Responding to this morning's exam results for GCSEs and vocational technical qualifications (VTQs) in England, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“We warmly congratulate students as they receive their results across a wide range of qualifications. Today's results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of students and the school and college staff who have supported them.

"Students receiving their results today should feel especially proud of what they have achieved - they navigated the start of secondary school during the pandemic, some have been taught in unfit school buildings, and support from the previous government left much to be desired.

“It is high time for change and significant improvements to the experience of students in key stage 4.  That includes broadening the curriculum and the choices students have, reducing the number of exams they sit at the end of Year 11, scrapping the restrictive EBacc and abandoning the Maths and English re-sit policy.

Resit policy

“The current GCSE maths and English resit policy must be scrapped. English language entries from 17 to 19-year-olds increased 30.8% and Mathematics entries increased 23.1% this year. But only 19.3% of those students achieved a grade 4 and above in English Language, the figure for maths is 15%.

“Those students who haven’t achieved the required grade are forced into repeated resits which are demotivating and can lead to disengagement with their learning.

“The most important outcome for students is that they have the necessary numeracy and literacy skills to continue their education or training and progress towards their chosen career.

“For some young people alternative qualifications in maths and English would be a more positive and effective way to demonstrate their achievements and government policy should allow much more flexibility.

On regional disparities:

“Although there are some marginal improvements in regional disparities, the gap between the lowest and the highest percentage of students achieving 4/C or above has grown from 8.7% in 2023 to 9.4% in 2024.

“Such inequalities have been exacerbated over the last decade by funding cuts to schools and community services, the pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis.

"Schools do their best to support pupils and close those gaps, but they cannot do this alone. Unfortunately, the previous government failed to provide anything like the resources needed to address these inequalities.

“We welcome the new education secretary’s pledge to address regional disparities. We ask that this approach goes beyond the school gates, and looks at services like social care and mental health to enable children everywhere in the country to thrive at school.

On exam anxiety

“Our members have definitely seen a rise in the requests for access arrangements, particularly for students to take their exams away from the main hall in smaller rooms.

“That rise in requests is likely to be a result of a variety of factors including the impact of the pandemic and increasing anxiety and mental health issues. Those may be exacerbated by the number of high stakes final exams students face in their GCSE subjects. There is also more awareness amongst students and parents of what is available to help students cope with exams and get the support that they need.

“It can be challenging for schools to meet that increasing demand for separate or small room invigilation as it needs additional staffing and space. Schools and colleges will need more support to meet their students’ needs going forwards."