The head of the government's curriculum review, Becky Francis, has called for an overhaul of the policy requiring students who fail GCSE maths and English to repeatedly resit the exams. Speaking at a conference of school leaders, Francis described the current system as inflexible and damaging to student morale.
Francis, a professor of education at University College London, highlighted that out of 3,400 17-year-olds who achieved a grade 2 in GCSE maths in summer 2024, only about 50 managed to achieve a grade 4 in resits later that year. She argued that the policy condemns students to 'blocks to progress' and repeated discouragement, with significant costs to both young people's morale and the public purse.
The review, ordered by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, is expected to be published in the coming weeks and will support changes anticipated in a forthcoming white paper on post-16 skills. Francis called for 'a more nuanced, evidence-driven approach at post-16, rather than an inflexible approach to retakes'.
The compulsory resits have faced widespread criticism. Jill Duffy, former chief executive of the OCR examination board, said the level of resits has turned into a crisis, revealing that students lack fundamental skills they should have acquired earlier. MPs on the House of Commons education select committee have also urged the government to change the policy introduced by former education secretary Michael Gove.
Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the existing policy 'simply hasn't worked' and that most students continue to fall short of grade 4, eroding their confidence. The government is expected to publish its post-16 skills white paper early next week, including plans for a new vocational qualification known as V-levels, which would sit alongside A-levels and T-levels.
