort, only 22.7 per cent achieved a grade 4 or higher in maths this summer, compared to 37 per cent last summer – a drop of 14.3 percentage points.
Meanwhile, 33.1 per cent achieved a 4 or above in English language this summer, compared to 35.5 per cent last year.
In light of the results, Suzanne O’Farrell, curriculum and assessment specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), called the government’s resit policy “flawed”.
Boys are closing in on girls in terms of top grades, with the gap between the sexes the smallest it has been for eight years
However, girls still massively outperform their counterparts. Here is our voices piece on the obsession with the gender gap:
UK GCSE results show wide differences in the proportions of top grades handed out in each subject.
More than a third of entries for classical GCSE subjects were awarded a grade 9 this summer, while in other courses, just one or two percent scored the highest grade.
Overall, 37.7 per cent of entries for classical GCSEs - Latin, classical Greek, ancient history, classical civilisation, and biblical Hebrew - were given a grade 9.
Individual sciences also scored high percentages of the very highest grade, figures show.
In total, more than one in eight (12.6 per cent) of UK chemistry entries were awarded a grade 9, along with 12.2 per cent of entries for physics and 12.0% of biology entries.
At the other end of the scale, just 0.8 per cent of entries for science, double award got the top grade, along with 2 per cent in English.
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments