School Leaders Say Compulsory GCSE Resits Are 'Not Working'
Some 620,000 pupils face retaking GCSE maths or English next year after missing a grade 4, and school leaders say the compulsory-resit policy is “demotivating” and failing. Only about one in seven older students retaking maths passed this year, and one in six in English. The Education Secretary, Lucy Powell, called the system “a hamster wheel” and will introduce a new lower-level “stepping stone” qualification.
The resit rule, which forces teenagers who miss the pass mark to keep sitting the same exams, was meant to ensure basic literacy and numeracy but has instead trapped many in a cycle of repeated failure that dents confidence. The dismal pass rates among resitters, and evidence that the treadmill harms mental wellbeing, have hardened the view that the policy needs rethinking. Ms Powell’s “stepping stone” qualification is an attempt to offer a more achievable goal, though critics will want to see whether it opens doors or simply relabels failure. The stakes are high: those without the grades risk sliding into the ranks of the not in education, employment or training. Watch the detail of the new qualification and whether the resit rule is finally dropped.