Ofqual
Students receiving their GCSE results today can be proud of their achievements. There has been a return to pre-pandemic grading in England this summer, with grading protection in place to recognise the disruption that students have faced. This means that allowances have been made where national performance is weaker than before the pandemic. This has been part of a two-year, two-step plan to return to normal grading arrangements after the pandemic.
Students sitting GCSEs also received support in their exams this summer. In maths, physics, and combined science exams, students were given formulae and equation sheets, so there were fewer things to memorise for the exams. In GCSE modern foreign languages, the exams did not have to test unfamiliar vocabulary.
Dr Jo Saxton, Chief Regulator, said:
Congratulations to over half a million students collecting GCSE results today. They can be very proud of their achievements, which are testament to their hard work and resilience over the past 2 years. As with A level results last week, todays GCSE results have returned to pre-pandemic levels, similar to those in 2019, and as expected lower than in 2022. Students have been at the forefront of our thinking at all times, which is why we built in grade protection to recognise the disruption that students have faced in recent years.
Key points
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There has been a return to pre-pandemic grading this summer in England with protection in place for students. It is most meaningful to compare results to 2019, the last summer exam series before the pandemic.
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GCSE entries from 16-year-olds have increased by over 400,000 compared to 2019, and there has been an increase in the 16-year-old population since 2019.
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Overall GCSE results are similar to 2019. Outcomes at grade 7 and above are 21.6% compared with 20.6% in 2019, and outcomes at grade 4 and above are 67.8% compared with 67.0% in 2019.
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The results for GCSE French and German reflect the adjustments we required exam boards to make, following our review of an extensive evidence base as part of our work on inter-subject comparability and subsequent announcement that we would aim to better align grade standards with Spanish.
Today (24 August 2023) we are publishing:
- a summary of results (below)
- infographics about this years GCSE results
- interactive visualisations of?outcomes by centre type, variability in school and college GCSE results, GCSE outcomes in England, an interactive map of England showing GCSE results in different subjects by grade and county and GCSE grade combinations
- results of the 2023 National Reference Test
As in a typical year, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) has published results in England for GCSE, overall and by subject. These results are also shown in our interactive visualisation.
Centre type results
Ofqual has updated its interactive visualisation to show GCSE results for different types of school and college compared to previous years, overall and by subject. The centre type categories are based on the national centre number (NCN) register and are self-reported by centres.
Overall results for all types of school and college are broadly similar to 2019 at grade 7 and above. When students take exams, the same assessment arrangements apply to everyone. Any differences in outcomes compared to 2019 are likely to reflect differences in the impact of the pandemic, longstanding differences in the pattern of results for different centre types, and changes in the cohorts for particular centre types for example, a stronger or weaker cohort this year.
Cumulative percentage outcomes by centre type grade 7 and above
| Centre type | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academies | 20.7 | 25.6 | 21.1 |
| Free schools | 19.6 | 24.5 | 19.6 |
| FE establishment | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
| Independent | 47.2 | 53.1 | 46.6 |
| Other | 7.4 | 10.6 | 8.6 |
| Secondary comprehensive | 18.6 | 23.2 | 19.1 |
| Secondary modern | 13.6 | 16.8 | 14.1 |
| Secondary selective | 58.5 | 66.5 | 59.3 |
| Sixth form college | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.4 |
At grade 4 and above, results for different types of school and college vary relative to 2019. This is likely to reflect the changing cohort in some types of centre. For example, there is a smaller post-16 cohort this summer compared to 2019, and these learners typically make up the majority of GCSE entries in further education establishments and colleges.
Cumulative percentage outcomes by centre type grade 4 and above
| Centre type | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academies | 69.3 | 74.6 | 69.4 |
| Free schools | 67.7 | 72.7 | 67.0 |
| FE establishment | 24.1 | 23.2 | 19.3 |
| Independent | 90.2 | 92.6 | 90.1 |
| Other | 37.8 | 43.7 | 39.2 |
| Secondary comprehensive | 67.6 | 73.2 | 68.1 |
| Secondary modern | 61.9 | 67.6 | 62.0 |
| Secondary selective | 96.9 | 97.9 | 96.8 |
| Sixth form college | 30.6 | 26.2 | 24.3 |
Centre variability
Ofquals interactive visualisation shows the level of variation in schools and colleges GCSE results compared to 2019. We know that, in any year, individual schools and colleges may see variation in the proportion of students achieving particular grades compared to previous years. This can be due to many different factors, including differences in the mix of students entered for particular qualif