The Educator Magazine U.K. Sept-Dec 2022 - Magazine - Page 61
Top grades for 16 year olds in England
have also increased on 2019 as
intended, with 27% of entries achieving
a grade 7 and above, up by 5.2
percentage points compared to 2019,
and 3 percentage points lower than
2021. In line with the plans announced
last autumn, and as part of the
transition back to pre-pandemic
grading levels, overall grades today are
higher than in 2019 - recognising the
unprecedented disruption students
have faced - but lower than in 2021
when exceptional steps were taken to
ensure progression.
Students were supported with a range
of adaptations this year including
advance information on the content
of some exams, formula sheets and
content optionality for GCSE students
while some students doing vocational
and technical qualifications were given
longer assessment windows.
This is alongside continued support
from our National tutoring programme,
through which the government is
offering up to 6 million tutoring courses
over the lifetime of the programme.
So far over 2 million courses have
tarted. In the academic year 2022 to
2023, government will provide £349
million direct to schools to subsidise
the cost of tutoring.
In recognition of the greater gaps in
older pupils’ learning and the lower
amount of time those pupils have left in
education, the government is investing
over £800 million to increase time in
schools and colleges at 16 to 19 around
40 hours a year from September for all
students.
The additional funding schools receive
to support pupils’ recovery will also
nearly double for secondary schools
from September 2022, with a typical
secondary school set to receive £60,000
for evidence-based activities such as
extra support with English and maths,
attendance initiatives and summer
schools, as part of the £1 billion
recovery premium.
Education Secretary James Cleverly
said: Students receiving their results
today should be extremely proud,
and I want to congratulate them all.
The teaching profession has worked
incredibly hard and these results are a
testament to the resilience of both our
students and staff.
We have the most exciting range of
post-16 options for students to choose
from now, whether that’s one of
our exciting new T Levels, an
apprenticeship or A levels.
There is an option for everyone.
I wish students the very best of luck, no
matter what those next steps are.
Statistics published today also show:
• Entries at grade 4 or above for
16-year-olds in England were 77.2% for
GCSE English and 75.1% for GCSE maths
• Attainment gap between boys and girls
narrowed compared to 2021 at the top
grades
• The proportion of geography and
history entries are up by 10.1% and
5.7% respectively compared to 2019,
bringing entries into EBacc subjects to
nearly 4 million
• The proportion of grades at 7 and above
in independent schools in England has
dropped by 8.3 percentage points on
2021, compared to 2.4 percentage points
in academies, narrowing the gap
between the 2 groups at this grade
• 369,220 certificates across 141
qualifications have been awarded since
March 2022, 96% of which are technical
awards taken alongside GCSEs
There are a wide range of
apprenticeship opportunities available
to young people, offering them the
chance to earn while they learn and
gain the skills needed to secure
exciting careers in anything from space
engineering, teaching, cyber security,
nursing, social care or film and TV.
The government is investing nearly £5
billion to support students’ recovery
from the impact of the pandemic,
including £1.5 billion for tutoring
programmes.
Separate funding is also being
targeted at the areas of the country
where outcomes are weakest through
the government’s 55 education investment areas, including investment to
attract and retain the best teachers
through bursaries and funding to
increase the number of schools that can
benefit from the support of a strong
trust