News
'Harsh' GCSE English marking row
23 Aug 2012
English teachers have complained that exam boards have substantially increased GCSE grade boundaries, leaving pupils with lower results than expected. Exam chiefs have admitted that grade boundaries have changed but insist that this often happens and that standards have been maintained in line with previous years.
This year's national results show that in the English GCSE, 63.9% of entries got at least a grade C, compared to 65.4% last summer, while 15% were awarded an A or A*, down from 16.8% in 2011.
Under new targets, which apply to today's results, schools will be considered failing if they do not ensure that at least 40% of their pupils get at least five Cs at GCSE, including English and maths (up from a 35% target last year).
