extra humane GCSE system must be launched so youngsters aren't caught in a “demoralising” cycle of retakes when they don't obtain a “standard pass” in English or maths, a headteachers’ union has urged.

Geoff Barton, normal secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), is asking for a brand new literacy and numeracy qualification to be developed that “does not represent a cliff-edge over which many must fall”.

His feedback got here as college students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will obtain their GCSE outcomes on Thursday, in addition to outcomes for a lot of Level 2 vocational and technical {qualifications} (VTQs).

In England, many college students who don't safe at the very least a grade 4 – which is taken into account a “standard pass” – in English and/or maths GCSE are required to retake the topics throughout post-16 training.

While conventional A*-G grades are utilized in Northern Ireland and Wales, in England these have been changed with a 9-1 system, the place 9 is the very best. A 4 is broadly equal to a C grade, and a 7 is broadly equal to an A.

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We need to introduce a extra humane qualification system during which this forgotten third just isn't accepted as some kind of essential collateral injury

The variety of pupils in England reaching at the very least a grade 4 in maths and English GCSE is predicted to fall this 12 months amid efforts to revive grading to comparable ranges to 2019 – the 12 months earlier than the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Barton stated the return to pre-pandemic grading this summer time meant a return to “the forgotten third” – the proportion of younger people who find themselves left with no grade 4 in GCSE English and maths.

He stated: “These young people then have to go through the grind of retaking these qualifications in post-16 education – where most again fall below the benchmark.

“It is incredibly demoralising and instead of building confidence in the vital skills of literacy and numeracy, it has precisely the opposite effect.

“We have to introduce a more humane qualification system in which this forgotten third is not accepted as some sort of necessary collateral damage.”

Students in England are at present funded to retake maths and/or English till they obtain a GCSE grade 9 to 4.

For college students with a grade 2 or beneath, they will both research in the direction of a move in useful expertise degree 2 or in the direction of a GCSE grade 9 to 4.

It should be soul destroying to repeatedly need to retake exams that you've got failed in, maybe a number of instances, and to be denied entry to apprenticeships and far else in the event you can not move them

Mr Barton added: “The answer is to develop a new style of English and maths qualification which can be taken by pupils at the point of readiness, which builds confidence, and which does not represent a cliff-edge over which many must fall.”

ASCL has known as on the Government to think about making a “certificate of proficiency” in literacy and numeracy – a qualification which might be taken by all college students when they're prepared, not solely on the age of 16.

The union envisages that many pupils would nonetheless take GCSEs in English and maths underneath the proposals, however these GCSEs would display “mastery in the discipline” somewhat than performing as a proxy for literacy and numeracy.

Ofqual has stated a return to pre-pandemic grading means this 12 months’s nationwide GCSE ends in England might be decrease than final 12 months and much like 2019.

In Wales and Northern Ireland, GCSE outcomes aren't anticipated to return to pre-pandemic ranges till subsequent 12 months.

A Department for Education spokesperson stated: “We are returning to pre-pandemic grading this year, meaning results should be in line with 2019. It’s important for students that their qualifications hold value now and in the future, ensuring we have a system that treats students fairly compared to previous years.

“We remain committed to driving up standards as demonstrated by England’s continued rise up the international league tables in English and maths.

“This is so important as we know students who leave education with a good grasp of English and maths increase their chances of securing a job or going on to further study. This is why we support students who do not hold GCSE grade 4 or above in English and maths at age 16 to continue studying these subjects. We will also be driving up standards through the Prime Minister’s ambition for all students to study maths to 18.”

It comes after Covid-19 led to a rise in prime GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021, with outcomes primarily based on trainer assessments as a substitute of exams.

In 2019, greater than a 3rd (35.4%) of state faculty college students in England didn't obtain grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs. This determine fell through the pandemic years.

Last 12 months – when grades have been set at a midpoint between 2021 and 2019 – the proportion of state faculty college students in England who missed out stood at 31.2%.

Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility on the University of Exeter, known as it a “national scandal” that many youngsters will miss out on a grade 4 or above in maths and English language GCSEs this summer time.

“We need a long-term inquiry to investigate why successive governments have failed to address an issue that continues to plague the British education system,” he stated.

Prof Elliot Major added that the fear for pupils is that one dropped grade in English and maths GCSEs “can mean missing out on a sixth-form place, damaging future life prospects”.

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research on the University of Buckingham, stated it was “striking” how few college students who resit their English and maths GCSEs truly move second or third time round.

In his report, the professional stated: “It must be soul destroying to continually have to retake exams that you have failed in, perhaps several times, and to be denied entry to apprenticeships and much else if you cannot pass them.

“Surely, there is an urgent need for a policy rethink.”

Ahead of GCSE outcomes day on Thursday, the Liberal Democrats have warned that college students in England are being let down as tens of millions of lesson hours are being taught by non-specialist lecturers.

An evaluation by the Lib Dems claims to indicate that the common GCSE pupil could have had one in 10 classes with a trainer who just isn't a specialist in that topic over the previous two years.

Speaking on Tuesday, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan stated GCSEs have been “very important exams”.

She instructed Times Radio: “For me, they were very important because I didn’t do A-levels. They were the thing that got me on to my apprenticeship.

“For me because that was my step into the workplace, they were a game changer and I also didn’t think I was going to pass many and I ended up passing more than I thought.”