So here we are, the last big day of this year’s examination results season on which over half a million pupils in England will collect their GCSE results. As is fast becoming traditional, there have been changes that need explaining.

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Last year saw the introduction of the new GCSE qualifications in English and mathes. Out went the A*-G grades that had been unchanged in more than 20 years and in came a new scale of 9-1. This year we see the first set of results from about 20 further reformed GCSEs including the sciences, geography, history and modern foreign languages.



The intention of these reforms has been twofold: to introduce a more rigorous qualification with new content and a move away from coursework; and to be able to distinguish the highest performing pupils.

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Two years ago, around 300,000 GCSE entries received the top grade possible, today that’s fallen by around a third. Even with that fall, statistics published by the exams regulator Ofqual show that 732 students in England taking at least seven new GCSEs scored grade 9s in all subjects.



The move away from coursework is thought to benefit boys in particular. The gender gap has narrowed slightly with a six-percentage-point difference between girls and boys when it comes to achieving a grade 7/A or above, down from seven percentage points last year. The gaps have narrowed most in geography, history and the sciences. However, it is still the case that girls outperform boys in nearly every major subject, the notable exceptions being mathematics and physics.

The subjects that pupils are entering are also changing. Entries to EBacc subjects – those academic subjects identified and used by government in their preferred performance measures – have generally held up, and in the case of separate sciences have increased. But there are declines elsewhere, particularly in the likes of design and technology, home economics and PE.



In other words, it is not difficult to see the effects that school league tables and the wider school accountability have on subject choices. It is, after all, one of the strongest levers that ministers have over what is taught in schools. Spare a thought, then, for the teachers and school leaders who have had to navigate their way through delivering new qualifications, with new course content, all with one eye on how they will look when the Department for Education publishes its school-by-school data.



Spare a thought too for those students who have results that are lower than they might have hoped to have achieved. Not least those pupils from low income backgrounds who are on average about 18 months behind their peers by this point. Schools cannot tackle this alone, much of the problem exists before school even begins, but progress in closing this gap at GCSE has been slow and on current trends it will take over a century to close.



Who knows what reforms schools will be having to get to grips with by then.

Jon Andrews is deputy head of research at the Education Policy Institute.