Commenting as students today (Thurs 25 August) receive results for GCSEs and a range of level 2 vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs), Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“All those students receiving their results today deserve our congratulations. Their courses have been marred by disruption due to Covid-19, which has made things a lot tougher for them than for some previous years. We know from our members just how hard both students and school staff have worked to achieve today’s results.

“The impact of the pandemic has not been felt evenly by everyone – some students and some schools will have experienced more disruption than others. It is important that everyone bears this in mind and takes into account each student’s, and each school’s, particular circumstances.

“We hope that the issues experienced with BTEC and Cambridge Technical results last week are not repeated. Despite the differences in the arrangements for unit assessments due to the pandemic and the complexity this has created, the exam boards have a responsibility to ensure that results are issued on time for all students, whose next steps may depend on their result.

“It is now time to reflect and to make changes to our qualification system. The GCSE resit policy forces young people into a round of re-sits when an alternative qualification would better meet their needs. The absence of non-exam assessment in most subjects, the reliance on terminal exams and the existence of the EBacc performance measure create unnecessary barriers to success.

“Young people deserve a system which helps them to flourish and achieve in a wide range of academic and vocational subjects. The current GCSE system is not succeeding in doing that.”