Schools told to expect fall in English literature top grades

Ofqual has warned schools that they should expect a lower proportion of their pupils to get top grades in their English Literature GCSE this summer.

According to Schools Week, Cath Jadhav, associate director of standards and comparability at Ofqual, said that more pupils in lower ability sets were likely to have been entered for the English Literature GCSE this year, so they are counted in Progress 8 measures.

Because of this, schools could see a larger number of pupils than usual get lower grades in that subject.

A previous investigation by Schools Week revealed that the only school-led factor that caused volatility in results linked to swings in GCSE pass rates was moving a large number of pupils into different exams each year.

Jadhav, speaking at the Ofqual symposium today, said: “If, as we believe, the new Progress 8 measure is encouraging schools to enter most if not all of their pupils to English Literature, then this is also likely to have an impact on results.

“It’s too early to have seen any awarding data, but we think it’s likely that the increase in entry numbers means that overall the cohort is weaker.

“This is likely to mean that the percentage of pupils achieving higher grades as a percentage of the total, will be lower.”