Less than a quarter of students who took GCSE maths in the latest November exams achieved the grade 4 they needed to pass.
Just 22.9 per cent achieved a grade 4 in maths, according to Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) results data for the November 2023 GCSE exams, released this morning. The vast majority of those students were resitting.
This is an even lower proportion that the 24.9 per cent who achieved a grade 4 in maths in 2022, and the 26.9 per cent in 2019 before the pandemic.
More students took November exams in 2023 than in the previous year, with the maths cohort growing from 41,529 to 56,147, JCQ said.
However, the proportion of students achieving a grade 4 in English increased to 40.3 per cent, up from 38 per cent in 2022 and 32.3 per cent in 2019.
The proportion of students achieving a grade 4 across all subjects also rose this year to 31.2 per cent, from 30.9 per cent in 2022 and 29.6 per cent in 2019.
There was an increase in the cohort sitting November exams across all subjects this year - to 117,098 from 91,357 last year.
Rise in GCSE resits ‘shows a deeper problem’
The 2023 summer exams marked the end of the two-year process of returning to pre-pandemic grading after the 2020 and 2021 teacher-assessed and centre-assessed grades.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, previously told Tes that the rising number of resits showed “a deeper problem with our current exam system”, and called for new literacy and numeracy assessments that “build confidence and competence in these vital skills”.
The resit results come after prime minister Rishi Sunak announced a plan to introduce an Advanced British Standard (ABS) qualification, which would reform the 16-19 system and see all students take some form of maths and English until 18.
A Department for Education spokesperson said it will invest an extra £1.6 billion in colleges by 2024-25 to support 16-19 provision, including for those taking resits post-16.
It is also investing £300 million to build teaching capacity in English and maths ahead of the introduction of the ABS.
