GCSE results day: Lower grades expected due to Covid

As students across the UK discover their GCSE results, a similar pattern to last weeks A-level results is expected due to the turbulent circumstances of the pandemic.

After two years of cancellations due to Covid, this is the first group to have taken GCSE exams since 2019. It's expected that grades will be lower on average now that tests have been marked by exam boards.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said:

“We have set out a range of measures to help level up education across England, including targeted support both for individual pupils who fall behind and whole areas of the country where standards are weakest.

“This is alongside £5 billion to help young people to recover from the impact of the pandemic, including £1.5 billion for tutoring programmes.

“Pupil Premium funding is also increasing to more than £2.6 billion in 2022/23, whilst an additional £1 billion is allowing us to extend the Recovery Premium for the next two academic years – funding which schools can use to offer targeted academic and emotional support to disadvantaged pupils.”

However, Shadow schools minister Stephen Morgan said:

“Young people receiving results have worked incredibly hard, but 12 years of Conservative governments has left a legacy of unequal outcomes that are holding back kids and holding back communities."