Today in the UK, GSCE results were released, and they are showing a widening divide between the north and the south. In London, under a third of GCSE grades were 7/A and above, compared to a fifth receiving top grades in the North East and in Yorkshire and the Humber. The GCSE grading system was changed in 2018 replacing letters with numbers - grade 4 or above is needed to qualify for further study. Overall this year, 73.2% of GCSEs were marked at grades 4/C and above, down from 77.1% in 2021.

Schools minister in England, Will Quince, told the BBC “there has always been regional disparity” but the pandemic has worsened this. “Every year until the pandemic, we did see the attainment gap reduce, but the pandemic has had an impact, we know it has,” said Quince.

To help counteract the disruption to learning that students have experienced, special measures were introduced for this year’s GCSEs. The number of marks need for each grade is more lenient this year, and students also received information about exam content in advance, a choice of topic in some subjects, as well as additional resources.

Image from the BBC