Commenting on the publication of GCSE results, Geoff Barton,
General Secretary of the Association of School and College
Leaders, said:
“Congratulations to pupils on their GCSE results, and to the
teachers who have worked so hard to assess and provide grades for
these young people following the government’s decision to cancel
public exams because of the circumstances created by the
coronavirus pandemic.
“These results show a small increase in top grades compared to
last year, but a more pronounced difference in the distribution
of grades compared to 2019 when public exams were last held.
“It is important to emphasise that the system of teacher
assessment under which these pupils have been assessed is
different from public exams and is therefore not directly
comparable. The GCSE grades awarded to these young people are a
fair and accurate reflection of their performance under the
robust system used this year which will allow them to progress to
post-16 courses and apprenticeships in the normal way.
“These pupils deserve huge credit for having weathered the storm
of the past 18 months to emerge with qualifications of which they
can be justly proud.
“We are conscious of the debate currently taking place about how
the turbulence of this year and last year will affect grading
decisions in future years, but there is no easy answer to that
dilemma and the immediate focus is to celebrate the achievements
of this year’s cohort.
“Moreover, the question of next year’s grades is only one part of
the wider issue of how to support pupils in the wake of the
pandemic. This must also involve an education recovery plan from
the government that is far more ambitious and better funded than
ministers have managed so far.
“Many of the young people receiving their GCSE grades will be now
going on to study BTECs and other applied general qualifications.
These are popular and respected qualifications which provide a
proven pathway to universities, apprenticeships and careers. It
is therefore a great shame that the government intends to scrap
the majority of these qualifications over the next few years and
largely remove this option for future cohorts of students.
“We urge ministers to reconsider this retrograde step which we
are concerned will have a severe impact on disadvantaged
students. It is vital to protect student choice.”
