UK coronavirus: top GCSE grades surge to record high in England – live news | World news

The government must put an end to the “incompetence” around the issuing of the BTec results, according to the National Education Union’s co-general secretary. Hundreds of thousands of BTec students are still waiting for their final grades after the exam board told schools and colleges not to release the results to pupils on Thursday. Mary Bousted said:

Teachers know their students better than any model or algorithm and it will be a relief to many that the grades they receive are now a fairer reflection of their achievements.

To add to the GCSE and A-level fiasco, the decision by Pearson not to issue BTec results at the 11th hour compounds the upsetting and chaotic experience for students.

Government must put an end to this incompetence and work quickly to ensure every young person gets the grades they deserve to move on to the next stages of their lives.

About one in eight of the UK workforce remain on furlough before the winding down of the job retention programme, according to official figures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said that its latest fortnightly survey into the impact of coronavirus on UK firms revealed that 12% of the workforce is still furloughed.

It also said that 10% of surveyed businesses said they have a “moderate” risk of insolvency, with 1% of firms saying the risk was “severe”.

The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, said students receiving their GCSE results today should feel “incredibly proud” of what they have achieved “in the face of immense challenge and uncertainty”.

This is an exciting day and young people now can look forward to taking their next steps, whether that is returning to schools and colleges in September to do A-levels or our brand new T-levels, or taking one of the many other routes available like starting an apprenticeship.

I also want to pay a special tribute to teachers and school leaders this year, who have shown dedication, resilience and ingenuity to support their students to get to this moment.

The Stormont education minister, Peter Weir, congratulated GCSE students.

These outcomes reflect the assessments made by the people who know you best: your teachers.

I appreciate the past few months have been particularly challenging but our young people have demonstrated a determination not to let this pandemic put their lives on hold. Today, they have been awarded qualifications which reflect their hard work and will enable them to move forward confidently with their future plans.

Teachers and school leaders had a very difficult job to do and I want to express my appreciation for their hard work and commitment to their students in challenging circumstances.

Teacher-assessed GCSE results have improved across all grades in Northern Ireland.

On Thursday morning, 29,000 students in Northern Ireland received results from the examinations body CCEA.

In terms of grades, 37.1% of students achieved grade A* to A, up by 5.7 percentage points on last year. The proportion of students receiving A* to C grades also increased, by 7.6 percentage points to 89.4%.

And the numbers receiving A*-G grades increased by 0.9 percentage points to 99.7%.

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), is expecting staff to have challenging conversations with GCSE students unhappy with results.

He said one sixth form college was threatened with a solicitor and had to deal with abusive parents” after “all hell broke loose” over the colleges’ estimated grades for A-levels last week. Speaking yesterday – before GCSE results day, Barton said:

That will be repeated tomorrow I guess. I think people are expecting difficult conversations. It will be around a misunderstanding of: ‘This is an individual teacher. She didn’t like me. She has therefore marked me down’.

Traditional A*-G GCSE grades have been scrapped and replaced in England with a 9-1 system, with 9 the highest result. A 4 is broadly equivalent to a C grade, and a 7 broadly equivalent to an A.

Students receiving GCSE results this summer will get numerical grades for all their subjects as all courses have now moved over to the new grading system.

The proportion of GCSE entries in England awarded top grades has hit a record high after a U-turn meant results could be based on teachers’ estimated grades amid cancelled exams.

More than one in four GCSE entries in England scored one of the three top grades this year, up from just over a fifth last summer, figures from the exams regulator Ofqual show.

The proportion receiving the top grades – at least a seven or an A grade – is a record high based on available data following the decision to award grades based on teachers’ assessments, rather than an algorithm.

More than three in four entries were awarded at least a four or a C grade in England this summer, which is up 8.9 percentage points on last year when 67.1% achieved the grades, data from Ofqual shows.

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