Hundreds of thousands fewer top GCSE grades were handed to teens this year after efforts to bring results back down to pre-pandemic levels.
Disparities in results across regions reveal a significant proportion of pupils face resitting key English and maths exams after failing to score a standard pass.
Teenagers shared tearful videos on social media as they discovered their results were far lower than the inflated predicted grades they expected.
The results show a marked disparity between the scores pupils got against their mock grades.
Around 203,000 fewer top GCSE grades were awarded in England, Wales and Northern Ireland than last year. But 142,000 more top grades were awarded this summer than in 2019.
It comes after the pandemic led to a rise in top grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams. Many of the students who got their GCSE results yesterday were in Year 8 when schools closed during Covid.
More than a fifth (22 percent) of UK GCSE entries got top grades – at least a 7 or an A grade – this year, down on last year when 26.3% of entries got the top grades.
But this was still higher than in 2019 when 20.8 percent of entries got top grades.
Ministers faced calls to address regional disparities after the gap in top grades between London and the North East widened.
Overall, 28.4 percent of GCSE entries in London were awarded a grade 7 or above, compared with just 17.6 percent in the North East.
The proportion of UK GCSE entries getting at least a 4 or a C grade – considered a standard pass – dropped from 73.2 perfect in 2022 to 68.2 percent this year, but it was higher than in 2019 (67.3 percent). In England, many students who do not secure at least a grade 4 in English and/or maths at GCSE are required to retake them in post-16 education.
It is likely that almost 22,000 more 16-year-olds in England did not reach this standard in maths this year compared with last year.
In English, it is likely that at least 38,000 more 16-year-olds in England this summer did not secure a grade 4 or above compared to 2022.
Headteachers’ unions have called on the Government to reform the system to ensure many students are not stuck in a “demoralising” cycle of retakes.
But Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said people “do a lot better over their lifetime” if they secure maths and English qualifications. The gap in top grades between private schools and comprehensive schools in England remained large (27.5 percentage points), but it narrowed on last year.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “It’s important for students to remember that disparities in grading in different parts of the UK are widely known by sixth forms, colleges, employers and training providers, and this will be taken into account.
“Students everywhere can be proud of their achievements against a difficult backdrop.”
Jo Saxton, chief regulator of Ofqual, said: “In terms of grading, this has been the second step in the two-step plan to get back to normal.
“So as far as Ofqual is concerned, we’re now back to normal.”
