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2 May 2026

Tag: GCSE

Ofqual consults on changes to reformed music and dance qualifications

Ofqual has launched a consultation into proposed changes to the reformed GCSEs, AS and A-levels in music and dance, after their first delivery this summer exposed issues with how to assess pupils’ performances. The exams watchdog wants to change the way a student’s performance is marked if it turns out to be shorter than the minimum length; […]

DfE launches consultation on content of reformed PE qualifications

The Department for Education has launched a consultation on the subject content of the reformed physical education (PE) GCSE, AS and A-levels. Members of the public can complete an online survey that will allow them to propose any new activities that they believe should be included as part of the qualifications. The activity lists at […]

Attainment 8 and progress 8: Which regions performed best?

Today the government has released the provisional GCSE results in England for 2017-18, which reveal the attainment 8 and progress 8 scores across the country. The lowest average attainment 8 score per pupil in England’s state funded schools was 35.2 this year, in Knowsley, a borough in Merseyside, while the highest was 58.0 in Sutton, London (excluding […]

Edexcel allows exam candidates to opt out of gender classifications

Pupils taking exams this summer have been offered the chance to opt out of gender classifications for the first time. Pearson, the education company that owns the exam board Edexcel, made the step forward, by presenting candidates with the option of removing the male or female classification for their qualifications. The idea of a gender-neutral […]

Ofqual: Don’t enter grade four pupils for higher tier GCSE papers

Pupils aiming for a grade four at GCSE – a ‘standard’ pass or the equivalent of a C grade – should only be entered to sit foundation tier exam papers, Ofqual has advised. Speaking at the exam watchdog’s summer symposium on July 5, Cath Jadhav, associate director of standards and comparability at Ofqual, said too […]

Ofqual mulls grading change for language and science A-levels

Ofqual is considering a change to the grading of A levels in modern languages and the sciences, if it finds the subjects are more severely marked than others. Speaking at Ofqual’s summer symposium in London today, Richard Garrett, director of policy and strategic relationships, explained that the regulator is exploring ‘inter-subject comparability’, or whether it […]

Major MAT Progress 8 scores tumble when accounting for ex-pupils

The progress scores of major multi-academy trusts including Harris Federation, Outwood Grange and Delta all drop off if they include pupils who leave before the end of year 11. Researchers at Education Datalab have “reweighted” the performance data of the 62 trusts in MAT league tables last year to include the GCSE results of pupils […]

A third of state schools allow pupils to opt out of languages in year 9

Over a third of state schools now allow pupils to opt out of studying a language in year 9, a new report has revealed. In fact, 34.5 per cent of state schools are not teaching modern foreign languages (MFL) to entire groups of students at that level, up from 29 per cent in 2017 and […]

Computer science GCSE will be exam-only until 2020

Computer science GCSEs will continue to be assessed purely on exams until 2020 after tasks from the test were leaked online, Ofqual has announced. Following its announcement in January that the supervised coursework element of the GCSE won’t count towards pupils’ final grades in 2018 and 2019, the exams regulator has said today that the […]