Generation On Mute – An Open Letter To The Department for Education and Ofqual

The Principal of UTC South Durham calls the DfE and Ofqual to account for the inadequate time they are giving students to complete technical studies - and for not listening!

Tom Dower, Principal of UTC South Durham

I write from University Technical College South Durham, a specialist STEM school for 14 to 19 year-olds in the North East of England, in response to communication from OCR about level 2 and level 3 technical qualifications.

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Leadership Briefing 10.02(110)"
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Leadership Briefing 10.02(110)"
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Leadership

Ofqual Investigation into OCR’s Summer 2014 GCSE and A Level Marking Issues

11 Aug 2015

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      string(3435) "Ofqual said many of this year’s year 13 pupils who failed their English or maths GCSEs during the last year of the old qualifications in 2016 had to “complete a full year of study” before re-sitting the exams, prompting a 94 per cent rise in November entries among that year group. The data shows 47,010 pupils in year 13 or above sat a GCSE maths or English exam in November this year, up from 24,250 last year. November entries give schools an opportunity to enter sixth form pupils who failed their English or maths for re-sits. In previous years, pupils have been much more likely to re-sit their English or maths GCSEs in year 12, but changes to the exams in recent years has prompted a sharp rise in entries from older sixth formers. This year, 25,910 year 13 pupils sat GCSE maths in November, up from 12,700 last year, and 21,100 re-sat English language, up from 11,550. Ofqual says the rise is in part down to changes to GCSEs which saw tougher exams and a new 9 to 1 grading system brought in. This year’s year 13 would have been the last cohort to sit the old English and maths GCSEs in 2016, and subsequently had to “complete a full year of study before re-entering to take these new qualifications”, the regulator said. Since August 2015, full time students who don’t achieve a grade C (now a grade 4) or above in their English language and maths GCSEs have had to continue studying the subjects to meet post-16 funding requirements. There are also more pupils in year 13 and above this year, after a drop in numbers last year. Although the number of pupils resitting English has grown steadily over the last five years, maths resits experienced a slump in 2017 compared to the year before. The number of year 12 pupils sitting maths and English GCSEs in November 2018 grew by a third this year, with 57,650 taking the exams compared to 43,480 last year. Overall, GCSE entries in November increased by 55 per cent. However, despite the rise in entries there was a drop in the overall number taking the GCSE maths higher tier exam, falling 17 per cent to 3,685. The number sitting the foundation tier rose 70 per cent, to 51,440. Overall, 93 per cent of all maths entries were for the foundation tier. Key Findings: Overall, GCSE entries in November 2018 increased by 55%, from 67,755 in 2017 to 104,710. Variations in entries over recent years may reflect changes in re-sit requirements related to funding, the transition from legacy to reformed qualifications, and availability of assessments. There were 55,125 entries to GCSE mathematics in November 2018. In 2018, the majority (93%) of entries were for the foundation tier paper and the remaining (7%) entered for the higher tier paper. Entries in mathematics are 55,125, a 58% increase on 2017, but more similar to 2016. Entries in English language also saw an increase to 49,585, representing a 50% increase on 2017, continuing a trend of increase over the past 5 years. Entries in November are from year 12 and above. Since 2017, year 11 students are no longer allowed to enter the November examination series. Year 12 entries increased by 33% from 43,480 in 2017 to 57,650 in 2018. WEB LINK Provisional November 2018 Exam Entries: GCSEsKeywords November 2018 exam entries, GCSEs, sixth form pupils, resits, English, maths "
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Leadership

Provisional November 2018 Exam Entries: GCSEs

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Leadership

Malpractice For GCSE, AS And A Level: Summer 2018 Exam Series

2 Jan 2019

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Leadership

Special Consideration In GCSE, AS And A Level: Summer 2018 Exam Series

2 Jan 2019