Less than 40 per cent of the general public, heads, teachers, parents, students, universities and employers believe the marking of GCSEs is accurate, new research shows.

And the proportion is lower (31 per cent) among heads alone, according to a new YouGov survey.

Coronavirus: All GCSEs and A levels to be offered this autumn

Ofqual: Exam boards should offer all subjects in autumn

Background: More top grades predicted in English and maths A levels

The annual perceptions survey, carried out for Ofqual, found that just 39 per cent of people agree that GCSE marking is accurate.

A breakdown of the results shows that the proportion of people in agreement is highest among teachers (45 per cent) and lowest among heads (31 per cent).

Meanwhile, just over two in five people (42 per cent) believe the marking of AS and A levels is accurate.

Agreement is lowest among the general public (36 per cent), compared with 50 per cent of teachers and 38 per cent of heads.

The survey also shows that just 56 per cent of the general public are aware of the 9 to 1 grading scale used in GCSEs, compared to 99 per cent of teachers and 100 per cent of heads.

And only 34 per cent of people, including 31 per cent of both heads and teachers, believe GCSEs are good preparation for the world of work.