Inequalities in GCSE results stubbornly persistent – here’s what the data tells us
As over one million students receive their GCSE results, Sky News has found gender and factors linked to deprivation remain troubling predictors of students’ performance.
Overall GCSE grades are relatively consistent with last year’s results, indicating stability has returned following the end of pandemic grading.
The compulsory courses, Level 2 English and Mathematics, continue to be a hurdle for many GCSE students – with Thursday’s results showing the highest failure rates for the two subjects in a decade.
Yet, while overall grades are stable, so too are key attainment gaps that experts say point to deprivation.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson denounced attainment gaps for white working-class children in an article for The Telegraph.
“It’s appalling, and I won’t stand by and watch those numbers continue to grow,” Ms Phillipson wrote. “It’s not just the life chances of those children that are being damaged – it’s also the health of our society as a whole.”
While the data does not share deprivation status or ethnicity of students, other strongly correlated factors such as English region and school type show stark inequalities.
Some 48.1% of GCSE exams sat at fee-paying schools in England received grades of 7 or above, compared with 18.2% at non-selective state schools.
Fiona Spellman, CEO of education charity SHINE, said, “The primary difference that drives the attainment gap between those who attend independent schools and those who don’t really comes from the circumstances in those children’s lives.”
Regional inequalities across England also remain significant. In London, 28.4% of GCSE exams were awarded a grade 7 or higher compared with just 17.8% of exams in the North East of England.
But even students in London were outperformed by Northern Ireland, where 31.6% of GCSE students received a 7 or above.
“Deprivation is a major driver of the gap we see between the different regions and in terms of the attainment children achieve in all phases of education,” said Ms Spellman.
This year’s cohort had both a disrupted primary and secondary school experience due to the pandemic – a factor that may be influencing some of these inequality gaps.
“We know that the pandemic affected all children, but we know that it didn’t affect all children equally,” added Ms Spellman. “The legacy of COVID is still very much still alive today and how that had a disproportionate effect on the children who most need support is still working its way through.”
Gender gap stubbornly persistent
One of the clearest divides in the results – and not mentioned by the education secretary – is gaps based on gender.
Girls continue to receive a greater proportion of the top grades compared with boys. Among students receiving a 7/A or above, 55.8% were girls while 44.2% were boys.
In England, the gap is wider when looking just at 16-year-old students taking 7 or more GCSEs. 60.7% of those in this cohort receiving top grades were girls while 39.3% were boys.
But, Jill Duffy, the chair of one of the main qualifications body, the OCR, pointed out the overall gender gap this year is the narrowest since 2000.
However, Claire Thomson and Cath Jadhav, both board members of the Joint Council for Qualifications alongside Ms Duffy, cautioned that the decrease in the gender gap was too small to confirm any concrete trend.
“The change is relatively small, at fractions of percentage points, so there will be lots of individual factors which affect that,” said Ms Jadhav.
Certain subjects showed large gender imbalances between boys and girls.
Girls were the most overrepresented in home economics, followed by performing/expressive arts, health & social care, hospitality, and social science subjects.
In contrast, boys were disproportionately more likely to take other technology, construction, engineering, computing, and economics.
Working-class boys facing hurdles
So, is Ms Phillipson right to highlight white working-class children as falling behind? And should we be more concerned about white working-class boys in particular?
While the data does not include sufficient detail on how these inequalities stack on each other, data published by the Department for Education (DfE) based on last year’s results suggest white working-class boys are among the most disadvantaged in education.
Among all children eligible for free school meals, White British boys were much less likely to receive a grade of 4 – a pass – or above on their GCSEs.
Black Caribbean and mixed white/black Caribbean boys on free school meals had similarly poor pass rates.
“It’s not all boys. And it’s not all white working-class boys,” said David Spendlove, professor at the University of Manchester’s Institute for Education. But, “boys top all of those key indicators: likely to be diagnosed with special needs, likely to be excluded from school.”
“The system is stacked against them and at every single hurdle they are going to face challenges which mount increasingly over time,” said Prof Spendlove.
Beyond A-levels
What’s next for students receiving results on Thursday?
According to DfE’s 2024 numbers, just over 40% of 16-year-olds started an A-level course the following year.
More than 20% started other Level 3 qualifications, such as T-levels or BTECs. Around 3.5% started apprenticeships.
However, 6.2% were classified as not in education, employment, or training (“NEET”).
Simon Ashworth, deputy CEO and head of policy for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), said, “The number of young people who are not in education, employment or training has got worse, not better.”
“We’re nearly to a million young people who are NEET,” he said. “That is a worry.”
Boys between the ages of 16 and 18 are more likely than their female counterparts to have NEET status, DfE data reveals.
Furthermore, individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds “tend to be the young people who will be closest to the job market or the risk of becoming NEET once they leave education,” shared Mr Ashworth.
Mr Ashworth also added that some young people who pursue apprenticeships fail to complete them because they struggle to pass mandatory Level 2 Mathematics.
Students who receive lower-than-desired results on Thursday, however, should stay optimistic that many doors remain open to them.
This year saw a 12.1% rise in students 17 or older resitting exams this year.
SHINE’s Dr Helen Rafferty said that the resit rate is likely due to the pandemic as “many students have come to the end of their secondary school journey having had the most chaotic and disrupted educational journey that you can imagine.”
Nonetheless, Ms Rafferty said, “I do think it’s encouraging that so many students are choosing to move on to an educational pathway which still provides them with that opportunity to get their English and maths results.”
A man has pleaded guilty to selling a substance online to assist with the suicide of others.
Miles Cross, 33, admitted four counts of intentionally doing an act capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide of another.
Cross provided chemicals to Shubhreet Singh on 22 August last year, Wrexham Magistrates’ Court heard during an October hearing.
Ms Singh, 26, died in West Yorkshire last year.
The three other counts relate to three victims who are alive and cannot be named due to reporting restrictions.
The incidents are said to have happened in August and September 2024.
Police are also investigating a second death in connection with the packages Cross sold online.
Cross arrives at Mold Crown Court to enter his guilty plea
Cross had set up a business selling the chemical via an internet discussion forum and interacted with others on the forum under a pseudonym.
He joined the site in July 2024 and posted a QR code, which allowed people to order the chemical directly from him and pay via his bank account.
Cross received payments of £100 from four people and sent them the chemical through the post.
Cross, from Wrexham, was arrested in January following a police investigation into sales via the forum to assist with suicide. Officers found the chemical and other paraphernalia at his address.
His devices were seized, which linked Cross to the forum, social media profiles and the bank account.
“Miles Cross preyed on four people in a distressed state and knowingly provided a substance intended to end their lives,” Alison Storey, specialist prosecutor with the CPS Special Crime Division, said.
“His actions were purely for financial gain, and he made the process of ordering the chemical online easy and accessible.”
Court artist drawing of Miles Cross. Pic: PA
She said the case was a “stark reminder of the dangers posed by those who aim to exploit vulnerable individuals online”, adding that the CPS hopes that Cross pleading guilty brings “some measure of justice” to the victims and their families.
North Wales Police’s Detective Superintendent Chris Bell said: “Cross took advantage and exploited his victims in their most desperate moments, profiting off their vulnerability and mental illnesses.
“I hope today’s admission provides the victims and their families with some peace of mind and relief that they are now spared the ordeal of a trial. My thoughts, and those of the whole investigation team, remain with them today.”
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He added: “This has been a highly complex and sensitive investigation over the past 10 months, and I want to acknowledge the courage of the witnesses who played an integral part in the investigation during such difficult circumstances.”
Cross will be sentenced at Mold Crown Court on 7 January.
If you’ve been affected by this story and want to talk to someone, you can call Samaritans free on 116 123 anytime day or night. You can also email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org to find support online.
The Princess of Wales has delivered a rare speech calling on businesses to value “time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success”, as part of her push to make society put the needs of children first.
During her first speech since she was diagnosed with cancer at the start of 2024, Kate reflected on the importance of love, telling 80 business leaders, “the love we feel in our earliest years fundamentally shapes who we become and how we thrive as adults”.
But in a call to action for businesses, she added: “Every one of you interacts with your own environment; a home, a family, a business, a workforce, a community. These are the ecosystems that you yourselves help to weave.
“Imagine a world where each of these environments were built on valuing time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success.
“As business leaders, you will face the daily challenge of finding the balance between profitability and having a positive impact. But the two are not, and should not be incompatible.”
Princess of Wales talks with business leaders and attendees at the Future Workforce Summit. Pic: Reuters
The Princess of Wales leaves after attending the Future Workforce Summit at Salesforce Tower in London.
Pic: PA
At the Future Workforce Summit, hosted by her Royal Foundation Business Taskforce, Kate thanked her team at the Centre of Early Childhood “for holding the fort, particularly over the last couple of years”.
She was also joined by former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate as she called on business leaders to invest more in the early years development of children.
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The event came as The Royal Foundation released a new report called “The Human Advantage”, exploring how, as AI increasingly handles technical tasks, competitive advantage will rely on human skills that technology cannot replicate.
But while the survey found that 81% of business leaders believe there will be an increased need for human skills in the next five to 10 years, very few business leaders identified the unique importance of early childhood in the development of these skills.
Gareth Southgate attends the Future Workforce Summit. Pic: Reuters
In summer 2024, the Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood produced a report recommending a range of interventions from creating a culture inside and outside firms that prioritises childhood to supporting parents with greater resources and flexibility in the workplace.
Involving the chief executives of Ikea, NatWest Group and Deloitte, the report highlighted how the nation could benefit from an estimated £45.5bn.
The report followed the launch of Kate’s long-term campaign, Shaping Us, in January 2023, described as the princess’ “life’s work”, and aimed at highlighting the crucial first five years of a child’s life.
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