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This guide provides you with information about this year's arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

Applies to England

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Details

This guide is for students taking any of the following qualifications:

GCSEs

AS or A levels

other general qualifications, including International Baccalaureate, core mathematics and Pre-U

Technical Qualification (part of a T Level)

BTEC, Cambridge Technicals and other vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) taken alongside GCSEs and A levels

In this guide, we refer to schools and colleges as a collective term for all schools, colleges and other exam centres.

Some students won't be studying at a school or college and will be private candidates. They are often home educated or are re-taking a qualification after leaving school or college. They may be studying with a distance learning provider, tutor, parent, or without any support. Private candidates will need to register at a school, college or other exam centre to sit their exams. More information on how to do this can be found in this guide. We make clear in this guide where information only applies to a certain type of qualification. If you are not sure exactly which qualifications you are taking, check with your school or college.

This guide talks about awarding organisations and exam boards. All organisations that offer qualifications regulated by Ofqual are called awarding organisations. The 4 awarding organisations that offer GCSEs, AS and A levels in England are also called exam boards.

This guide refers to exams officers. An exams officer is the person in a school or college that organises exams. An exams officer's duties will vary by school or college. Check with your school or college who your exams officer is and how to contact them.

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This guide provides you with information about this year's arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

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Ofqual: Coping with exam pressure - a guide for students

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Ofqual: Coping with exam pressure - a guide for students

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Published: 18th April 2023
Advice and guidance for students on how to cope with pressure associated with test and exam anxiety.

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Coping with exam pressure - a guide for students

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Edumentors: GCSE 2023 - Everything You Need to Know BLOG

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Edumentors: GCSE 2023 - Everything You Need to Know BLOG

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Published: 23rd March 2023

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Table of Contents:

Will There Be Changes to GCSE 2023?

Formal assessments, including GCSE 2023, will gradually return to normal as England moves on from the pandemic. It is now unlikely that schools will close or exams are cancelled, as the national return to exam-oriented learning has come. The government does not intend for exams to ever be cancelled but recognises that contingency plans are necessary in case of unexpected events.

Ofqual has confirmed that in 2023 a pre-pandemic grading scale will be reinstated for GCSE exams. However, the government has announced that it will offer support to students taking GCSEs in 2023, recognising the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Here's everything you need to know about GCSEs in 2023:

Will GCSE Students Get Advanced Information?

In 2022, the exam boards released topics for some papers in advance to help students who had been impacted by the pandemic. This practice will not feature again next year, Ofqual has confirmed that there will be no advanced information for GCSE students in 2023. The reasoning behind this conclusion is that students have experienced less disruption due to Covid-19 than in previous years.

While Ofqual has confirmed that there will be no advanced information for GCSE students in England in 2023, pupils in Northern Ireland taking GCSE, AS and A-level exams in 2023 have been given advance information for most subjects, as published by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). However, it's important to note that this decision only applies to Northern Ireland and not to other parts of the UK, such as England, Wales, or Scotland.

Will GCSE Students Get Formulae Sheets in 2023?

Yes! Formulae and equation sheets will be provided for GCSE exams in 2023. In acknowledgement of the disturbance caused by exam season, this support will be offered to students taking GCSE exams in 2023.

The subjects that formulae sheets and equation sheets are provided for this year have remained the same as those from last year:

GCSE Physics

GCSE Combined Science

GCSE Mathematics

Will GCSE Grades Fall Back to Pre-Pandemic Grades?

The pandemic caused a learning loss that is expected to lower GCSE and A-level grade boundaries in 2023. A grade boundary is a minimum mark pupil needs to get a certain qualification level. For example, if the grade boundary for 7 is 150 marks, students must get at least 150 marks to achieve that grade. In order to avoid unfairness in grading, senior examiners use various data such as previous cohorts' exam results and prior attainment to set grade thresholds every year. Experts expect that grades will be lower than 2022 this year but similar to 2019's results.

"We expect that overall results in 2023 will be much closer to pre-pandemic years than results since 2020. This decision means that results in 2023 will be lower than in 2022." - according to Jo Saxton, the chief regulator of Ofqual.

The reason for this is that it took some pupils longer than others to get back on track. Natalie Perera, chief executive of the Education Policy Institute states that she has concerns about disadvantaged students who were affected by the learning loss during the pandemic.

"Although their course of study for their qualifications may not have been affected by national closures, the years leading up to them - and providing the foundations for their courses - were significantly disrupted" - states Natalie.

Plan B for GCSE 2023

The "Plan B" guidance has been implemented by the Department for Education and Ofqual as a precautionary measure in the event that the GCSE exams are disrupted or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other unforeseen circumstances. This guidance instructs schools and colleges to collect and retain evidence that can be used for potential teacher grades for GCSEs and A-levels. While the probability of the GCSE exams being cancelled is low, this guidance aims to ensure that students have the opportunity to obtain valid and reliable qualifications in the face of any disruptions.

What is the Hardest Exam Board for GCSE 2023?

Firstly, What Exam Boards are There in the UK?

The exam boards currently in use are - AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC. They develop secondary school level qualifications such as GCSEs, A-levels, AS levels and vocational qualifications. They are also responsible for marking and awarding points.

Schools have the freedom to choose their exam board, however, most schools use a mixture of some boards, because not all boards provide all subjects. The exam board the school or college chooses will affect how a student's course is taught and what kind of material they study.

If your child is being homeschooled, then you have to do some research into different exam boards and choose the one that seems most suitable for him or her.

To learn more about this topic, you can consult the exam boards' guides for private candidates. The guide can be available by calling the relevant board directly or downloading a pdf from their website.

How are Exam Boards Different?

All exam boards follow the guidelines of Ofqual to ensure parity and to regulate standards. However, the layout, and format vary. To check what differences are there in a specific subject, you can visit each exam board's website or contact them directly. However, at the end of the day, all exam boards mark students on the same skills and techniques. Even if they don't use the same books. If you don't plan to change your child's secondary school and are content with their current exam board's results, there is no need for concern. The awarding committee evaluates each exam board every year and sets grade boundaries so that no student will be treated unfairly in relation to another.

Which is the Hardest Exam Board?

Typically, the difficulty of an exam board's content depends on a student's learning style and the type of questions that they find easiest to answer. Each of the exams is designed for a different type of student. Hence, Edexcel may seem easier to one person than AQA does to another.

The grades students receive are a reflection of the grade boundaries that have been set by exam boards. These boundaries shift depending on how difficult an examination paper is. It's possible for someone to earn lower marks than your child but still be awarded a higher overall grade because they're on another board.

Students have their own favourite based on the subject. For instance, in Maths, Pearson Edexcel is the most popular. Generally, the easiest exam board for languages is considered AQA. Research each subject's requirements and overall grades throughout the years and choose based on your child's strengths and weaknesses.

GCSE 2023 exam timetables have been published:

AQA's GCSE exams start on the 15th of May and end on June 23. Contingency day is on Wednesday, 28th June.

Edexcel's GCSE exams start on the 15th of May and end on Wednesday, June 21st.

OCR's GCSE exams start on the 15th of May and end on the 20th of June.

GCSE Results Day 2023

GCSE results day is an exciting and nerve-wracking time for students across the UK. This year, GCSE results day is scheduled for Thursday, August 24th, 2023. Students can collect their results from their school or college in the morning from 8am. However, some schools may stagger this time or email out results instead.

On GCSE results day, students will find out how they performed in their exams and whether they have achieved the grades they need to progress to their next stage of education. If a student did not achieve the grades they needed, they may be able to request a review of their marking or resit their exams.

It's important for students to remember that results day is not the end of the road. If they did not achieve the grades they needed, there are still options available to them. They can speak to their school or college about alternative options, such as resitting exams or taking vocational qualifications. They can also seek advice from their teachers or careers advisors on the next steps to take.

When Should Students Start Revising for GCSE 2023?

There is no definitive answer to that question. The earlier GCSE students start their revision, the better. If you see your child struggling to start their revision, there are so many ways you can support your child during this stressful time. Here's how:

Study Plan

Help them make a study plan by writing down all the things they need to remember. Then break those things down into smaller chunks. This will help them see what they should be working on and when. This is important so they don't get overwhelmed and develop exam anxiety. Their revision schedule is going to look different depending on which subjects they're taking and when they are being taken. But, there are some general rules they can apply to all of them.

Revision Techniques

Help them find new revision techniques. Notetaking is a widely recommended way to learn. But some students don't take notes and prefer making flashcards instead. Encourage them to experiment with different ways of studying to find what works for them.

Good Physical and Mental Health

Motivate them to maintain a good sleeping routine and eat healthily. This is one of the most important things for being able to focus on their revision. Especially if they're feeling stressed out about something else going on in their lives. Read how can one maintain good mental health during the exam season. Try to help them incorporate some good habits into their lifestyle.

Revising for GCSEs can be a stressful time for both students and parents. As a parent, you can help your child by reminding them that grades are not everything. Sometimes your support is all they need. There are many alternatives to get the education they need, such as apprenticeships, university coursework, and internships. In addition, they can always retake GCSEs next year if they didn't get the desired grade.

The government provides access arrangements for students with disabilities, temporary illnesses or special needs. They may get extra time, modified papers or other aids. Check the government's website to learn more about how AA works. Knowing they'll get some extra help during exams may ease their anxiety.

GCSE Past Papers - Effective Revision for GCSE 2023
GCSE English language GCSE Chemistry GCSE Biology GCSE Physics GCSE English literature
To Sum Up

GCSE 2023 grades are predicted to be lower than pre-covid grades due to a huge learning loss, especially with disadvantaged students. In an effort to help students prepare for the new GCSE exams, the government will provide them with formulae and equation sheets in Physics, Maths and Combined Science. Unfortunately, no advanced information will be given. There will be support in modern foreign languages too. Students won't longer be tested on unfamiliar vocabulary.

It's worth mentioning that during the pandemic, GCSE exams were more spaced out during the summer. Ofqual states that it was well received by schools since it reduced the risk of students being unable to come to exams. The Council for Qualifications will consult on the topic this year too!

If you don't want to miss out on any news regarding GCSEs, there are numerous great communities you can join. You can follow GCSE 2023 on TikTok or join r/GCSE on Reddit. You can also fill out this form to receive important updates.

If you find the information in this article useful, feel free to share it with other parents. You never know how much you can help them!

If you're looking for an effective and supportive way to help your child excel at their GCSEs, check out this 1-day Crash-course! Top-talent tutors from top UK universities can provide your teen with the essential study skills they need to succeed in exams, all from memorisation tips to tricks on how to think like an examiner!

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GCSE 2023: Everything You Need to Know - Edumentors

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GCSEs are coming and parents want their children to be as ready as possible. Read this article to understand everything you need to about GCSE 2023.

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National Statistics: 2022 Alevel and other 16 to 18 results Breakdown

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National Statistics: 2022 Alevel and other 16 to 18 results Breakdown

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Updated: 2nd February 2023

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Last updated

Release type

National statistics ?

This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades. As part of the transition back to the summer exam series adaptations were made to the exams (including advance information) and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The 16 to 18 performance measures reported in this revised release for the 2021/22 academic year, and to be included on the Find School and College Performance Data website, have been affected by our commitment not to include results from qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 (see section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22').

Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat. Given the unprecedented change in how A level and vocational and VTQ grades were awarded in 2020 and 2021, as well as changes to the grade boundaries and methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in student performance alone.

Related information

Releases in this series

View releases (23)

Methodologies

Headline facts and figures - 2021/22

A level retention

95.1%

An increase of 3.8 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for A level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their A level programme).

Applied general retention

91.7%

An increase of 5.1 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for applied general programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their applied general programme).

Tech level retention

91.1%

An increase of 3.2 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for tech level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their tech level programme).

Average Point Score (APS) per entry for all level 3 cohorts is lower compared to 2020/21: A level, -2.8 pts; applied general, -0.7 pts; tech level, - 1.1 pts. However, attainment remains higher compared to 2018/19: A level, +4.9pts; applied general, +3.1 pts; tech level +1.9 pts. [An increase of 10 points is equivalent to an increase in one full grade]. This follows Ofqual's announcement in September 2021 that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 (TAG grades) and 2019 (the last year all students sat exams).

The trend for falling average attainment across level 3 cohorts in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21 was observed across institution types generally (when grouped into state-funded schools, independent schools, sixth form colleges, and 'Other FE sector colleges') with the exception of applied general attainment in sixth form colleges and independent schools which increased in 2021/22 (+ 0.2 pts and + 0.8 pts respectively).

The disadvantage gap (between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students) is at its widest level for all Level 3 cohorts (A level, tech level, and applied general) since disadvantage measures began in 2016/17.

Gender gaps in favour of female students in average attainment at A level, applied general, and tech level have narrowed in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21; average attainment had increased more for female students than males with the alternative Centre Assessment Grade (CAG) and Teacher Assessed Grade (TAG) awarding processes in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared with 2018/19.

The percentage of students who completed their main or 'core' aim from their study programme, known as the Retention rate, increased across all programmes in 2021/22.

Non-disadvantaged students are more likely to be retained than disadvantaged students, across all cohorts.

Students with higher prior attainment are more likely to be retained than students with lower prior attainment, across all level 3 cohorts.

Given the unprecedented change in the way results were awarded in the summers of 2020 and 2021, as well as the changes to methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in pupil performance alone.

The changes seen in the headline statistics likely reflect the changes in methodology for awarding grades and in calculating the measures, rather than demonstrating a difference in standards.

Explore data and files used in this release

View tables that we have built for you, or create your own tables from open data using our table tool

Browse and download open data files from this release in our data catalogue

Learn more about the data files used in this release using our online guidance

Download all data available in this release as a compressed ZIP file

All supporting files from this release are listed for individual download below:

Provisional results (November 2022) for A level and other 16 to 18 results 2021-22

Transition matrices data used for visualising the progress of pupils aged 16 to 18 from key stage 4 (KS4) to key stage 5 (KS5).

Instructions to accompany the transition matrices data

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer exam series was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, and alternative processes set up to award grades. Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat.

A/AS and vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs)

In summer 2021 students were awarded A/AS grades based on an assessment by their teachers using a range of available evidence. Students were only assessed on the content they had been taught. In 2021 some VTQ grades were decided using teacher-assessed grades, others using normal assessment routes, and some through adapted assessment such as remote invigilation.

Exceptionally in autumn 2020 and 2021 an autumn series was put in place to allow students the opportunity to try to improve their A level or AS grade from the summer, if they wished to do so. Further information on the autumn 2021 series is available at this link:
https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2021/12/16/as-and-a-level-results-in-the-autumn-2021-series/
A/AS exams returned in 2022 and adaptations were made to exams (including advance information), and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The diversity of vocational qualifications meant that Ofqual did not prescribe a single approach to adaptations, so Awarding Organisations (AOs) had flexibility to choose how to adapt their assessments. However, Ofqual's regulatory framework requires AOs as far as possible to ensure VTQ learners were not disadvantaged nor advantaged compared with their A level peers when setting standards.

For further information on the process to award grades in 2021 and 2022 see the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-centres-awarding-vtqs-in-2021-and-2022
Reporting of 2022 results by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and Ofqual

As happens every year on A level results day (18 August for summer 2022 results) JCQ published data on A level entries for qualifications awarded in summer 2022, and for each subject the distribution of grades awarded (with data for the previous summer for reference): https://www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/

The data published by JCQ can be expected to show the same broad patterns as the underlying data published in this statistical release 'Entries and results - A level and AS by subject and student characteristics (single academic year). However, the coverage of the data is different: JCQ data covers all A level entries in the UK by people of all ages. Data in this statistical release covers exam entries by 16 to 18 year olds in schools and colleges in England, and includes breakdowns by a wide range of student characteristics.

In addition, Ofqual also routinely publish data on results day: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guide-to-as-and-a-level-results-in-england-summer-2022

Data excluded from 2021/22 measures due to alternative assessment arrangements in 2020 and 2021

We have committed not to include results of qualifications achieved between January 2020 and August 2021 in school and college performance measures on Find Schools and College Performance Data website, given the alternative assessment arrangements used to award those grades.

For consistency, when calculating 16 to 18 performance measures for 2021/22 in this statistical release, data will only include entries and grades from qualifications awarded in the 2021/22 academic year, with the exception of AS and A level qualifications taken as part of the extraordinary autumn 2021 examination series which are also excluded.

However, results from qualifications routinely offered in the autumn of 2021 that would usually be approved for reporting, such as vocational and technical qualifications taken in autumn 2021, will be included even if some of the VTQ constituent unit-level grades were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 via Centre Assessment Grade, Teacher Assessed Grade, or another process.

The table below shows the impact at national level of excluding these data, by comparing the number of students and headline attainment measures for each cohort.

The impact on A level student numbers is modest. It is greater for students entering vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs), who are more likely to enter qualifications over multiple years. It should be noted that students may have results from multiple years including 2021/22. In this case the student is included in this data but some of their results are excluded.

The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting in the same year as they complete the qualification.

Smaller cohorts in 2021/22, do not necessarily translate into impacts on attainment. Nationally, the impact on A level Average Point Score (APS) is minimal (1/200th of a grade) with slightly larger changes for the level 3 vocational and technical qualifications.

Impact of the change

Number of students
-2% -10% -15% -84%

APS
+0.06 +0.60 +0.72 +0.12

Other changes for the 2021/22 release

English and maths progress measures will not be published in this statistical release until these measures return to Find school and college performance data website (likely 2024/25, as set out in 16 to 18 accountability headline measures: technical guide, due to the impact of excluding CAG/TAG grades on this performance measure).

Similarly, 16 to 18 value-added measures, which would rely on KS4 prior attainment including some data from summer 2020, continue not to be published in 2021/22. Value-added measures will return as soon as possible, which will be for the 2023/24 academic year at the earliest; further details are included in the technical guide.

Breakdowns of performance measures by prior attainment, usually published in spring with the Retention update have been brought forward to the provisional release along with other breakdowns by student characteristics. Note, we distinguish between the use of prior attainment data nationally to breakdown measures by student characteristics in this statistical release and their use to calculate performance measures that will be published for individual schools and colleges on Find School and College Performance Data.

SEN Provision contains additional breakdowns by SEN types for the first time in national level data at 16 to 18.

Additional 'bivariate' data giving a breakdown of headline attainment and disadvantage status in combination with other characteristics are available for the first time.

Changes continuing from the 2020/21 release

Characteristic breakdowns usually published in the revised update have been brought forward to the provisional release. This is a permanent change.

The rules for determining when students reach the end of their 16-18 study changed in 2020/21 and students can no longer be triggered solely due to spending two years in the same school or college. The impact of this change on 2020/21 data was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. In 2021/22, student numbers returned to pre-rule change levels, as expected.

Full details of the trigger change are set out in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release' in the Quality and Methodology documentation.

Checking exercise and other amendments

This updated release is based on revised data. Since the release of provisional data in November, amendments to the data have been made. These include the addition of 'late' results from some Awarding Organisations, and changes made by schools and colleges through a 'checking exercise'.

The checking exercise takes place in the autumn term and gives schools and colleges the opportunity to amend their data. Some students are removed from a school or colleges results, for example because the student wasn't on roll or has not yet completed 16-18 study. Some students are added where they are flagged by a school or college as having completed 16-18 study despite not being triggered. Changes need to be approved to be included in revised data.

The 2021/22 academic year saw the return of the school and college checking exercise, after it was suspended in the two previous years. In this release data for 2019/20 and 2020/21 is labelled as 'final' data. This is provisional data adjusted for results from the autumn series for AS and A levels. (The autumn series gave students an opportunity to sit an exam if they were unhappy with the grade awarded to them through the alternative process). Data from 2019/20 and 2020/21 did not go through a checking exercise; schools and colleges did not have an opportunity to amend their data as described above.

The table shows the size of the change between provisional and revised/final data. Generally, the change in the numbers of students included in the data in 2021/22 is relatively small in terms of the overall cohort size, the exception being technical certificates where there are 655 more students in the revised release than the provisional (an increase of 87%). This increase is predominantly due to results being reported late by Awarding Organisations.

The size of the change between provisional and revised data is generally smaller in 2021/22 than in 2017/18 and 2018/19. Changes to the trigger rule were introduced to reduce the burden on schools and colleges. This gives an indication that the change is working as intended.

Change in the numbers of students between the provisional and revised/final data:

Cohort

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

The table below shows the size of the change in the average point score between the provisional and the revised release. The changes are minimal. A change of 0.1 pts at A level / applied general / tech level is equivalent to 1/100th of a grade.

Change in Average Point Score (APS) per entry between the provisional and revised/final data.

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

Unless stated otherwise statistics reported here refer to 16 to 18 year olds in England:

who reached the end of their 16 to 18 study in 2021/22. Students typically spend either two or three years in the 16 to 18 phase. (Usually, attainment includes results from qualifications entered during all those years. However, this year, attainment excludes results from qualifications that were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021).

who entered qualifications approved for reporting in 2022 school and college performance tables, set out in the 16 to 18 qualifications, discount codes and point scores guidance.

Qualifications are grouped into A level (subset of Academic), Applied General, and Tech Level exam cohorts at level 3, and Technical Certificates at level 2. Students can be reported in more than one exam cohort.

Student numbers by cohort

Students are included in this statistical release when they reach the end of their 16 to 18 study in schools and colleges in England. As set out in the Methodology guidance, the rules for determining when that happens changed in 2020/21, and students are no longer automatically triggered for reporting after spending two years in the same school or college.

The impact of the trigger change in 2020/21 was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. As expected, student numbers have generally returned to their pre-rule change level in 2021/22, with student numbers in all level 3 cohorts being higher than in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Results for qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from the data. The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting until they turn 18, often a year or two after they complete the qualification. More detail is provided in the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22', where in particular excluding CAG and TAG grades reduced reported technical certificate student numbers by 84%.

The growth in the number of students entered for applied general and tech level qualifications in 2021/22 approved for reporting in performance measures reflects the removal of funding approval from 1 August 2020 for pre-existing qualifications which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications. Prior to that numbers had been increasing more slowly following big falls in 2017/18 when qualifications were reformed. The number of students in the A level cohort, which includes students who only enter AS levels, has increased after several years of decline. (The previous decline reflected fewer AS level entries following the now completed A level reform to decouple A and AS levels.)

The overall growth in student numbers may also be partly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students reported here completed their pre-16 study in 2019/20 where higher grades were awarded via Centre Assessment Grades. These higher grades resulted in greater numbers of students applying for post-16 places and may have shifted some students away from level two technical certificates and into level 3 qualifications. There were also fewer alternative options available for these students in terms of apprenticeships and other employment opportunities ( Key stage 4 destination measures showed that a smaller proportion of students who completed key stage 4 in 2019/20 progressed to sustained apprenticeship or employment outcomes in 2020/21).

Disadvantage

Disadvantaged students are all students who were in receipt of pupil premium when they were in their last year of KS4.

Disadvantage measures do not include students who were not reported at the end of KS4 - for example, because they came from overseas. Students who were known to be at independent schools in their last year of KS4 are treated as non-disadvantaged.

Disadvantage measures cover students in state-funded schools or colleges.

23.6% of state-funded students, at the end of 16 to 18 study, were recorded as having disadvantaged status in 2021/22. The percentage of students examined in level 3 vocational and technical qualifications was generally in line with this. (Applied general 23.0% and tech level 23.0%). Disadvantages students were overrepresented at technical certificate with 32.4% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status. Disadvantaged students were underrepresented at A level with 14.3% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status.

Prior attainment

Prior attainment is a measure of the average points attained per qualification at Key Stage 4. Simple discounting rules apply, with the best result in any subject used when calculating the average point score at KS4. Any GCSE resits or additional qualifications gained during 16 to 18 are ignored. For the vast majority, prior attainment is between 0-9 reflecting the range of possible grades at GCSE (where 9 is the highest grade).

[Note, whilst results from January 2020 to August 2021 are removed from calculation of performance measures, for the purposes of this statistical release they will be retained when calculating a student's prior attainment to explain outcomes in performance measures, in the same way that outcomes nationally are broken down by gender, disadvantage, etc].

In 2021/22, 18.4% of students at the end of their 16 to 18 study had the highest prior attainment (grade 7+). The large majority of students with the highest prior attainment choose to study at least one A/AS level (94.8%). High attainers now make up 36.2% of the A level cohort compared to 4.7% of the applied general and 3.7% of the tech level cohort. The proportion of students with the highest prior attainment has increased year on year for each cohort since 2019/20 (from when KS4 prior attainment has been calculated in this release).

27.5% of students at the end of 16 to 18 study in 2021/22 had the lowest prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4). The proportion of students with the lowest prior attainment has decreased year on year for each exam cohort since 2019/20.

This change in the distribution of prior attainment for exam cohorts, will in part reflect year on year grade increases at KS4 and in part reflect that the majority of students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and whose GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

Summary

These figures give the average points and average result that students achieved throughout their 16 to 18 study. Results awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from this data. (See the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22). While the majority of results come from the student's final year of study (in particular for A levels), a small number of results awarded prior to January 2020 are included.

Points are given to all qualifications so we can compare qualifications of different size and grading structures. A maximum of 60 points are available for A level, 50 points for applied general and tech level and 8 points for technical certificates. More information on points, APS bands and grade boundaries can be found in the technical guide for 16 to 18 accountability measures (from page 27).

In September 2021 Ofqual announced that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 and 2019. Consequently, the average results are lower in 2021/22 across all level 3 cohorts than in 2020/21.

A level programmes have seen the largest decrease (2.8 pts, compared to 0.7 pts for applied general and 1.1 pts for tech level). This is as expected due to the larger increases seen in A level grades between 2018/19 and 2020/21 relative to the vocational and technical qualifications. Technical certificates have seen a small increase (0.2 pts) in the average points score. However, interpretation of this increase is undermined by a 58% drop in cohort numbers. Given that 84% of technical certificate students have been excluded form the data (see 'Changes to the data in 2021/22'), technical certificate results will not be discussed in the breakdowns, however the data is available in the table builder tool.

For all Level 3 cohorts, the average result remains the same as in 2020/21.

At A level, the South East, London and East of England tend to do better, being on or near the top in the last 3 years. These same regions have ranked in the bottom 4 for applied general in the same time period.

The North West is in the top half of the table for both A level and applied general, although the region dipped in both exam cohorts in 2020/21 when teacher assessed grades were used.

The East Midlands is in the bottom half of the table for both A level and applied general. The region attained the lowest A level results this year.

Regional rankings are more variable for tech levels (which may be attributable to the smaller total number of tech level entries).

Average results by disadvantage status

The 2021/22 disadvantage gap has increased in comparison to last year for the A level cohort and has remained stable for applied general and tech level cohorts. For the level 3 exam cohorts, the average point score has decreased for both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students, however for A level students, the decrease was larger for disadvantaged students.

The disadvantage gap for Level 3 cohorts is at its widest point since the measure was introduced in 2016/17. (NB, this statistical release contains data for the last 5 years back to 2017/18, but disadvantage data was first published based on 2016/17 revised data).

To get a fuller picture on the impact of disadvantage status, this data should be looked at in conjunction with data on retention rates (the percentage of students who have completed their main study programme at a provider). In 2020/21, 94.3% of non-disadvantaged A level students were retained and assessed compared to 88.5% of disadvantaged students. Students are only included in the average point score measure if they are entered for examination i.e. if they are retained and assessed. More information on 2020/21 retention can be found in the 2020/21 version of this statistical release. An update to this statistical release with 2021/22 retention figures will be released on 30th March 2023.

Average results by gender

For the level 3 exam cohorts, both female and male students saw a drop in average attainment in 2021/22 when compared to 2020/21. The decrease was larger for female students than male students, which has resulted in a narrowing of the gender gap compared to last year.

When compared to 2018/19, the gender gap is slightly wider for A level students, but slightly narrower for applied general students in 2021/22. For tech level students the gender gap has reversed such that in 2018/19 it was in favour of male students, but since 2020/21 it has been in favour of female students.

The gender gap for the percentage of students achieving at least 2 A levels has been continuously decreasing for the past 5 years, falling from 5.2 ppts in 2017/18 to 0.9 ppts in 2021/22 in favour of female students.

Average results by ethnicity

Of the major ethnicity groups, Black or Black British students attained the lowest average result across all level 3 cohorts in 2021/22. At A level, Black or Black British students' attainment was almost a full grade lower than that of Chinese students. The rank order of attainment by ethnicity has remained almost unchanged at A level through the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes to the grading processes.

Prior attainment

Typically, the higher the average KS4 prior attainment, the higher the average outcome at the end of 16 to 18 study, regardless of the programme of study.

The attainment gap between students with the highest and lowest prior attainment has remained stable throughout different grading processes since 2019/20 (when this prior attainment data is available). The attainment gap at A level is around 25 pts (or 2.5 grades) and at applied general and tech level is around 19 pts (or just under 2 grades).

Average results for other student characteristics

Breakdowns of other student characteristics, including SEN provision, first language and more, are available in the featured tables and create your own tables sections of this statistical release.

This year we have introduced a new data file to this statistical release called 'Attainment and other performance measures - student characteristics and disadvantage status'. This data file gives more detail about disadvantaged students by breaking down the disadvantaged status of students by other student characteristics. In breaking down the data in this way we hope to be able to better identify how student characteristics interact. The following sections show some illustrative analyses.

Disadvantage and prior attainment

The distribution of disadvantaged students is uneven across the prior attainment bands. At A level, 9.3% of students in state-funded institutions with the highest prior attainment (grade 7+) have disadvantaged status, while 27.8% with prior attainment from grade 0 up to grade 4 have disadvantaged status.

At A level the disadvantage gap for students with the lowest prior attainment was 1.3 pts in 2021/22 or just over 1/10th of a grade. The gap increased to 2.8 pts for A level students with prior attainment from grade 4 up to grade 7 and 3.5 pts (or just over 1/3 of a grade) for students with the highest prior attainment.

The increase in the overall A level disadvantage gap was driven by the increase in the disadvantage gap for students with the highest prior attainment. (Up 0.9 pts from 2.7 pts in 2020/21). There was a small increase for those with prior attainment of grade 4 up to grade 7 (up 0.2 pts from 2.6 pts) and the gap stayed steady for those with prior attainment of grade 0 up to grade 4.

Disadvantage and other student characteristics

Across level 3 exam cohorts, non-disadvantaged students with English as their first language obtained higher average results than students with a first language other than English. However, the reverse is true for disadvantaged students. Here students with a first language other than English achieved higher average results.

Disadvantaged Black or Black British students attained the lowest average results in 2021/22 of any ethnicity across level 3 cohorts. Non-disadvantaged Black or Black British students also attained lower average results than their non-disadvantaged peers. White students had the biggest disadvantage gaps (of students with known ethnicity) across level 3 cohorts.

The disadvantage gap remains greater for female students in all level 3 cohorts, as it has since 2019/20.

Summary

Data in this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16-18 at the start of the respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16-18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

The chart below shows the distribution of A level grades for students aged 16 to 18 for each academic year. Overall, the proportion of entries achieving top grades (between A* and B) has decreased in comparison to 2020/21 but remains higher than 2018/19.

In 2021/22, 14.8% of awarded grades were at A*. This is an increase of 6.9ppts from 2018/19, but a decrease of 4.3ppts from 2020/21. The percentage of entries achieving A*-A grades is now 36.4%, which similarly corresponds to an increase of 10.6ppts compared to 2018/19 but a decrease of 7.9ppts from 2020/21. As previously noted however, year on year comparisons cannot be interpreted as students achieving at a higher standard. Where achievement gaps alter in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared to previous years, it might reflect the different process by which grades were awarded across these years.

A level results by gender

Overall, in 2021/22 both male and female students were more likely to be awarded the higher A level grades (A*/A/B) than in 2018/19 but less likely than in 2020/21.

Across the top A* and A*-A grades the gender gap has decreased in comparison to 2020/21. Female students continue to be more likely to achieve these grades, which has been the trend for the last three years (since 2019/20) when a reversal of the gender gap was observed.

At A*-B the gap between female and male student achievement had been continuously increasing since 2017/18, however this year the gender gap has reduced from 6.9ppts in 2020/21 to 4.7ppts.

Data is this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16 to 18 at the start of respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16 to 18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

STEM subjects here are defined as: biology, chemistry, physics, maths, further maths, and computing.

A level grades in STEM subjects

For 2021/22, the proportion of students achieving top grades (A*, A*-A, A*-B) in STEM subjects compared to 2020/21 has fallen. At A*, the largest decrease was in further maths (8.4ppts) and the smallest decrease was in physics (4.7ppts).

The STEM subjects have generally seen large increases in the proportion of students achieving top grades when compared to 2018/19. The largest increase at A* was further maths rising by 15.7ppts, and the smallest increase was in biology at 6.3ppts. The A*-A grade boundary also observed large increases in the proportion of entries achieving these grades, ranging from computer science (17.1ppts increase) to maths (6.6ppts increase).

This section replaces one that usually describes outcomes in the English and maths progress accountability measures. These are not being created in 2021/22 in Find School and College Performance Data due to the impact of excluding CAG and TAG grades on this measure (set out in more detail in the 16 to 18 accountability measures: technical guide).

These alternative data have been published as part of this statistical release since 2015/16. Coverage is all entries and outcomes in below level 3 English and maths qualifications for students aged 16 to 18 at the start of the respective year. Unlike data based on students at the end of 16-18 study, it means these data are not impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21, and not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

It also means a student here can be reported in successive years, for example at age 16 in 2019/20, at age 17 in 2020/21, and at age 18 in 2021/22 if they entered exams in each year.

The tables below focus on GCSEs, and Functional Skills qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level which make up the large majority of English and maths qualifications entered below level 3 (though outcomes for Other level 2, level 1, and Entry Level qualifications are available via the 'Explore data and files' section).

Fewer students are entering below level 3 maths and English qualifications

Most students aged 16 to 18 enter below level 3 English and maths qualifications because they did not achieve a GCSE pass at grade 9-4 or equivalent during key stage 4, and so are required to continue to study those subjects under Condition of Funding rules (CoF).

The overall fall observed in the number of below level 3 entries across both English and maths in GCSEs and Functional Skills is consistent with data published in Key Stage 4 performance showing an increasing proportion of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSE during key stage 4 ( increasing from 59.8% in 2018/19 to 67.1% in 2020/21 in provisional data) - and so not being required to study below level 3 English or maths during the 16-18 phase.

An additional factor explaining the big fall in entries at GCSE from 2019/20 to 2021/22 (-27% English, -12% maths) is the higher proportion of GCSE entries in 2019/20 and 2020/21 during the 16-18 phase that resulted in a grade 9-4 pass, when grades were awarded through the CAG and TAG processes, because once a student achieves a 9-4 GCSE pass during 16-18 they no longer have to continue studying English and/or maths the following year.

Achievement of Level 2 English and maths through GCSE and Functional Skills qualifications

Many more age 16-18 students enter GCSEs (a level 1/level 2 qualification) than are entered for Functional skills (distinct qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level).

Overall pass rates are broadly comparable at GCSE and L1 and L2 Functional skills. Given that the prior attainment distributions are similar at GCSE and level 2 functional skills (see table below), we might have expected to see a higher level 2 pass rate (grades 9-4) at GCSE. Although it is difficult to make direct comparisons due to range of grades available within the GCSE qualification.

Qualification KS4 Prior Attainment English entries in 2021/22 Proportion of English entries at prior attainment band maths entries in 2021/22 Proportion of maths entries at prior attainment band

All level 1 and level 2 qualifications have had decreases in their pass rates in 2021/22. Mathematics qualifications have seen much larger decreases than English across all qualifications.

Maths L2 functional skills decreased by 20.8 ppts to 63.6% (12.0 ppts fall in English to 81.0%). Maths L1 functional skills decreased by 10.2 ppts to 85.4% (English fall, 3.3ppts to 94.0%). For maths GCSE the overall pass rate (grade 9-1) decreased by 5.8ppts to 84.9% (English decreased by 3.7 ppts to 85.8%) and the level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) also decreased 16.7ppts to 15.3% for Maths and 13.9ppts to 25.7% for English

In contrast, at KS4 the English language GCSE level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) fell by more than maths. English language fell by 4.0 ppts and maths by 3.1ppts between 2020/21 and 2021/22 (provisional data).

Pass rates in English and maths at level 2 by institution type

GCSE entries by students at independent schools are most likely to pass at level 2, but it should be noted that Condition of Funding rules are not relevant for these schools, and these students may be resitting GCSEs to improve their KS4 grade, which could have already been at grade 4 or above. Amongst state-funded institutions, students in schools are consistently most likely to pass GCSE at level 2, then sixth form colleges and other FE sector colleges in both English and maths in 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Level 2 Functional Skills entries: within state-funded institutions sixth form colleges and 'Other FE sector' colleges are consistently more likely to pass than schools. Most entries in L2 Functional Skills are in 'Other FE sector' colleges.

Applied general, tech level, and technical certificate qualifications approved for reporting in this statistical release (and institution level performance data) are updated annually and published on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/performance-tables-technical-and-vocational-qualifications
The concept of qualifications approved for reporting has been applied since 2015/16 following Professor Alison Wolf's Review of Vocational Education. From 2017/18 at level 3 and from 2018/19 for technical certificates, the quality threshold for vocational and technical qualifications to be included in performance measures further increased. The later reforms include criteria relating to the size, content, and assessment, including a requirement that a proportion of a qualification's content is subject to external assessment. From 1 August 2020 the ESFA removed funding approval for pre-existing applied general and tech level qualifications (which had been approved in 2015/16 and 2016/17) which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications.

The measures presented in this section show the students entering these approved qualifications as a proportion of students entering a wider set of vocational qualifications that had been approved by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for funding during 16 to 18 study.

Proportions entering approved tech level and applied general qualifications continue to increase following a large fall in 2017/18 (when both lists of approved qualifications changed substantially), with a jump in students entering reformed versions of qualifications in 21/22 (in part attributable to the defunding of unreformed pre-existing qualifications).

The coverage of the measure for technical certificates is strongly impacted by the removal of CAG and TAG data from 2021/22 accountability data (as coverage is students at the end of 16-18 study, and level 2 vocational qualifications are more often entered during a student's first year of 16-18 study and so are excluded from the calculation).

The following table shows that there is variation in whether different institution types enter students for qualifications approved for reporting in performance tables versus the wider set of qualifications that were approved for funding.

Overall students in state-funded schools continue to be most likely to enter reformed versions of vocational and technical qualifications at level 3 (reformed in 2017/18), but 2021/22 saw a marked increase in the proportion of students entering approved/reformed applied general and tech levels across all broad institution types.

Introduction to retention measures

The Retention measure shows the percentage of students who are retained to the end of the 'core aim' (or main learning aim) of their study programme at a school or college.

Students are counted as retained if they are recorded as having "completed the learning activities leading to the learning aim" by their institution. This information is collected in the school census or for students that attended sixth form or FE colleges, the Individualised Learner Record (ILR).

Retention measures are not calculated for independent schools or special schools (both independent and maintained) as learning aims data is not available for these schools.

The Retention measure is calculated by dividing the total number of students retained by the total number of students with a core aim, in each of the five programmes approved for reporting in performance tables: academic, A level, applied general, tech level, and at level 2, technical certificate programmes.

Since academic programmes comprise largely of A levels, only data for A level core aims are described here; overall data for academic programmes can be found in the 'create your own tables' section and in the underlying data available to download.

Alongside the headline Retention measure there are two supporting retention measures:

Retained and Assessed: The percentage of students who are retained to the end of their course and are assessed.

Returned and Retained for a second year: The percentage of level 3 students who return to the same provider and complete their programme of study in their second year. (The main difference when compared to Retention is for students who complete their core aim in one year.)

A fuller description of the methodology underlying retention measures can be found in the 16-18 technical guide (from page 41).

Retention measures and the impact of the trigger change in 2020/21

The impact of the trigger rule change, meaning that students were no longer automatically reported after two years in 16-18 study, was to reduce the reported number of students in scope for retention measures across all exam cohorts in 2020/21, with the biggest impact on vocational and technical cohorts (VTQs).

For retention measures, this meant that Retention rates were slightly increased in 2020/21 for level 3 cohorts (A level, applied general, tech level) than would have been seen otherwise. However, the impact on the level 2 technical certificate cohort was a large decrease in Retention rates (and in cohort size).

Fuller analysis on the impact on 2020/21 retention data can be found in the methodology document, in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release', under the heading 'Impact of the trigger change on headline retention rates'.

Students whose reporting was delayed for one year due to the 2020/21 trigger change are reported in 2021/22. In other words, the impact of the trigger change was one-off discontinuity in retention data for 2020/21. For this reason, when looking at trends, data for 2021/22 is better compared to data for 2019/20 and earlier years.

All level 3 study programmes show increases in Retention rates in 2021/22 (A level +0.1 pts to 95.1%; applied general +1.8 pts to 91.7%; tech level +0.5 ppts to 91.1%). This continues a trend of increasing Retention rates since 2018/19. A level programmes continue to have the highest Retention rate as has been the case since the measure was introduced in 2015/16, but for the first time applied general programmes have a higher Retention rate than tech levels programmes.

Technical certificates have had lower Retention rates than Level 3 cohorts since being added to performance measures in 2016/17. However, they have seen an increase in Retention rate this year (+4.5 ppts to 86.6%), recovering from the impact of the trigger change that was seen last year and returning to previously-seen levels.

For the A level and applied general cohorts, rates for the Retained and Assessed measure have increasingly followed the same general trend as the Retention rate in recent years. Similarly, the Returned and Retained measure now also follows the same trend. This is most notable for the A level cohort where the phased decoupling of AS and A levels predominantly between 2017 and 2019 has resulted in a much smaller proportion of the A level cohort taking AS levels only and not then returning for a second year of study.

The tech level cohort shows a slightly different pattern this year whereby the Retained and Assessed rate has dropped slightly despite increases in both the Retained rate (retention to the end of the course) and the Returned and Retained rate (retention specifically over two years of a course). This means that within this cohort there was an increase in the proportion of students not being assessed at the end of their course .

The much smaller technical certificate cohort (Level 2) was heavily impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21 and shows less stable trends. In addition, the low cohort numbers mean that breakdowns of the technical certificate data, by student characteristics become increasingly unreliable, and therefore this cohort isn't discussed further.

Due to the similarity in the trends shown by the three retention measures, in particular for the two largest cohorts (A level and applied general), our further narrative will focus on the Retained and Assessed measure. Further breakdowns of the Retention measure and the Returned and Retained measure across all qualification cohorts are available in underlying data and through the table builder.

The Retained and Assessed rate is higher for non-disadvantaged students across all level 3 cohorts. Disadvantaged tech level students are least likely to be Retained and Assessed at 79.1%, which is 7.1 ppts lower than their non-disadvantaged peers. The Retained and Assessed disadvantage gap is smaller for A level and applied general (5.6 ppts and 5.3 ppts respectively).

The disadvantage gap has been narrowing for the A level cohort since 2018/19 (from 8.4 ppts to 5.6 ppts). Similarly, the applied general cohort has, overall, seen a substantial decrease in the gap in that time (from 7.9 ppts to 5.6 ppts). In contrast, the tech level cohort did not consolidate an initial decrease in the gap in 2019/20 and is now only slightly smaller than in 2018/19 (from 7.6 ppts to 7.1 ppts).

Changes to the distribution of prior attainment at A level between 2017/18 and 2021/22

The coverage of the retention measures is different to the attainment measures, and is described above in 'Retention: introduction and changes to the data in 2021/22'. The largest difference is that independent schools are excluded from the data, and this impacts the distribution of the prior attainment groups as students from independent schools have higher prior attainment on average.

The distribution of prior attainment has changed over time for all cohorts. The proportion of A level students with low prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4) has decreased from 8.1% of the cohort in 2017/18 to 1.9% in 2021/22. High prior attaining students (average grade 7 or more) have increased their proportion of the cohort from 16.1% in 2017/18 to 35.3% in 2021/22.

This increase in the proportion of KS4 students achieving grades averaging 7 or more, in part reflects year on year grade increases at KS4, and in part reflects that most A level students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and so their GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

However, in the vocational and technical cohorts, a larger proportion of students are being reported after three years in 16-18, hence prior attainment for these cohorts is less affected by CAGs. This is following delay in their reporting last year due to the change in the rule in 2020/21 triggering students for reporting.

Overall, students with the highest average prior attainment (grade 7+) are most likely to be Retained and Assessed in their main programme of study and students with the lowest prior attainment (grade 0 up to grade 4) the least likely to be Retained and Assessed. The highest Retained and Assessed rate is for high prior attaining A level students at 98.7%. The lowest Retained and Assessed rate is also for A level students. Low prior attaining A level students have a Retained and Assessed rate of 66.0%.

The Retained and Assessed rate for low prior attaining A level students has fallen and is now close to the 2018/19 rate, whereas the rate remains higher for other level 3 cohorts.

A full breakdown of all three retention measures by a range of other student characteristics is available through the table builder. Here, we draw attention to small number of breakdowns that may be of interest.

English Language

Across all level 3 cohorts, students with English as their first language have lower Retained and Assessed rates than students who do not. The difference is driven by poor rates for disadvantaged students with English as their first language.

The applied general cohort similarly has an increase in the Retained and Assessed rate since last year for all major (known) ethnicity groups and shows many of the same trends between groups. The Chinese ethnic group has the highest Retained and Assessed rates since 2018/19 (now at 95.8%) and the Black or Black British ethnic group and the Mixed Dual background ethnic group have made the biggest improvements in Retained and Assessed rates over recent years (+9.9 ppts to 89.1%, +9.9 ppts to 87.0% respectively). Again, the White ethnic group shows the largest disadvantage gap and White disadvantaged students have the lowest rates for Retained and Assessed.

The tech level cohort and the technical certificate cohort have very low numbers in some ethnic groups, and show less distinct patterns over recent years.

For the A level cohort, state-funded mainstream schools and Sixth form colleges have seen an increase in rates for Retained and Assessed this year (+1.5 ppts to 95.4% and +0.5 ppts to 92.3% respectively). In contrast, 'Other FE sector colleges' have seen a decrease (-2.3 ppts to 88.2%). However, the decrease for 'Other FE sector colleges' follows very large increases last year; the relative rates of the three major institution types have returned to levels seen before the change to the trigger rule.

There have also been decreases in the Retained and Assessed rate for 'Other FE sector colleges' in the applied general and tech level cohorts, following larger increases in the previous two years. All state-funded mainstream schools continue to have the lowest Retained and Assessed rates for applied general and tech level qualifications. This has been the case since 2018/19.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - APS per entry by institution type'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: APS per entry and average result' brings up the dashboard with attainment data in terms of APS per entry.

Data including the applied general and tech level cohorts starts in 2015/16 (when these cohorts were first defined in this statistical release, and school and college data). Data for the A level cohort starts in 2012/13.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - A level subject entries and grade by gender'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: A level entries and grade distribution' brings up the dashboard with A level entries data by subject, and A level grades by subject.

These data cover A level entries by students aged 16 to 18 within each academic year from 1995/96.

We have moved our Transition Matrices tool into a web based app for easier use. It is available at the following link:
16-18 Transition Matrices
Transition matrices (TM) are a useful tool to help visualise the progression from different groups of attainment at key stage 4 (KS4) to outcomes achieved during 16 to 18 for a range of different subjects.

Note that the 16 to 18 outcomes here will also be impacted by the different process to award grades in 2022, which is likely to impact the relationship between outcomes and KS4 prior attainment in 2021/22 for subjects.

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Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

National statistics

These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority's Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:

managed impartially and objectively in the public interest

meet identified user needs

produced according to sound methods

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Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

If you have a specific enquiry about A level and other 16 to 18 results statistics and data:

Attainment statistics team

Email: Attainment.STATISTICS@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Michael Greer

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A level and other 16 to 18 results, Academic year 2021/22

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This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades.

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Published: 19th January 2023
"We expect that overall results in summer 2023 will be much closer to the pre-pandemic years than results since 2020. In other words, we expect that overall, nationally, results in 2023 will be lower than they were in 2022."

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Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be with you this afternoon as Chair of Ofqual. Unfortunately, the Chief Regulator is unable to be with us today, which I know she very much regrets. She spoke to your winter conference last year in remote format, but it's obviously much better to be here face to face and talk in person.

And what a difference a year makes. Last year saw the very welcome return of a normal series of examinations and formal assessments, or nearly normal. Thank you for everything you did to enable those to run smoothly in your colleges. I know it wasn't always easy but we had a really good outcome for young people, nonetheless.

I will be saying something later on exams this summer, but I wanted to start with what is happening on the review of level 3 qualifications, including, for example, courses like BTECs at level 3, but also the whole range of alternative academic and technical qualifications at level 3.

I know that there are questions and potentially some concerns about what is happening, including the approval process for continued funding, and why all this is happening, so I thought it might be helpful for me to offer a brief overview.

Aside from a small number of exceptions, all level 3 alternative academic and technical qualifications (qualifications at level 3 which are not T Levels or A levels, like for example level 3 BTECS, alongside many others) are being required to re-apply for funding as part of a government-led streamlining programme for these qualifications.

The government's aim for this exercise is in essence threefold:

firstly, to simplify the landscape, including addressing what is seen as in some cases unnecessary duplication where that exists

to drive up the quality of qualifications and the assessment that underpins them

and to ensure that appropriate priority is given to T Levels and their place in the landscape

These alternative and technical qualifications constitute a large and complex area in comparison, say, with A levels and T Levels. For example, there are more than 60 awarding organisations offering the qualifications that are in scope, and several thousand different level 3 qualifications in the alternative academic and technical space.

Some of these are large entry and well known to you in your colleges, and some, of course, are very small in terms of entry, and not likely to be on your radar as college leaders.

Last week the government published details of their new qualifications funding approval process for qualifications at level 3. Talking to your colleagues, I know that that is under scrutiny by your representatives and I am sure debate will continue. What the document sets out to do is bring clarity on what type of L3 qualifications are likely to be publicly funded alongside A levels and T Levels, and bring clarity on the timescales.

I recommend that you take a look at this for more detailed information. I believe the Department for Education will be running some webinars to look at some of this in more detail, which may be useful for colleagues here as well.

As part of the process that awarding organisations are going through, re-applying for funding, we, Ofqual, are contributing by providing qualitative feedback to the DfE on each qualification where funding is being reapplied for, as well as on the awarding organisation itself.

This means that these qualifications are coming under much greater individual regulatory scrutiny than has been the case up to now. Ofqual has put in place a range of higher expectations relating to quality that we expect awarding organisations to meet in their reapplications. It is against those expectations that we provide our qualitative feedback to the DfE and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).

As the process plays out, the DfE is taking decisions on funding for the reapplications it receives taking into consideration the quality-based advice Ofqual provides, as well as the contribution of IfATE, that represents the employer voice.

It is probably important to flag that the government absolutely recognises that, alongside the aim of simplifying the landscape, there will, in the future, still need to be a range of qualifications at L3 available alongside A levels and T Levels.

For many students these qualifications are important, not only as vehicles for their continued education and engagement in education, but also because they provide important routes for further study or employment. So there will likely be many decisions to approve applications for funding, alongside decisions not to continue to fund.

You might be wondering what this means for you as a college leader.

In short, unless you are a college which offers only A levels and GCSEs, or T Levels, it is almost certain you will be offering some of these qualifications, maybe for example level 3 BTECs or equivalent.

It is also at least possible that the government will determine that some of those qualifications do not meet the criteria for continued funding, which may mean you will need to take decisions about changing the portfolio of courses you provide in the interests of your students to reflect what is available and funded in the future. So following this process, including through your representatives in this association, to make sure that you are up to speed with decisions being taken is critically important. I am sure you will also continue to make your views heard.

Grading in 2023

Moving on now, I will now say something about arrangements for grading GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2023. We published our plans back in September so that higher education institutions could factor in decisions that were being made about grading before they embarked on their offer-making, and of course because some of you will have been arriving at UCAS predictions for students. We felt it was important you had as much information as possible before you started that process. Our plans for 2023 take us a step further on the road to normality, building on what happened in 2022, while also recognising the impact of the pandemic.

You will recall that in summer 2022, we aimed for a staging post on the way back to more normal grading. In 2023, we will return to pre-pandemic grading, but with some protection in place for your students, a soft landing, if you like.

Students in the 2023 cohort have not, during their exam courses, experienced the level of national school or college closures experienced by students in the 2 years before them. But I know, from listening to teachers, college leaders and students themselves, that many have certainly experienced some level of disruption.

So, to achieve that extra bit of protection, Ofqual will put in place the same sort of safeguards used for the first students taking reformed GCSEs and A levels from 2017 onwards.

Back in the reform context, that meant not disadvantaging students in the first cohorts if overall they performed less well because they were the first to sit the new exams.

So how will it work this summer? In practice, as in any year, grade boundaries for every specification will be set by senior examiners after they have reviewed the work produced by students in their exams.

But those senior examiners will be guided in their decisions about where to set grade boundaries by information about the grades achieved in pre-pandemic years, along with prior attainment data for the cohort.

So that means students in 2023 will be protected in grading terms if their examination performance in 2023 is a little lower than it might have been had the pandemic not taken place. That is what I mean by a soft landing.

What that means is, a typical student who would have achieved an A grade in their A level geography before the pandemic will be just as likely to get an A in summer 2023, even if their performance in the assessments is a little weaker in 2023 than it might have been before the pandemic.

We expect that overall results in summer 2023 will be much closer to the pre-pandemic years than results since 2020. In other words, we expect that overall, nationally, results in 2023 will be lower than they were in 2022.

Individual providers, including colleges and schools, should be prepared for this. I know, as a school leader myself, it's worrying if you look at figures that are lower than the previous year.

It's important that we don't compare the results in 2022 with any other year. Lower results in 2023 compared with 2022 will not mean, by itself, that your college's performance has fallen. It will be much more likely to reflect the return nationally to normal grading standards.

It is important to note that, while we aim to return pretty much to normal grading in 2023, this does not mean there is any nationally pre-determined 'quota' of grades. Every set of grade boundaries, qualification by qualification, is determined by human, senior examiners, taking account of all the information they have available, including actual student performance.

I did want to sound one note of caution: if you are using summer or autumn 2022 papers as mock or trial exams, the grade boundaries set for those papers are likely to be more generous, reflecting the approach we took in 2022, both summer and autumn. Do bear that in mind if you are using the results from mocks to give indicative grades for students being examined this year.

For vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) taken alongside or instead of GCSEs and A levels, awarding organisations are expected to take account of the grading approach being used in GCSEs and A levels. So for VTQ qualifications certificating in 2023, this also means a return to normal grading arrangements.

And a word about universities and higher education: decisions about grading by themselves have no effect on the number of higher education places available. That is determined by other factors and has got nothing to do with grading decisions.

Universities themselves will take account of how exams will be graded when they make their offers, including any differences between the 4 nations of the UK (which already exist). Universities are well-experienced in factoring those in to their offering arrangements.

UCAS wrote out to all schools just after Ofqual announced our grading decision, to explain how offers will be made this year, and to confirm that universities would take our grading decision into account. The Chief Regulator also wrote to admissions officers just before Christmas.

Formulae/equation sheets, MFL and resilience

Further points on 2023: there are one or two changes to support students taking GCSEs. Students will be given formulae sheets for GCSE maths and revised equation sheets for GCSE physics and combined science, which we did in 2022 for those GCSEs. This will give some additional reassurance to GCSE students in the exam itself.

And for modern foreign languages GCSEs, Ofqual's changed requirements mean that exams do not have to test unfamiliar vocabulary. That's to make it feel a bit more accessible for students this year.

Delivering exams

Turning now to resilience, the arrangements in place should the unthinkable happen in summer 2023. Clearly the closer we get to the summer, the less likely that becomes, but we've all learned to be cautious in how we predict the future. In November, Ofqual and the DfE jointly published guidance on resilience, in the very unlikely event that exams are not able to go ahead as planned. Some colleges may be running mock exams now and I know this is a big operation, particularly in colleges such as yours with large cohorts of students. You are also, simultaneously, preparing students to take their end of year exams. Ofqual was conscious of this when we published the guidance.

The thrust of that guidance, designed to minimise the burden on you and your students, is that any assessment opportunities you plan should be in line with your normal approaches, as far as possible.

As well as all the work you do to prepare your students to take their assessments through your teaching and learning, we know that the administration and delivery of exams is something you take seriously. We take our hats off to people in colleges leading the examinations operation.

It is enormously complex, but there is training and support available, and I encourage you to make sure those who are charged with doing this work get access to the range of training available for them so they can benefit from it and deliver as well as possible on behalf of students.

If you've looked at the GCSE and A level exam timetables for next year, you'll see there are some changes from 2022.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) listened to feedback about the spacing between exams in the same subject in summer 2022. They have taken this on board for 2023.

They will largely be preserving those gaps, to reduce the risk of students missing all exams in a subject, but the spacing between some papers is slightly less next summer.

I did just want to draw your attention to the contingency days that they have built in. Both the 8 and 15 June will be 'contingency afternoons' and the 28 June will be a contingency day in case there is national or local disruption that would mean exams had to be re-scheduled.

Do please let your students know about this and remind them that they might have to be available on those dates. It's particularly important for them to be aware if they are planning holidays.

There are more details on the JCQ website, and a quick plug for Ofqual's resources as well: every year we provide a guide for students and a guide for schools and colleges. These will be published in the spring, and always live somewhere central on our website. I hope you'll be able to point your students to them.

Vocational and technical qualification results in 2023

And finally, just as Ofqual regulates in the interests of students of all ages and apprentices, we are also convinced of the need for parity of treatment for students across the different sorts of qualifications your colleges provide, whether vocational or academic.

So I wanted to reassure you that we have in train a series of actions to prevent a repeat of the delayed results in vocational and technical qualifications that we saw last August. I know this affected some of you and your students.

We were shocked by what became apparent in August. Not only that around 20,000 students from 1,550 centres had delayed results, but that for some time, there hadn't been a single date by which VTQ students could expect results - even when they were used for progression. That is not acceptable and Ofqual will work with the sector to fix this, not just for this summer, but for the long term and in the interests of being fair to students taking these qualifications.

Our investigation of the awarding organisations involved continues, as does our review of the extent of the problem. We will consider whether enforcement action is appropriate after that concludes.

In December, we published the 5 key actions that Ofqual, working with you and others in the sector, will deliver.

These actions cover a range of areas, and there isn't time to cover them in detail here. They include putting in place clear deadlines, improving data sharing, introducing check-ins for colleges and awarding organisations, improving information accessibility about these qualifications, improving communications from awarding organisations to centres, improving training for staff running exams, and monitoring the implementation of all this via a joint taskforce from around the sector chaired by the Chief Regulator.

We are certain that taken together these actions will to a very significant extent address the issues we saw playing out this summer (and which to a greater or lesser extent have been endemic in the system).

Thank you very much for your attention - I think we still have a few moments for any questions.

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Sir Ian Bauckham CBE at the Sixth Form Colleges Association winter conference

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Ofqual's Chair looks ahead to assessment and examination results in 2023.

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Inspiration Teaching School Hub: Spring Newsletter

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Inspiration Teaching School Hub: Spring Newsletter

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For schools in Mid, South and East Norfolk

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NFER: Additional analysis of the 2021 National Reference Test - Performance Across Content Areas

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NFER: Additional analysis of the 2021 National Reference Test - Performance Across Content Areas

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National Reference Test 2021: Performance Across Content Areas

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The analysis explored whether the results of the NRT can provide insights into curriculum areas that were more difficult to learn at a distance, were given a lower priority than others or required more explicit teaching of concepts and/or skills.

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NFER: Additional analysis of the 2021 National Reference Test - Factors Affecting Attainment

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NFER: Additional analysis of the 2021 National Reference Test - Factors Affecting Attainment

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Each year the National Reference Test reports the proportions of students achieving at or above three key GCSE grades in English and mathematics. The NRT is therefore uniquely placed as a Key Stage 4 assessment which compares performance directly at ability level, to contribute to the evidence on the impact of disruption to education due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As the 2020 NRT administration was largely unaffected by Covid (the testing window ended before schools were closed for the first national lockdown), the outcomes from that year provide a useful pre-Covid measure of performance. Comparing these outcomes with the NRT outcomes in 2021 enabled us to identify any significant changes in performance in 2021 which could be attributed to the impact of Covid-19 on student performance in English and mathematics.

The main NRT outcomes, reported in the 2021 Results Digest, showed overall performance on the NRT in English and mathematics over time, indicating how the subjects may have been impacted as a whole. For mathematics there were, as we might have anticipated given the disruption to education in the preceding year, significant drops in performance. For English, the outcomes were perhaps more surprising: performance was very similar, on average, in 2021 and 2020, with no significant differences at any of the three grade boundaries.

NFER undertook additional analysis of the NRT 2021 data to explore two important research questions:

What school and pupil characteristics were associated with changes in performance in English and mathematics during Covid-19 disruption?

Were different areas of the curriculum differentially impacted by the disruption to teaching as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic?

The first report, National Reference Test 2021: Factors Affecting Attainment, describes whether the gaps in performance between students and schools, based on a range of demographic and attainment variables, changed significantly between 2020 and 2021. Two key themes were explored as part of this research: socio-economic factors and prior performance. Additionally, the analysis included a range of other demographic factors at both student- and school-level that could potentially play a role in explaining how the impact of disruption due to the pandemic may vary across the population.

Key Findings

For both English and mathematics, there was no significant change in the relationship between the socio-economic status of the student and performance on the NRT between 2020 and 2021.

For mathematics there was a statistically significant impact related to being in a school with greater levels of deprivation. Students in schools with higher proportions of students eligible for free school meals experienced a greater decline in performance at grades 5 and 7.

There was no evidence that high performing schools or students coped better with the disruption caused by the pandemic. The relationships between NRT performance and previous school and student performance did not change significantly across the two years.

Students with English as an additional language (EAL) saw a significantly greater decline in performance in mathematics than students with English as a first language. This finding was not replicated in English.

The relationships between gender, ethnicity and students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and performance on the NRT (either subject) were not found to have changed significantly between the two years.

The type of school (e.g. academies, free schools and Local Authority maintained schools), being defined as urban versus rural, and school size were not significant predictors of performance on the NRT, and nor did the relationship between these variables and performance change significantly across the years.

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National Reference Test 2021: Factors Affecting Attainment

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Each year the National Reference Test reports the proportions of students achieving at or above three key GCSE grades in English and mathematics. The NRT is therefore uniquely placed as a Key Stage 4 assessment which compares performance directly at ability level, to contribute to the evidence on the impact of disruption to education due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN LEADING TEACHING

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN LEADING TEACHING

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February 2023 Start

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP

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February 2023 Start

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Ofqual: Letter to Heads and Principals - arrangements for exams and assessments in 2023

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Ofqual: Letter to Heads and Principals - arrangements for exams and assessments in 2023

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Published: 9th December 2022

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Thank you to you and your colleagues for the vital part you played in the successful return to exams and formal assessments earlier this year. Over one million students received more than 5 million qualifications despite the disruption caused by the pandemic. From talking to teachers and students wh…

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Norwich Research School: Deep Dive Day: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools

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Norwich Research School: Deep Dive Day: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools

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Norwich
09:00-15:00
14th June 2022

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Webinar series

Join Norwich Research School for a series of eight evidence-informed webinars to improve practice in your school.

Multiple ticket options available

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Deep Dive Day: Metacognition and Self-regulated Learning

Join experts from Norwich Research School for the latest training about understanding and using metacognition strategies

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Deep Dive Day: Primary Maths

Join our experts for evidence-informed training to support primary schools in enhancing their maths provision.

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Deep Dive Day: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools

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Webinar series Join Norwich Research School for a series of eight evidence-informed webinars to improve practice in your school.

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National Statistics: 2021/22 16 to 18 Results and Performance Measures 

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National Statistics: 2021/22 16 to 18 Results and Performance Measures 

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Published: 10th November

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National statistics ?

This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades. As part of the transition back to the summer exam series adaptations were made to the exams (including advance information) and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The 16 to 18 performance measures reported in this revised release for the 2021/22 academic year, and to be included on the Find School and College Performance Data website, have been affected by our commitment not to include results from qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 (see section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22').

Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat. Given the unprecedented change in how A level and vocational and VTQ grades were awarded in 2020 and 2021, as well as changes to the grade boundaries and methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in student performance alone.

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Releases in this series

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Methodologies

Headline facts and figures - 2021/22

A level retention

95.1%

An increase of 3.8 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for A level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their A level programme).

Applied general retention

91.7%

An increase of 5.1 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for applied general programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their applied general programme).

Tech level retention

91.1%

An increase of 3.2 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for tech level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their tech level programme).

Average Point Score (APS) per entry for all level 3 cohorts is lower compared to 2020/21: A level, -2.8 pts; applied general, -0.7 pts; tech level, - 1.1 pts. However, attainment remains higher compared to 2018/19: A level, +4.9pts; applied general, +3.1 pts; tech level +1.9 pts. [An increase of 10 points is equivalent to an increase in one full grade]. This follows Ofqual's announcement in September 2021 that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 (TAG grades) and 2019 (the last year all students sat exams).

The trend for falling average attainment across level 3 cohorts in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21 was observed across institution types generally (when grouped into state-funded schools, independent schools, sixth form colleges, and 'Other FE sector colleges') with the exception of applied general attainment in sixth form colleges and independent schools which increased in 2021/22 (+ 0.2 pts and + 0.8 pts respectively).

The disadvantage gap (between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students) is at its widest level for all Level 3 cohorts (A level, tech level, and applied general) since disadvantage measures began in 2016/17.

Gender gaps in favour of female students in average attainment at A level, applied general, and tech level have narrowed in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21; average attainment had increased more for female students than males with the alternative Centre Assessment Grade (CAG) and Teacher Assessed Grade (TAG) awarding processes in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared with 2018/19.

The percentage of students who completed their main or 'core' aim from their study programme, known as the Retention rate, increased across all programmes in 2021/22.

Non-disadvantaged students are more likely to be retained than disadvantaged students, across all cohorts.

Students with higher prior attainment are more likely to be retained than students with lower prior attainment, across all level 3 cohorts.

Given the unprecedented change in the way results were awarded in the summers of 2020 and 2021, as well as the changes to methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in pupil performance alone.

The changes seen in the headline statistics likely reflect the changes in methodology for awarding grades and in calculating the measures, rather than demonstrating a difference in standards.

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All supporting files from this release are listed for individual download below:

Provisional results (November 2022) for A level and other 16 to 18 results 2021-22

Transition matrices data used for visualising the progress of pupils aged 16 to 18 from key stage 4 (KS4) to key stage 5 (KS5).

Instructions to accompany the transition matrices data

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer exam series was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, and alternative processes set up to award grades. Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat.

A/AS and vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs)

In summer 2021 students were awarded A/AS grades based on an assessment by their teachers using a range of available evidence. Students were only assessed on the content they had been taught. In 2021 some VTQ grades were decided using teacher-assessed grades, others using normal assessment routes, and some through adapted assessment such as remote invigilation.

Exceptionally in autumn 2020 and 2021 an autumn series was put in place to allow students the opportunity to try to improve their A level or AS grade from the summer, if they wished to do so. Further information on the autumn 2021 series is available at this link:
https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2021/12/16/as-and-a-level-results-in-the-autumn-2021-series/
A/AS exams returned in 2022 and adaptations were made to exams (including advance information), and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The diversity of vocational qualifications meant that Ofqual did not prescribe a single approach to adaptations, so Awarding Organisations (AOs) had flexibility to choose how to adapt their assessments. However, Ofqual's regulatory framework requires AOs as far as possible to ensure VTQ learners were not disadvantaged nor advantaged compared with their A level peers when setting standards.

For further information on the process to award grades in 2021 and 2022 see the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-centres-awarding-vtqs-in-2021-and-2022
Reporting of 2022 results by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and Ofqual

As happens every year on A level results day (18 August for summer 2022 results) JCQ published data on A level entries for qualifications awarded in summer 2022, and for each subject the distribution of grades awarded (with data for the previous summer for reference): https://www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/

The data published by JCQ can be expected to show the same broad patterns as the underlying data published in this statistical release 'Entries and results - A level and AS by subject and student characteristics (single academic year). However, the coverage of the data is different: JCQ data covers all A level entries in the UK by people of all ages. Data in this statistical release covers exam entries by 16 to 18 year olds in schools and colleges in England, and includes breakdowns by a wide range of student characteristics.

In addition, Ofqual also routinely publish data on results day: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guide-to-as-and-a-level-results-in-england-summer-2022

Data excluded from 2021/22 measures due to alternative assessment arrangements in 2020 and 2021

We have committed not to include results of qualifications achieved between January 2020 and August 2021 in school and college performance measures on Find Schools and College Performance Data website, given the alternative assessment arrangements used to award those grades.

For consistency, when calculating 16 to 18 performance measures for 2021/22 in this statistical release, data will only include entries and grades from qualifications awarded in the 2021/22 academic year, with the exception of AS and A level qualifications taken as part of the extraordinary autumn 2021 examination series which are also excluded.

However, results from qualifications routinely offered in the autumn of 2021 that would usually be approved for reporting, such as vocational and technical qualifications taken in autumn 2021, will be included even if some of the VTQ constituent unit-level grades were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 via Centre Assessment Grade, Teacher Assessed Grade, or another process.

The table below shows the impact at national level of excluding these data, by comparing the number of students and headline attainment measures for each cohort.

The impact on A level student numbers is modest. It is greater for students entering vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs), who are more likely to enter qualifications over multiple years. It should be noted that students may have results from multiple years including 2021/22. In this case the student is included in this data but some of their results are excluded.

The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting in the same year as they complete the qualification.

Smaller cohorts in 2021/22, do not necessarily translate into impacts on attainment. Nationally, the impact on A level Average Point Score (APS) is minimal (1/200th of a grade) with slightly larger changes for the level 3 vocational and technical qualifications.

Impact of the change

Number of students
-2% -10% -15% -84%

APS
+0.06 +0.60 +0.72 +0.12

Other changes for the 2021/22 release

English and maths progress measures will not be published in this statistical release until these measures return to Find school and college performance data website (likely 2024/25, as set out in 16 to 18 accountability headline measures: technical guide, due to the impact of excluding CAG/TAG grades on this performance measure).

Similarly, 16 to 18 value-added measures, which would rely on KS4 prior attainment including some data from summer 2020, continue not to be published in 2021/22. Value-added measures will return as soon as possible, which will be for the 2023/24 academic year at the earliest; further details are included in the technical guide.

Breakdowns of performance measures by prior attainment, usually published in spring with the Retention update have been brought forward to the provisional release along with other breakdowns by student characteristics. Note, we distinguish between the use of prior attainment data nationally to breakdown measures by student characteristics in this statistical release and their use to calculate performance measures that will be published for individual schools and colleges on Find School and College Performance Data.

SEN Provision contains additional breakdowns by SEN types for the first time in national level data at 16 to 18.

Additional 'bivariate' data giving a breakdown of headline attainment and disadvantage status in combination with other characteristics are available for the first time.

Changes continuing from the 2020/21 release

Characteristic breakdowns usually published in the revised update have been brought forward to the provisional release. This is a permanent change.

The rules for determining when students reach the end of their 16-18 study changed in 2020/21 and students can no longer be triggered solely due to spending two years in the same school or college. The impact of this change on 2020/21 data was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. In 2021/22, student numbers returned to pre-rule change levels, as expected.

Full details of the trigger change are set out in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release' in the Quality and Methodology documentation.

Checking exercise and other amendments

This updated release is based on revised data. Since the release of provisional data in November, amendments to the data have been made. These include the addition of 'late' results from some Awarding Organisations, and changes made by schools and colleges through a 'checking exercise'.

The checking exercise takes place in the autumn term and gives schools and colleges the opportunity to amend their data. Some students are removed from a school or colleges results, for example because the student wasn't on roll or has not yet completed 16-18 study. Some students are added where they are flagged by a school or college as having completed 16-18 study despite not being triggered. Changes need to be approved to be included in revised data.

The 2021/22 academic year saw the return of the school and college checking exercise, after it was suspended in the two previous years. In this release data for 2019/20 and 2020/21 is labelled as 'final' data. This is provisional data adjusted for results from the autumn series for AS and A levels. (The autumn series gave students an opportunity to sit an exam if they were unhappy with the grade awarded to them through the alternative process). Data from 2019/20 and 2020/21 did not go through a checking exercise; schools and colleges did not have an opportunity to amend their data as described above.

The table shows the size of the change between provisional and revised/final data. Generally, the change in the numbers of students included in the data in 2021/22 is relatively small in terms of the overall cohort size, the exception being technical certificates where there are 655 more students in the revised release than the provisional (an increase of 87%). This increase is predominantly due to results being reported late by Awarding Organisations.

The size of the change between provisional and revised data is generally smaller in 2021/22 than in 2017/18 and 2018/19. Changes to the trigger rule were introduced to reduce the burden on schools and colleges. This gives an indication that the change is working as intended.

Change in the numbers of students between the provisional and revised/final data:

Cohort

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

The table below shows the size of the change in the average point score between the provisional and the revised release. The changes are minimal. A change of 0.1 pts at A level / applied general / tech level is equivalent to 1/100th of a grade.

Change in Average Point Score (APS) per entry between the provisional and revised/final data.

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

Unless stated otherwise statistics reported here refer to 16 to 18 year olds in England:

who reached the end of their 16 to 18 study in 2021/22. Students typically spend either two or three years in the 16 to 18 phase. (Usually, attainment includes results from qualifications entered during all those years. However, this year, attainment excludes results from qualifications that were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021).

who entered qualifications approved for reporting in 2022 school and college performance tables, set out in the 16 to 18 qualifications, discount codes and point scores guidance.

Qualifications are grouped into A level (subset of Academic), Applied General, and Tech Level exam cohorts at level 3, and Technical Certificates at level 2. Students can be reported in more than one exam cohort.

Student numbers by cohort

Students are included in this statistical release when they reach the end of their 16 to 18 study in schools and colleges in England. As set out in the Methodology guidance, the rules for determining when that happens changed in 2020/21, and students are no longer automatically triggered for reporting after spending two years in the same school or college.

The impact of the trigger change in 2020/21 was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. As expected, student numbers have generally returned to their pre-rule change level in 2021/22, with student numbers in all level 3 cohorts being higher than in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Results for qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from the data. The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting until they turn 18, often a year or two after they complete the qualification. More detail is provided in the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22', where in particular excluding CAG and TAG grades reduced reported technical certificate student numbers by 84%.

The growth in the number of students entered for applied general and tech level qualifications in 2021/22 approved for reporting in performance measures reflects the removal of funding approval from 1 August 2020 for pre-existing qualifications which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications. Prior to that numbers had been increasing more slowly following big falls in 2017/18 when qualifications were reformed. The number of students in the A level cohort, which includes students who only enter AS levels, has increased after several years of decline. (The previous decline reflected fewer AS level entries following the now completed A level reform to decouple A and AS levels.)

The overall growth in student numbers may also be partly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students reported here completed their pre-16 study in 2019/20 where higher grades were awarded via Centre Assessment Grades. These higher grades resulted in greater numbers of students applying for post-16 places and may have shifted some students away from level two technical certificates and into level 3 qualifications. There were also fewer alternative options available for these students in terms of apprenticeships and other employment opportunities ( Key stage 4 destination measures showed that a smaller proportion of students who completed key stage 4 in 2019/20 progressed to sustained apprenticeship or employment outcomes in 2020/21).

Disadvantage

Disadvantaged students are all students who were in receipt of pupil premium when they were in their last year of KS4.

Disadvantage measures do not include students who were not reported at the end of KS4 - for example, because they came from overseas. Students who were known to be at independent schools in their last year of KS4 are treated as non-disadvantaged.

Disadvantage measures cover students in state-funded schools or colleges.

23.6% of state-funded students, at the end of 16 to 18 study, were recorded as having disadvantaged status in 2021/22. The percentage of students examined in level 3 vocational and technical qualifications was generally in line with this. (Applied general 23.0% and tech level 23.0%). Disadvantages students were overrepresented at technical certificate with 32.4% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status. Disadvantaged students were underrepresented at A level with 14.3% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status.

Prior attainment

Prior attainment is a measure of the average points attained per qualification at Key Stage 4. Simple discounting rules apply, with the best result in any subject used when calculating the average point score at KS4. Any GCSE resits or additional qualifications gained during 16 to 18 are ignored. For the vast majority, prior attainment is between 0-9 reflecting the range of possible grades at GCSE (where 9 is the highest grade).

[Note, whilst results from January 2020 to August 2021 are removed from calculation of performance measures, for the purposes of this statistical release they will be retained when calculating a student's prior attainment to explain outcomes in performance measures, in the same way that outcomes nationally are broken down by gender, disadvantage, etc].

In 2021/22, 18.4% of students at the end of their 16 to 18 study had the highest prior attainment (grade 7+). The large majority of students with the highest prior attainment choose to study at least one A/AS level (94.8%). High attainers now make up 36.2% of the A level cohort compared to 4.7% of the applied general and 3.7% of the tech level cohort. The proportion of students with the highest prior attainment has increased year on year for each cohort since 2019/20 (from when KS4 prior attainment has been calculated in this release).

27.5% of students at the end of 16 to 18 study in 2021/22 had the lowest prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4). The proportion of students with the lowest prior attainment has decreased year on year for each exam cohort since 2019/20.

This change in the distribution of prior attainment for exam cohorts, will in part reflect year on year grade increases at KS4 and in part reflect that the majority of students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and whose GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

Summary

These figures give the average points and average result that students achieved throughout their 16 to 18 study. Results awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from this data. (See the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22). While the majority of results come from the student's final year of study (in particular for A levels), a small number of results awarded prior to January 2020 are included.

Points are given to all qualifications so we can compare qualifications of different size and grading structures. A maximum of 60 points are available for A level, 50 points for applied general and tech level and 8 points for technical certificates. More information on points, APS bands and grade boundaries can be found in the technical guide for 16 to 18 accountability measures (from page 27).

In September 2021 Ofqual announced that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 and 2019. Consequently, the average results are lower in 2021/22 across all level 3 cohorts than in 2020/21.

A level programmes have seen the largest decrease (2.8 pts, compared to 0.7 pts for applied general and 1.1 pts for tech level). This is as expected due to the larger increases seen in A level grades between 2018/19 and 2020/21 relative to the vocational and technical qualifications. Technical certificates have seen a small increase (0.2 pts) in the average points score. However, interpretation of this increase is undermined by a 58% drop in cohort numbers. Given that 84% of technical certificate students have been excluded form the data (see 'Changes to the data in 2021/22'), technical certificate results will not be discussed in the breakdowns, however the data is available in the table builder tool.

For all Level 3 cohorts, the average result remains the same as in 2020/21.

At A level, the South East, London and East of England tend to do better, being on or near the top in the last 3 years. These same regions have ranked in the bottom 4 for applied general in the same time period.

The North West is in the top half of the table for both A level and applied general, although the region dipped in both exam cohorts in 2020/21 when teacher assessed grades were used.

The East Midlands is in the bottom half of the table for both A level and applied general. The region attained the lowest A level results this year.

Regional rankings are more variable for tech levels (which may be attributable to the smaller total number of tech level entries).

Average results by disadvantage status

The 2021/22 disadvantage gap has increased in comparison to last year for the A level cohort and has remained stable for applied general and tech level cohorts. For the level 3 exam cohorts, the average point score has decreased for both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students, however for A level students, the decrease was larger for disadvantaged students.

The disadvantage gap for Level 3 cohorts is at its widest point since the measure was introduced in 2016/17. (NB, this statistical release contains data for the last 5 years back to 2017/18, but disadvantage data was first published based on 2016/17 revised data).

To get a fuller picture on the impact of disadvantage status, this data should be looked at in conjunction with data on retention rates (the percentage of students who have completed their main study programme at a provider). In 2020/21, 94.3% of non-disadvantaged A level students were retained and assessed compared to 88.5% of disadvantaged students. Students are only included in the average point score measure if they are entered for examination i.e. if they are retained and assessed. More information on 2020/21 retention can be found in the 2020/21 version of this statistical release. An update to this statistical release with 2021/22 retention figures will be released on 30th March 2023.

Average results by gender

For the level 3 exam cohorts, both female and male students saw a drop in average attainment in 2021/22 when compared to 2020/21. The decrease was larger for female students than male students, which has resulted in a narrowing of the gender gap compared to last year.

When compared to 2018/19, the gender gap is slightly wider for A level students, but slightly narrower for applied general students in 2021/22. For tech level students the gender gap has reversed such that in 2018/19 it was in favour of male students, but since 2020/21 it has been in favour of female students.

The gender gap for the percentage of students achieving at least 2 A levels has been continuously decreasing for the past 5 years, falling from 5.2 ppts in 2017/18 to 0.9 ppts in 2021/22 in favour of female students.

Average results by ethnicity

Of the major ethnicity groups, Black or Black British students attained the lowest average result across all level 3 cohorts in 2021/22. At A level, Black or Black British students' attainment was almost a full grade lower than that of Chinese students. The rank order of attainment by ethnicity has remained almost unchanged at A level through the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes to the grading processes.

Prior attainment

Typically, the higher the average KS4 prior attainment, the higher the average outcome at the end of 16 to 18 study, regardless of the programme of study.

The attainment gap between students with the highest and lowest prior attainment has remained stable throughout different grading processes since 2019/20 (when this prior attainment data is available). The attainment gap at A level is around 25 pts (or 2.5 grades) and at applied general and tech level is around 19 pts (or just under 2 grades).

Average results for other student characteristics

Breakdowns of other student characteristics, including SEN provision, first language and more, are available in the featured tables and create your own tables sections of this statistical release.

This year we have introduced a new data file to this statistical release called 'Attainment and other performance measures - student characteristics and disadvantage status'. This data file gives more detail about disadvantaged students by breaking down the disadvantaged status of students by other student characteristics. In breaking down the data in this way we hope to be able to better identify how student characteristics interact. The following sections show some illustrative analyses.

Disadvantage and prior attainment

The distribution of disadvantaged students is uneven across the prior attainment bands. At A level, 9.3% of students in state-funded institutions with the highest prior attainment (grade 7+) have disadvantaged status, while 27.8% with prior attainment from grade 0 up to grade 4 have disadvantaged status.

At A level the disadvantage gap for students with the lowest prior attainment was 1.3 pts in 2021/22 or just over 1/10th of a grade. The gap increased to 2.8 pts for A level students with prior attainment from grade 4 up to grade 7 and 3.5 pts (or just over 1/3 of a grade) for students with the highest prior attainment.

The increase in the overall A level disadvantage gap was driven by the increase in the disadvantage gap for students with the highest prior attainment. (Up 0.9 pts from 2.7 pts in 2020/21). There was a small increase for those with prior attainment of grade 4 up to grade 7 (up 0.2 pts from 2.6 pts) and the gap stayed steady for those with prior attainment of grade 0 up to grade 4.

Disadvantage and other student characteristics

Across level 3 exam cohorts, non-disadvantaged students with English as their first language obtained higher average results than students with a first language other than English. However, the reverse is true for disadvantaged students. Here students with a first language other than English achieved higher average results.

Disadvantaged Black or Black British students attained the lowest average results in 2021/22 of any ethnicity across level 3 cohorts. Non-disadvantaged Black or Black British students also attained lower average results than their non-disadvantaged peers. White students had the biggest disadvantage gaps (of students with known ethnicity) across level 3 cohorts.

The disadvantage gap remains greater for female students in all level 3 cohorts, as it has since 2019/20.

Summary

Data in this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16-18 at the start of the respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16-18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

The chart below shows the distribution of A level grades for students aged 16 to 18 for each academic year. Overall, the proportion of entries achieving top grades (between A* and B) has decreased in comparison to 2020/21 but remains higher than 2018/19.

In 2021/22, 14.8% of awarded grades were at A*. This is an increase of 6.9ppts from 2018/19, but a decrease of 4.3ppts from 2020/21. The percentage of entries achieving A*-A grades is now 36.4%, which similarly corresponds to an increase of 10.6ppts compared to 2018/19 but a decrease of 7.9ppts from 2020/21. As previously noted however, year on year comparisons cannot be interpreted as students achieving at a higher standard. Where achievement gaps alter in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared to previous years, it might reflect the different process by which grades were awarded across these years.

A level results by gender

Overall, in 2021/22 both male and female students were more likely to be awarded the higher A level grades (A*/A/B) than in 2018/19 but less likely than in 2020/21.

Across the top A* and A*-A grades the gender gap has decreased in comparison to 2020/21. Female students continue to be more likely to achieve these grades, which has been the trend for the last three years (since 2019/20) when a reversal of the gender gap was observed.

At A*-B the gap between female and male student achievement had been continuously increasing since 2017/18, however this year the gender gap has reduced from 6.9ppts in 2020/21 to 4.7ppts.

Data is this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16 to 18 at the start of respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16 to 18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

STEM subjects here are defined as: biology, chemistry, physics, maths, further maths, and computing.

A level grades in STEM subjects

For 2021/22, the proportion of students achieving top grades (A*, A*-A, A*-B) in STEM subjects compared to 2020/21 has fallen. At A*, the largest decrease was in further maths (8.4ppts) and the smallest decrease was in physics (4.7ppts).

The STEM subjects have generally seen large increases in the proportion of students achieving top grades when compared to 2018/19. The largest increase at A* was further maths rising by 15.7ppts, and the smallest increase was in biology at 6.3ppts. The A*-A grade boundary also observed large increases in the proportion of entries achieving these grades, ranging from computer science (17.1ppts increase) to maths (6.6ppts increase).

This section replaces one that usually describes outcomes in the English and maths progress accountability measures. These are not being created in 2021/22 in Find School and College Performance Data due to the impact of excluding CAG and TAG grades on this measure (set out in more detail in the 16 to 18 accountability measures: technical guide).

These alternative data have been published as part of this statistical release since 2015/16. Coverage is all entries and outcomes in below level 3 English and maths qualifications for students aged 16 to 18 at the start of the respective year. Unlike data based on students at the end of 16-18 study, it means these data are not impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21, and not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

It also means a student here can be reported in successive years, for example at age 16 in 2019/20, at age 17 in 2020/21, and at age 18 in 2021/22 if they entered exams in each year.

The tables below focus on GCSEs, and Functional Skills qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level which make up the large majority of English and maths qualifications entered below level 3 (though outcomes for Other level 2, level 1, and Entry Level qualifications are available via the 'Explore data and files' section).

Fewer students are entering below level 3 maths and English qualifications

Most students aged 16 to 18 enter below level 3 English and maths qualifications because they did not achieve a GCSE pass at grade 9-4 or equivalent during key stage 4, and so are required to continue to study those subjects under Condition of Funding rules (CoF).

The overall fall observed in the number of below level 3 entries across both English and maths in GCSEs and Functional Skills is consistent with data published in Key Stage 4 performance showing an increasing proportion of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSE during key stage 4 ( increasing from 59.8% in 2018/19 to 67.1% in 2020/21 in provisional data) - and so not being required to study below level 3 English or maths during the 16-18 phase.

An additional factor explaining the big fall in entries at GCSE from 2019/20 to 2021/22 (-27% English, -12% maths) is the higher proportion of GCSE entries in 2019/20 and 2020/21 during the 16-18 phase that resulted in a grade 9-4 pass, when grades were awarded through the CAG and TAG processes, because once a student achieves a 9-4 GCSE pass during 16-18 they no longer have to continue studying English and/or maths the following year.

Achievement of Level 2 English and maths through GCSE and Functional Skills qualifications

Many more age 16-18 students enter GCSEs (a level 1/level 2 qualification) than are entered for Functional skills (distinct qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level).

Overall pass rates are broadly comparable at GCSE and L1 and L2 Functional skills. Given that the prior attainment distributions are similar at GCSE and level 2 functional skills (see table below), we might have expected to see a higher level 2 pass rate (grades 9-4) at GCSE. Although it is difficult to make direct comparisons due to range of grades available within the GCSE qualification.

Qualification KS4 Prior Attainment English entries in 2021/22 Proportion of English entries at prior attainment band maths entries in 2021/22 Proportion of maths entries at prior attainment band

All level 1 and level 2 qualifications have had decreases in their pass rates in 2021/22. Mathematics qualifications have seen much larger decreases than English across all qualifications.

Maths L2 functional skills decreased by 20.8 ppts to 63.6% (12.0 ppts fall in English to 81.0%). Maths L1 functional skills decreased by 10.2 ppts to 85.4% (English fall, 3.3ppts to 94.0%). For maths GCSE the overall pass rate (grade 9-1) decreased by 5.8ppts to 84.9% (English decreased by 3.7 ppts to 85.8%) and the level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) also decreased 16.7ppts to 15.3% for Maths and 13.9ppts to 25.7% for English

In contrast, at KS4 the English language GCSE level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) fell by more than maths. English language fell by 4.0 ppts and maths by 3.1ppts between 2020/21 and 2021/22 (provisional data).

Pass rates in English and maths at level 2 by institution type

GCSE entries by students at independent schools are most likely to pass at level 2, but it should be noted that Condition of Funding rules are not relevant for these schools, and these students may be resitting GCSEs to improve their KS4 grade, which could have already been at grade 4 or above. Amongst state-funded institutions, students in schools are consistently most likely to pass GCSE at level 2, then sixth form colleges and other FE sector colleges in both English and maths in 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Level 2 Functional Skills entries: within state-funded institutions sixth form colleges and 'Other FE sector' colleges are consistently more likely to pass than schools. Most entries in L2 Functional Skills are in 'Other FE sector' colleges.

Applied general, tech level, and technical certificate qualifications approved for reporting in this statistical release (and institution level performance data) are updated annually and published on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/performance-tables-technical-and-vocational-qualifications
The concept of qualifications approved for reporting has been applied since 2015/16 following Professor Alison Wolf's Review of Vocational Education. From 2017/18 at level 3 and from 2018/19 for technical certificates, the quality threshold for vocational and technical qualifications to be included in performance measures further increased. The later reforms include criteria relating to the size, content, and assessment, including a requirement that a proportion of a qualification's content is subject to external assessment. From 1 August 2020 the ESFA removed funding approval for pre-existing applied general and tech level qualifications (which had been approved in 2015/16 and 2016/17) which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications.

The measures presented in this section show the students entering these approved qualifications as a proportion of students entering a wider set of vocational qualifications that had been approved by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for funding during 16 to 18 study.

Proportions entering approved tech level and applied general qualifications continue to increase following a large fall in 2017/18 (when both lists of approved qualifications changed substantially), with a jump in students entering reformed versions of qualifications in 21/22 (in part attributable to the defunding of unreformed pre-existing qualifications).

The coverage of the measure for technical certificates is strongly impacted by the removal of CAG and TAG data from 2021/22 accountability data (as coverage is students at the end of 16-18 study, and level 2 vocational qualifications are more often entered during a student's first year of 16-18 study and so are excluded from the calculation).

The following table shows that there is variation in whether different institution types enter students for qualifications approved for reporting in performance tables versus the wider set of qualifications that were approved for funding.

Overall students in state-funded schools continue to be most likely to enter reformed versions of vocational and technical qualifications at level 3 (reformed in 2017/18), but 2021/22 saw a marked increase in the proportion of students entering approved/reformed applied general and tech levels across all broad institution types.

Introduction to retention measures

The Retention measure shows the percentage of students who are retained to the end of the 'core aim' (or main learning aim) of their study programme at a school or college.

Students are counted as retained if they are recorded as having "completed the learning activities leading to the learning aim" by their institution. This information is collected in the school census or for students that attended sixth form or FE colleges, the Individualised Learner Record (ILR).

Retention measures are not calculated for independent schools or special schools (both independent and maintained) as learning aims data is not available for these schools.

The Retention measure is calculated by dividing the total number of students retained by the total number of students with a core aim, in each of the five programmes approved for reporting in performance tables: academic, A level, applied general, tech level, and at level 2, technical certificate programmes.

Since academic programmes comprise largely of A levels, only data for A level core aims are described here; overall data for academic programmes can be found in the 'create your own tables' section and in the underlying data available to download.

Alongside the headline Retention measure there are two supporting retention measures:

Retained and Assessed: The percentage of students who are retained to the end of their course and are assessed.

Returned and Retained for a second year: The percentage of level 3 students who return to the same provider and complete their programme of study in their second year. (The main difference when compared to Retention is for students who complete their core aim in one year.)

A fuller description of the methodology underlying retention measures can be found in the 16-18 technical guide (from page 41).

Retention measures and the impact of the trigger change in 2020/21

The impact of the trigger rule change, meaning that students were no longer automatically reported after two years in 16-18 study, was to reduce the reported number of students in scope for retention measures across all exam cohorts in 2020/21, with the biggest impact on vocational and technical cohorts (VTQs).

For retention measures, this meant that Retention rates were slightly increased in 2020/21 for level 3 cohorts (A level, applied general, tech level) than would have been seen otherwise. However, the impact on the level 2 technical certificate cohort was a large decrease in Retention rates (and in cohort size).

Fuller analysis on the impact on 2020/21 retention data can be found in the methodology document, in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release', under the heading 'Impact of the trigger change on headline retention rates'.

Students whose reporting was delayed for one year due to the 2020/21 trigger change are reported in 2021/22. In other words, the impact of the trigger change was one-off discontinuity in retention data for 2020/21. For this reason, when looking at trends, data for 2021/22 is better compared to data for 2019/20 and earlier years.

All level 3 study programmes show increases in Retention rates in 2021/22 (A level +0.1 pts to 95.1%; applied general +1.8 pts to 91.7%; tech level +0.5 ppts to 91.1%). This continues a trend of increasing Retention rates since 2018/19. A level programmes continue to have the highest Retention rate as has been the case since the measure was introduced in 2015/16, but for the first time applied general programmes have a higher Retention rate than tech levels programmes.

Technical certificates have had lower Retention rates than Level 3 cohorts since being added to performance measures in 2016/17. However, they have seen an increase in Retention rate this year (+4.5 ppts to 86.6%), recovering from the impact of the trigger change that was seen last year and returning to previously-seen levels.

For the A level and applied general cohorts, rates for the Retained and Assessed measure have increasingly followed the same general trend as the Retention rate in recent years. Similarly, the Returned and Retained measure now also follows the same trend. This is most notable for the A level cohort where the phased decoupling of AS and A levels predominantly between 2017 and 2019 has resulted in a much smaller proportion of the A level cohort taking AS levels only and not then returning for a second year of study.

The tech level cohort shows a slightly different pattern this year whereby the Retained and Assessed rate has dropped slightly despite increases in both the Retained rate (retention to the end of the course) and the Returned and Retained rate (retention specifically over two years of a course). This means that within this cohort there was an increase in the proportion of students not being assessed at the end of their course .

The much smaller technical certificate cohort (Level 2) was heavily impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21 and shows less stable trends. In addition, the low cohort numbers mean that breakdowns of the technical certificate data, by student characteristics become increasingly unreliable, and therefore this cohort isn't discussed further.

Due to the similarity in the trends shown by the three retention measures, in particular for the two largest cohorts (A level and applied general), our further narrative will focus on the Retained and Assessed measure. Further breakdowns of the Retention measure and the Returned and Retained measure across all qualification cohorts are available in underlying data and through the table builder.

The Retained and Assessed rate is higher for non-disadvantaged students across all level 3 cohorts. Disadvantaged tech level students are least likely to be Retained and Assessed at 79.1%, which is 7.1 ppts lower than their non-disadvantaged peers. The Retained and Assessed disadvantage gap is smaller for A level and applied general (5.6 ppts and 5.3 ppts respectively).

The disadvantage gap has been narrowing for the A level cohort since 2018/19 (from 8.4 ppts to 5.6 ppts). Similarly, the applied general cohort has, overall, seen a substantial decrease in the gap in that time (from 7.9 ppts to 5.6 ppts). In contrast, the tech level cohort did not consolidate an initial decrease in the gap in 2019/20 and is now only slightly smaller than in 2018/19 (from 7.6 ppts to 7.1 ppts).

Changes to the distribution of prior attainment at A level between 2017/18 and 2021/22

The coverage of the retention measures is different to the attainment measures, and is described above in 'Retention: introduction and changes to the data in 2021/22'. The largest difference is that independent schools are excluded from the data, and this impacts the distribution of the prior attainment groups as students from independent schools have higher prior attainment on average.

The distribution of prior attainment has changed over time for all cohorts. The proportion of A level students with low prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4) has decreased from 8.1% of the cohort in 2017/18 to 1.9% in 2021/22. High prior attaining students (average grade 7 or more) have increased their proportion of the cohort from 16.1% in 2017/18 to 35.3% in 2021/22.

This increase in the proportion of KS4 students achieving grades averaging 7 or more, in part reflects year on year grade increases at KS4, and in part reflects that most A level students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and so their GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

However, in the vocational and technical cohorts, a larger proportion of students are being reported after three years in 16-18, hence prior attainment for these cohorts is less affected by CAGs. This is following delay in their reporting last year due to the change in the rule in 2020/21 triggering students for reporting.

Overall, students with the highest average prior attainment (grade 7+) are most likely to be Retained and Assessed in their main programme of study and students with the lowest prior attainment (grade 0 up to grade 4) the least likely to be Retained and Assessed. The highest Retained and Assessed rate is for high prior attaining A level students at 98.7%. The lowest Retained and Assessed rate is also for A level students. Low prior attaining A level students have a Retained and Assessed rate of 66.0%.

The Retained and Assessed rate for low prior attaining A level students has fallen and is now close to the 2018/19 rate, whereas the rate remains higher for other level 3 cohorts.

A full breakdown of all three retention measures by a range of other student characteristics is available through the table builder. Here, we draw attention to small number of breakdowns that may be of interest.

English Language

Across all level 3 cohorts, students with English as their first language have lower Retained and Assessed rates than students who do not. The difference is driven by poor rates for disadvantaged students with English as their first language.

The applied general cohort similarly has an increase in the Retained and Assessed rate since last year for all major (known) ethnicity groups and shows many of the same trends between groups. The Chinese ethnic group has the highest Retained and Assessed rates since 2018/19 (now at 95.8%) and the Black or Black British ethnic group and the Mixed Dual background ethnic group have made the biggest improvements in Retained and Assessed rates over recent years (+9.9 ppts to 89.1%, +9.9 ppts to 87.0% respectively). Again, the White ethnic group shows the largest disadvantage gap and White disadvantaged students have the lowest rates for Retained and Assessed.

The tech level cohort and the technical certificate cohort have very low numbers in some ethnic groups, and show less distinct patterns over recent years.

For the A level cohort, state-funded mainstream schools and Sixth form colleges have seen an increase in rates for Retained and Assessed this year (+1.5 ppts to 95.4% and +0.5 ppts to 92.3% respectively). In contrast, 'Other FE sector colleges' have seen a decrease (-2.3 ppts to 88.2%). However, the decrease for 'Other FE sector colleges' follows very large increases last year; the relative rates of the three major institution types have returned to levels seen before the change to the trigger rule.

There have also been decreases in the Retained and Assessed rate for 'Other FE sector colleges' in the applied general and tech level cohorts, following larger increases in the previous two years. All state-funded mainstream schools continue to have the lowest Retained and Assessed rates for applied general and tech level qualifications. This has been the case since 2018/19.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - APS per entry by institution type'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: APS per entry and average result' brings up the dashboard with attainment data in terms of APS per entry.

Data including the applied general and tech level cohorts starts in 2015/16 (when these cohorts were first defined in this statistical release, and school and college data). Data for the A level cohort starts in 2012/13.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - A level subject entries and grade by gender'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: A level entries and grade distribution' brings up the dashboard with A level entries data by subject, and A level grades by subject.

These data cover A level entries by students aged 16 to 18 within each academic year from 1995/96.

We have moved our Transition Matrices tool into a web based app for easier use. It is available at the following link:
16-18 Transition Matrices
Transition matrices (TM) are a useful tool to help visualise the progression from different groups of attainment at key stage 4 (KS4) to outcomes achieved during 16 to 18 for a range of different subjects.

Note that the 16 to 18 outcomes here will also be impacted by the different process to award grades in 2022, which is likely to impact the relationship between outcomes and KS4 prior attainment in 2021/22 for subjects.

Help and support

Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

National statistics

These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority's Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:

managed impartially and objectively in the public interest

meet identified user needs

produced according to sound methods

well explained and readily accessible

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

If you have a specific enquiry about A level and other 16 to 18 results statistics and data:

Attainment statistics team

Email: Attainment.STATISTICS@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Michael Greer

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Telephone: 037 0000 2288

Opening times:
Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)

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A level and other 16 to 18 results, Academic year 2021/22

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This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades.

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JCQ: Key dates in the examination cycle document - June 2023

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JCQ: Key dates in the examination cycle document - June 2023

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Published: 8th November 2022
Contingency days update: Timetabled for the afternoons of the 8 and 15 June and all day of 28 June 2023. To be used in the event of national or significant local disruption to examinations

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Ofsted: Report on 'Supporting struggling readers in secondary school'

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Ofsted: Report on 'Supporting struggling readers in secondary school'

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Published: 31st October 2022

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Skip to main content

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Ofsted carried out a research project on struggling readers in secondary schools. This report sets out our findings and recommendations.

Details

This report, following research visits to 6 secondary schools, illustrates how these schools identify specific reading weaknesses, and how they provide targeted support for struggling readers.

The findings use evidence from:

research literature

autumn term 2021 inspection data

discussions with His Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) who are primary specialists or secondary English specialists

visits to secondary schools that were shown to be effectively supporting struggling readers, to speak to leaders, pupils and staff

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'Now the whole school is reading': supporting struggling readers in secondary school

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Ofsted carried out a research project on struggling readers in secondary schools. This report sets out our findings and recommendations.

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Ofqual & DfE: Consultation on 'Ensuring the resilience of the qualifications system in 2023: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA'

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Ofqual & DfE: Consultation on 'Ensuring the resilience of the qualifications system in 2023: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA'

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Published: 29th September 2022
Deadline: 20th October 2022

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Detail of outcome

As outlined in our consultation document, both the DfE and Ofqual have responsibilities in this area, and so we consulted jointly.

The DfE is responsible for its policy for qualifications (including whether the government considers that exams can go ahead safely and fairly as planned) and the subject content that is taught and assessed. Ofqual is responsible for assessment arrangements and is therefore responsible for setting rules to implement alternative arrangements, if required.

As outlined in the consultation, the DfE considers that, if it becomes necessary to cancel exams this should apply to all students and a TAG approach should be implemented nationally. This would only happen due to an event like the pandemic which has such severe and catastrophic consequences for a significant number of students. The DfE has also confirmed that TAGs would not be used to award a grade when exams take place.

In line with our respective responsibilities, Ofqual and the DfE have decided to implement the proposals set out in the consultation about the provision of guidance for teachers on how they should collect evidence of student performance. The DfE has decided that the provision of guidance for schools and colleges is appropriate, given its responsibilities in this area. Ofqual has decided that the proposed guidance would support schools and colleges in gathering evidence of student performance that could be used to determine a TAG should exams not be able to go ahead as planned. Ofqual has revised the guidance consulted on, in response to feedback, with a view to minimise further the burden on students, schools and colleges. Ofqual has taken a decision to publish the final guidance, in line with its responsibilities for qualifications and assessments, including in the unlikely case that exams cannot go ahead.

The government is firmly committed to exams taking place. Schools and colleges are, therefore, not asked to determine TAGs and should not seek to do so. Guidance on how to determine a TAG, and on any quality assurance and appeal processes, will be provided only in the unlikely event that exams are not able to go ahead safely or fairly. These arrangements would depend on the nature and timing of any decision that exams cannot take place.

In this decisions document and the accompanying analysis, we have not sought to discuss every point made by those who responded to our consultation. In taking our respective decisions and finalising the guidance we have, however, considered all the points made in response to the consultation.

Detail of feedback received

The Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual welcomed the return of exams and other formal assessments in summer 2022, for the first time since 2019. Exams and other formal assessments are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do. That's why it was so important that students were able to take exams in 2022 and can continue to take them in 2023 and in the future.

The national cancellation of exams - and the need for alternative assessment arrangements - is now very unlikely. The government does not expect to ever be in the situation again where exams do not go ahead, but good public policy means having contingency, even for extremely unlikely scenarios.

A consultation, prepared jointly by the DfE and Ofqual, invited views on guidance to schools and colleges about gathering assessment evidence to support resilience in the exams system in the unlikely event it is necessary to use that evidence to inform Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs). The proposed guidance was designed to allow schools and colleges to decide how to gather evidence of student performance in assessments in ways that align with their normal arrangements for preparing students for exams. The consultation asked for the views of relevant people and institutions, such as students, teachers, exam boards, schools and colleges and their representatives on the proposed guidance. In particular, it sought their views on whether it supported the gathering of evidence to build resilience in the system whilst minimising any additional burden on teachers and students.

Responses to the consultation have informed the arrangements for gathering assessment evidence to support resilience in the exams system in 2023 that we have now put in place. The decisions taken on the final form of the guidance are set out in a decisions document, and the final guidance itself can be found here . The consultation was available online for 21 days and received 213 responses.

Original consultation

Summary

Consultation proposals for gathering evidence of student performance in GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA qualifications to support qualification system resilience in 2023.

This consultation ran from

Consultation description

We welcomed the return of exams and other formal assessments in summer 2022, for the first time since 2019. Exams and other formal assessments are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do. That's why it was so important that we got back to students taking them in 2022, and that this continues next year.

The national closure of schools or cancellation of exams - necessitating the use of alternative assessment arrangements - is now very unlikely. The government does not expect to ever be in the situation again where exams do not go ahead, but good public policy means having contingency, even for extremely unlikely scenarios.

It is important to learn lessons from the past 3 years. We have taken into account feedback received on the arrangements in place in 2022 and we propose to put in place arrangements which will build resilience in the exam system next year. We know that most schools and colleges have robust and effective assessment activities in place to monitor students' progress and prepare them for exams, such as mock exams, and these are well established.

This document, prepared jointly by the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual, invites views on guidance to schools and colleges about gathering assessment evidence to support resilience in the exams system in the unlikely event it is necessary to use that evidence to inform Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs). It is designed to allow schools and colleges to determine arrangements to gather evidence that align with their normal arrangements for preparing students for exams.

The proposals in this consultation apply to GCSEs, AS, A levels, Project Qualifications and the Advanced Extension Award (AEA) in mathematics.

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Ensuring the resilience of the qualifications system in 2023: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA

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Consultation proposals for gathering evidence of student performance in GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA qualifications to support qualification system resilience in 2023.

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AQA: Three Texts removed and three New texts for 2023

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AQA: Three Texts removed and three New texts for 2023

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Published: 28th September 2022

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We're introducing three new texts and a poetry collection to our English Literature GCSE to bring greater diversity to the curriculum and around half a million students who take our course.

The three new texts being introduced are Chinonyerem Odimba's Princess & The Hustler, Winsome Pinnock's Leave Taking and Kit de Waal's My Name is Leon.

Odimba's Princess & The Hustler is a play about everyday family life set against the backdrop of the Bristol bus boycott; Leave Taking is a funny and moving play inspired by Pinnock's own mother who was part of the Windrush generation, and de Waal's My Name is Leon is a coming-of-age novel about a boy who's on a mission to reunite his family.

The new poetry cluster, Worlds and Lives, is a contemporary collection of 15 poems that includes some well-known names, alongside new and current voices.*

The new texts offer rich opportunities to engage with issues and ideas that will resonate with young people, introduce further great writers to our course and improve the overall balance of ethnicity and gender of writers. The new, additional poetry cluster is modern, but also rooted in the revolutionary spirit of the Romantics to help ignite young people's enthusiasm for poetry.

All the current poetry clusters will remain available for study; however, we recognised that the current choice of texts was not appropriately diverse. As the course already had twelve modern set texts, it needed to make room for the new ones. Three existing texts which were less popular with schools have been removed, and each accounts for less than one percent of the overall entry: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, The History Boys by Alan Bennett and the play version of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens.

We're providing support and resources for teachers to accompany the new texts, including free on-demand e-learning to provide a practical toolkit for preparation and teaching.

All the new works are being added from September 2023 and are part of a broader range of revisions and reviews we're carrying out across our qualifications to ensure they better reflect the diverse range of communities, teachers and students they serve.

Earlier this year we added four new plays by writers from ethnic minority backgrounds to our GCSE and A-level Drama courses, and last year we added the study of the campaigning work on social and race issues by footballer Marcus Rashford to our Media Studies GCSE.

We've also established an equality, diversity and inclusion expert group to consider representation in the curriculum and assessment - and to ensure that our decisions are informed by people who represent the full diversity of society.

*The new poetry cluster, Worlds and Lives:

1. Lines Written in Early Spring by William Wordsworth (1798)

2. England in 1819 by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1839)

3. Shall earth no more inspire thee by Emily Brontë (1841)

4. In a London Drawingroom by George Eliot (posthumous publication 1959)

5. On an Afternoon Train by James Berry (1990)

6. Name Journeys by Raman Mundair (2003)

7. pot by Shamshad Khan (2007)

8. A Wider View by Seni Seneviratne (2010)

9. Homing by Liz Berry (2010)

10. A Century Later by Imtiaz Dharker (2014)

11. The Jewellery Maker by Louisa Adjoa Parker (2018)

12. With Birds You're Never Lonely by Raymond Antrobus (2019)

13. A Portable Paradise by Roger Robinson (2019)

14. Like an Heiress by Grace Nichols (2015)

15. Thirteen by Caleb Femi (2020)

Pauline McPartlan, our Head of Curriculum for English, said:

"I'm delighted to be announcing these exciting new texts and poems as part of AQA's commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in our English qualifications.

"As the largest awarding body for English we have the greatest influence on what's taught in the classroom. We want to make the right changes, so we've listened to teachers, consulted with external experts and academics, and worked with our senior examiners to inform the decisions we've made.

"We're making these changes because it matters that current and future generations of young people have an opportunity to experience a diverse, balanced, inclusive English Literature curriculum that resonates with their lives and better reflects modern Britain."

You can find the updated specification for GCSE English Literature (version 1.3) on our specification pages.
See all updates

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New texts and poetry bring greater diversity to AQA's English Literature GCSE

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We're introducing three new texts and a poetry collection to our English Literature GCSE to bring greater diversity to the curriculum and around half a million students who take our course. The three new texts being introduced are Chinonyerem Odimba's Princess & The Hustler, Winsome Pinnock's Leave Taking and Kit de Waal's My Name is Leon.

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Motifs in Macbeth - A tracker for the motifs whilst reading the play.

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Motifs in Macbeth - A tracker for the motifs whilst reading the play.

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London
10:00-15:15
1st December 2022

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10am

Emma Barker

Emma welcomes you to the Conference.

10.05am

Patience Agbabi

Patience Agbabi reads and discusses her poem 'Eat Me' before taking questions from the floor.

Patience Agbabi FRSL is a celebrated poet who has participated in residencies at Eton College, Flamin' Eight, The Historic Dockyard and Harewood House. In the last two years she has turned her talents to writing for children aged 8 to 18, with her time-travel adventure quartet The Leap Cycle. Its debut novel, The Infinite (Canongate, 2020), was a CBBC Book of the Month (July 2020) and shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year (winner of the Children & Young People Award), the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Scottish Teenage Book Prize and longlisted for the Branford Boase Award. The sequel, The Time-Thief, was published by Canongate in 2021.

10.35

Barbara Bleiman

This session will provide an opportunity for students to try out a guided activity that brings together a little cluster of set poems with some unseen ones. It will demonstrate how big picture thinking can offer fruitful angles for the comparison of poems that is at the heart of the EDEXCEL exam.

Barbara Bleiman is an Education Consultant at EMC and co-editor of emagazine. She has written numerous articles, blogs and chapters in books about English teaching, including a book, What Matters in English Teaching, published by EMC in April 2020. She was the recipient of the NATE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching of English (2019) She is also a fiction writer, with two published novels. Her collection of short stories, Kremlinology of Kisses, appeared in October 2020.

11.45

Vicki Feaver

Vicki Feaver reads and discusses her poem 'The Gun' before taking questions from the floor.

Vicki Feaver's collection The Book of Blood (Cape 2006) was shortlisted for the Forward and Costa Prizes. The Handless Maiden (Cape 1994) won a Heinemann Prize and a Cholmondeley Award. Her poem 'Judith' won the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem.

12.20

Ian Duhig

Ian Duhig reads and discusses his poem 'The Lammas Hireling' before taking questions from the floor.

Ian Duhig has written seven books of poetry, most recently The Blind Roadmaker (Picador 2016), a Poetry Book Society Recommendation shortlisted for the Roehampton, Forward Best Collection and TS Eliot Prizes. A former homelessness worker, Duhig still works with socially excluded and immigrant groups, contributing to Comma's 'Refugee Tales' series. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Cholmondeley Award recipient, has won the Forward Best Poem Prize once and the National Poetry Competition twice.

12.45pm

Sarah Crown

Sarah Crown shares a critical reading of 'On Her Blindness' by Adam Thorpe.

Sarah Crown is Director of Literature at the Arts Council England. She edited the Guardian's books website for many years, and regularly reviews fiction and poetry for the Guardian, the Telegraph and the TLS.

1.15pm

Lunch

Why not visit the bookstall in the East Corridor where there will be titles recommended by the poets, as well as a range of other books for browsing.

2pm

Jacob Sam-La Rose

In the spirit of the Edexcel specification, poet and artistic director for the Barbican Young Poets programme, Jacob Sam-La Rose will take a poem from the Poems of the Decade collection as a jumping off point for discussion with another poet. They will explore comparisons with other contemporary poetry, including Spoken Word, and also perform some of their own work.

Jacob Sam-La Rose is a poet, editor and educator. Among other roles, he is the artistic director for the Barbican Young Poets programme, and has served as poet-in-residence for Raffles Institution (Singapore), a poetry fellow for English Heritage and poetry professor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has been responsible for the Spoken Word Education Programme, Shake the Dust (a national youth poetry festival) and countless other creative development initiatives for young and emerging poets. He has delivered programmes, performances and commissioned works for Arts Council England, the British Council, the Open Book Festival (South Africa), the Ministry of Education (Malaysia), the London School of Economics and more. His poetry has been translated into Portuguese, Latvian, French and Dutch, and his collection Breaking Silence is an A Level English Language/Literature set text.

2.45pm

Daljit Nagra

Daljit Nagra reads and discusses his poem 'Look We Have Coming to Dover', including audience Q&A.

Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University, Chair of the Royal Society of Literature, Daljit's four poetry collections have won the Forward Prize for Best Individual Poem and Best First Book, the South Bank Show Decibel Award and the Cholmondeley Award. The inaugural Poet-in-Residence for Radio 4 & 4 Extra, he presents the weekly Poetry Extra.

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emagazine Poems of the Decade Conference December 2022

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10am Emma Barker Emma welcomes you to the Conference. 10.05am Patience Agbabi Patience Agbabi reads and discusses her poem 'Eat Me' before taking questions from the floor. Patience Agbabi FRSL is a celebrated poet who has participated in residencies at Eton College, Flamin' Eight, The Historic Dockyard and Harewood House.

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Pearson Edexcel: June 22 marked student exemplars for all our GCSEs and A levels published

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Pearson Edexcel: June 22 marked student exemplars for all our GCSEs and A levels published

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30th September 2022

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Copyright © 1996 - 2022 Pearson All rights reserved.

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AQA: GCSE English Literature: Virtual Communities -(East of England)

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AQA: GCSE English Literature: Virtual Communities -(East of England)

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Online
16:00-17:15
29th November or 6th December 2022

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GCSE English Literature: Virtual Communities - Autumn 2022 - East (East Midlands, East of England)

Course summary

This term we will focus on the teaching of poetry.

Participants will be able to use text and audio chat facilities in an online environment to discuss relevant topics. We will share any relevant updates and resource developments from AQA and our AQA family.

We suggest you to book onto your 'local' community session where possible, however all sessions will deliver the same content.

Course reference

ENGGVW18 - use this in communications with us.

Course description

This event will focus on the teaching of poetry for GCSE English Literature. We look forward to you joining in the discussions where we will explore:

the myths students (and teachers) may have about poetry

different ways to engage students in poetry and how to shift their mindset

feedback from examiner's reports

helpful, practical resources that can be tried in the classroom

Worlds and lives.

Please test and bring a working microphone as you will have the ability to chat with other participants should you wish.
Suitable for

Current and potential teachers of GCSE English Literature.

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This term we will focus on the teaching of poetry. Participants will be able to use text and audio chat facilities in an online environment to discuss relevant topics. We will share any relevant updates and resource developments from AQA and our AQA family.

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NATRE: Spirited Arts & Poetry Competition

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NATRE: Spirited Arts & Poetry Competition

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Deadline: Monday 31 July 2023

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Get involved in the 2023 competition!

Join hundreds of schools from around the world taking part in this year's Spirited Arts competition! We welcome entries in (almost!) any art form your pupils can think of, including:

Winning entries will provide a good response to one of the 5 themes, and judges will be asking 'Is it original?' 'Is it well-crafted?' And (most importantly!) 'Is it excellent RE?'

Pupils can enter individually, in pairs or groups, or as whole class, year, or school entries. We have also been pleased to receive entries from whole community groups in previous years.

The annual competition starts at the beginning of every school year and runs through the spring and summer terms. All entries must be received before Monday 31 July 2023.

Many schools host their own Spirited Arts competition and send their 10 winning entries into our international competition. What a great way to engage all your teachers and pupils and raise the profile of RE in your school! To enable teachers to incorporate the art competition into their RE lessons, many schools have a 'Spirited Arts' unit of work or a special learning RE/arts week.

Many schools have a 'Spirited Arts' unit of work or a special learning RE/arts week.
Use our classroom-ready PowerPoints to inspire your pupils
Don't forget to check out our supporting resources & ideas section below - including a FREE webinar for both Primary and Secondary teachers.
Ready to enter your pupils' work? Complete the online submission form here.
Themes - Now with 6 themes to choose from!

We have some exciting new themes for you and your pupils for the 2023 competition! We are delighted to continue our partnership with the Jo Cox Foundation for our "We have far more in common with each other than that which divides us." theme.

1. "We have far more in common with each other than that which divides us."

The quote from Jo Cox MP introduces this theme. Are we all one human race, despite our differences and divisions? We are all different, and all religions are different - but are we all the same too? Can we all be united? What holds humanity together? Is it faith? Hope? Love? Music? Sport? What threatens to tear us apart - racism, sexism, hatred, bigotry? How can we conquer the forces of division? You should use specific religious ideas and quotes. Make a work of art that shows what unites us, brings us together, joins humans as one people and expresses our harmony. Use the disciplines of theology, but also of psychology and sociology to question + create your responses.

2. Green faith, green future? ('God's good earth')

Many religions thank God for nature, from Aardvarks to Zebras, via cats, elephants and rabbits. But the climate crisis deepens. Are we spoiling God's good earth? Can we save it - and ourselves - in time from the threats of climate change? In this theme, learners are invited to explore ideas and beliefs about the natural world, animals and the environment, human responsibility for the earth and ways of praying about climate justice. Great work will show some originality: the globe in God's hands won't win! Challenge pupils to use scripture quotations thoughtfully, but also the methods of scientific enquiry and moral study to develop deep answers and good writing to go with stunning images.

3. Where is God today?

Pupils who are atheists, agnostics and believers in God can all respond to this theme. Express your ideas about the search for God. Where's God? In your heart? In prayer? In the temple or the universe? Or is she hiding? Is he not there at all? Unreal? Imaginary? A cruel joke? Looking for God, searching for him or her, matters to many, but how are we doing in finding God? Would you search with google or a 'god-detector'? Is God on Instagram, TikTok or whatsapp? Can God be found by prayer or by looking among the world's suffering people? This popular 'Art in Heaven' theme produces great work where pupils use ideas from religions clearly: The Jewish Psalms 42 and 43 are where it starts - there are parallels in many scriptures. Use theological reflection as well as philosophical argument to make great work.

4. Faith in action, Values in action

Faith without work is dead, it is said. Hypocrites say one thing and do the opposite. If you really believe what you claim, you might be willing to die for it - or live for it. Pupils can consider religious exemplars of faith from Guru Nanak, the Muslim prophets, Jewish patriarchs and Biblical 'action figures'. They can also think about their own values and dearest beliefs: how do these values and beliefs make a difference? Start with this sentence: 'My beliefs and values make a difference because...' Use quotes from wisdom sources in your work! This is a great theme for examination students, who are always asked: 'what is the impact of this belief?' How would they like to answer?

5. Sacred Space and Holy Buildings

Mosque and Mandir, Church and Chapel, Gurdwara and Synagogue: spaces for wonder and awe, for ritual and symbol, for believers and visitors. This theme could be a space for photography, collage, group work or reflections on class trips to places of worship. But then some people's sacred space is on the beach, in the mountains, by the riverside. And for others, it is in the city, among the people who carry heavy loads, even in war-torn space - can God be experienced there? This theme will be popular with primary class groups who have been on a trip, but 14-19s with a sacred space of their own can win too. Can your work on key texts from religious studies in your explanations? So much the better.

6. NEW! "All God's Creatures?"
This additional theme has been kindly sponsored by Animal Interfaith Alliance and Veganism in Education (VinE)
Do animals belong to God? Are they part of a divine plan? Do animals have souls? The beauty and sheer awesomeness of non-human animals with whom we share planet Earth is celebrated in many of the world's religions. Some worldviews see all living beings as interconnected, yet others emphasise the separateness and superiority of humans over other animals. Animals play a huge part in all our lives, whether we realise or not. How humans interact with other animals and the natural world impacts on all living beings and the planet. This theme invites exploration of ideas and beliefs about non-human animals. Great work will show originality and flare coming from deep consideration of the issues. Challenge learners to engage thoughtfully with scripture, philosophy, and scientific enquiry to write an inspiring passage to accompany stunning images. We are delighted to partner with the Animals Interfaith Alliance (AIA) and Veganism in Education (VinE) to bring you this theme.
All themes are suited to both primary and secondary pupils: teachers are advised to share them with RE classes in age appropriate ways, and make sure that pupils can respond at their own level, whether they are 4 or 14, 8 or 18. Click here to download the list of themes and full competition details.
Who can enter?

We welcome entries from pupils of all abilities and any school type, from age 3 right up to age 19. We can only accept 10 entries per school - so be sure to whittle them down to your 10 best.

Pupils can create entries individually, in pairs or groups, or as whole class, year or school entries. We have also been pleased to receive entries from whole community groups on previous years.

Prizes & judging

Judging by RE Today Advisers and students, takes place in August and winners are announced in the new academic year.

We aim to award 5 prizes for each theme (25 in total) but may award more if we have very strong entries for some themes. Entries are split into Key Stages for judging, and we hope to have at least one winner per key stage where possible.

£25 prizes will be awarded to a selection of winners. Exceptional work from 14-19 students may win a prize of up to £100. Sometimes we are able to make a slightly larger award for a class or group entry.

Prizes are typically:

Individual pupil winners - £20 Amazon voucher

Paired winners - £10 Amazon voucher each

Group/Class/Year/School winners - Prizes decided on a case by case basis, but are often a £50-£100 voucher or cheque for the school to choose appropriate prizes.

All schools whose pupil(s) produce winning work will also receive a prize (usually a voucher to spend with RE Today, NATRE, or a copy of a best-selling publication from RE Today).

How to enter

There are lots of ways to run the competition in your school (see the supporting resources and ideas section for inspiration!). You need to select your 10 best entries to send in. You can choose a single theme for pupils to work on, or allow them to respond to any of the 5 themes. Your 10 entries do not all need to be from the same theme.

Entries should consist of a piece of art, be it physical, literal or using technology (almost all mediums are welcome) and a corresponding write up of no more than 400 words. The write up should support the main piece in responding to the theme and showcase the brilliant RE your pupils are doing. The commentary is a large element of judging, and authentic commentaries demonstrating pupil knowledge and interpretation always rank highly. All entries being sent to us need to be registered through our online submission form. This builds a list of all the school and pupil information we need to run the competition smoothly and send out prizes and certificates.

If your pupils have produced a piece or work larger than A3 (including sculptures) please send us some high-quality photographs of the work, as we are unable to accommodate large entries at our office.

Musical, dance and drama entries can be sent via email, or sent on a USB or CD.
You can send your entries by:
Post

When you complete the online submission form, an address label including your unique reference will be available to print.
Please send your entries to:
Spirited Arts

NATRE

5-6 Imperial Court

12 Sovereign Road

Birmingham

B30 3FH
Please make sure your reference number is on the envelope and all pieces of artwork and the supporting commentaries.
Write ups should be attached to the corresponding artwork (ideally stapled or glued to the reverse) as it is very difficult for us to match them up ourselves.

Each piece of work MUST be labelled with the pupil name, age, theme and school details.

Email

Entries can be sent digitally to competition@natre.org.uk - this is particularly useful for digital work such as videos or pieces of music.

Please ensure all file names have the pupil name, age and theme they are entering. For example:

John Smith - age 7 - Where is God

As we receive 1000's of entries it is very difficult to work with files that are not named with these details.

Click here to download full competition details, including an entry checklist.

Supporting resources & ideas

Ideas for running the competition in your school:

· Many schools build the competition into a scheme/unit of work, allowing time to develop knowledge and ideas around a theme before completing the unit by creating their entries

· Other schools have run a RE week or day in their school that concludes with creating work for the competition

· The competition can be used as a fun end of term activity, or homework project

· Use the competition as a great way to raise the profile of RE in your school! Make displays of your pupil's work, and consider asking other members of teaching staff, SLT or your head teacher to help do the preliminary judging when choosing your best 10 entries to send in

· Some schools run exhibitions of all their pupils work and open them to parents and the wider community. Some even have attendees select the best 10 entries

FREE webinar & classroom ready PPTs:

Now in its 18th year, Spirited Arts has attracted over 450,000 participants (averaging 25,000 per year!) since 2004, with 3,000 entries being sent in to NATRE each year for judging. Hundreds of UK schools get involved, and we get entries coming from as far a-field as Hong Kong, Australia, Thailand and Bahrain.

We hope you're excited to be involved this year! We are looking forward to another year of wonderful, inspirational and unique work from your pupils.

Please get in contact if you have further questions by emailing competition@natre.org.uk.

Have you entered before? We'd love to hear from you.
As we approach the 20th year of the competition in 2023, we want to evaluate and assess the impact the competition has had and continues to have in classroom in the UK and around the world. This survey will take approx. 5 minutes to complete, and your input will be invaluable to us as we look to the future.
Complete the short evaluation here.

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Enter Spirited Arts 2023 | NATRE competition

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Join hundreds of schools from around the world taking part in this year's Spirited Arts competition! We welcome entries in (almost!) any art form your pupils can think of, including: Winning entries will provide a good response to one of the 5 themes, and judges will be asking 'Is it original?'

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Read Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start Intervention for Poor Readers in KS3

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Read Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start Intervention for Poor Readers in KS3

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Testing the impact of a systematic and rigorous phonics programme on early readers and also those that have fallen behind at the end of Key Stage 2.

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Pearson: My Twist on a Tale - Writing Competition

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Pearson: My Twist on a Tale - Writing Competition

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Years 1-13
Winners for KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4/KS5
Deadline: Friday 25 November 2022,

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What does 'Our Tomorrow' entail?

Storytellers can explore whatever themes are important to them, be that family, climate, inclusion, technology, space exploration or beyond...

What do I need to know?

To expand the scope for children and young people even further than previous years, the 2021 competition welcomes creative non-fiction entries in addition to stories and poems.

The winners will not only receive a prize but also see their works published as an illustrated collection for all to read, as well as in a selection of audio stories too!

Stories can be submitted until 5pm on Friday 26 November.
Download your entry pack - and get writing!

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My Twist on a Tale competition | Pearson UK

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Storytellers can explore whatever themes are important to them, be that family, climate, inclusion, technology, space exploration or beyond... To expand the scope for children and young people even further than previous years, the 2021 competition welcomes creative non-fiction entries in addition to stories and poems. The winners will not only receive a prize but also see their works published as an illustrated collection for all to read, as well as in a selection of audio stories too!

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Year 12/13
17:30-18:30
13th October 2022

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Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here
In this Screenwriting session, Steve Waters, Professor of Scriptwriting in the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive skills and insight workshop for students on The Art of Screenwriting.

This online session will explore the basics of screenwriting: why is a screenplay formatted as it is? How can your story be told visually and dramatically? What role does sound or point of view play?

Using extracts from screenplays and writing exercises, this workshop offers some ways into writing for Film and Television.

The session will develop skills and approaches to support students in their Screenwriting interests.
Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Professor Steve Waters
Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Screenwriting and related disciplines.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance, with respect to challenges they may face or questions they have. Students can also think about questions they have about studying Screenwriting at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:
Register here

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Screenwriting: Skills & Insight - The Art of Screenwriting: Workshop with Professor Steve Waters From University of East Anglia - Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here In this Screenwriting session, Steve Waters, Professor of Scriptwriting in the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive skills and insight workshop for students on The Art of Screenwriting. This online session will explore the basics of screenwriting: why is a screenplay formatted as it is?

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UEA: Accessing Shakespeare Lecture - Online

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UEA: Accessing Shakespeare Lecture - Online

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Year 12/13
10:30-11:30
6th October 2022

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Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here
In this English session, Dr Katherine Hunt, Lecturer in 16th & 17th Century Literature in the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at University of East Anglia, will focus on Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 to explore the connection between the printed versions of Shakespeare's plays and poems, and how this affects how we read Shakespeare now.

You'll read Sonnet 116 and think more about its original and later publication, in the context of Shakespeare's time. You'll think about the form of the sonnet and how it links to other love poetry you've read. You'll also read a recent reworking of this sonnet by poet Jen Bervin, who turns the sonnet into an erasure poem by deleting some of its words. You will do a creative task inspired by Bervin in which you rewrite the sonnet yourself. What do we think about treating Shakespeare's works in this way? (It will be helpful to have Shakespeare-Sonnet-116 - please click - available for the exercise).

In the session you'll gain an insight into the relationships between poetry and printed texts, as well as a sense of what's at stake in including Shakespeare in an anthology. We will also consider how Shakespeare's poetry and plays connect, and ask questions about the status of Shakespeare in our reading today.
Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Dr Katherine Hunt
Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, English and related disciplines.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance, with respect to challenges they may face or questions they have. Students can also think about questions they have about studying English at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:
Register here

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English: Sonnet 116 - Shakespeare, Poems & Remaking Texts With Dr Katherine Hunt From University of East Anglia - Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here In this English session, Dr Katherine Hunt, Lecturer in 16th & 17th Century Literature in the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at University of East Anglia, will focus on Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 to explore the connection between the printed versions of Shakespeare's plays and poems, and how this affects how we read Shakespeare now.

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What does high-quality classroom talk look like in English?

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What does high-quality classroom talk look like in English?

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15:45 -16:30
11th October 2022
Online

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Louise Richardson - Programme Lead, Voice 21

Barbara Bleiman - Co-Director, English and Media Centre

Stephanie Quick - English Teacher and Oracy Lead, Brooklands Middle School

Vicky Thorpe - Key Stage 2 Teacher, South Lake Primary School

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Louise Richardson - Programme Lead, Voice 21 Barbara Bleiman - Co-Director, English and Media Centre Stephanie Quick - English Teacher and Oracy Lead, Brooklands Middle School Vicky Thorpe - Key Stage 2 Teacher, South Lake Primary School

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National Reference Test:  Information for 2023 

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National Reference Test:  Information for 2023 

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Tests will take place between 13 February and 17 March 2023

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Information provided by the NFER to schools taking part in the 2023 NRT.

Details

This information is provided to schools that have been selected as part of a sample to participate in the statutory National Reference Test (NRT), which will take place between 20 February and 3 March 2023.

Ofqual has appointed the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to develop, administer and analyse the test on its behalf.

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National Reference Test 2023 - information for schools

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Skip to main content We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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Shared: Resources for A-level, GCSE and KS3

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Shared: Resources for A-level, GCSE and KS3

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Research Schools Network: Secondary Literacy - Deep Dive Day

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Research Schools Network: Secondary Literacy - Deep Dive Day

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Durrington High School, Worthing
10:30-15:30
5th October 2022

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Ofsted: Supporting secondary school pupils who are behind with reading

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Ofsted: Supporting secondary school pupils who are behind with reading

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Published: 28 April 2022

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Gill Jones, our Deputy Director, Schools and Early Education, on reading in secondary schools and supporting weaker readers.
Since we have been back to inspecting, many of you have asked us about how we're inspecting reading in secondary schools. You are concerned that more pupils are behind with reading on entry to secondary school. In this blog post, I explain how inspectors evaluate support for weaker readers. Although it relates to pupils in secondary schools who have fallen behind with reading, it is also relevant for pupils of any age who need to catch up with reading.
The impact of COVID-19 on pupils' reading
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to more pupils not reading well enough for their age. Our autumn 2021 education recovery in schools report told us that many secondary schools are having to focus more on helping pupils to catch up in reading. For example, some were targeting key stage 3 pupils who had been identified as needing additional phonics work. Others had introduced new reading programmes for whole cohorts, such as Year 7.
Why reading is so important for schools to prioritise
Reading is the gateway to learning. It is the key to pupils' future academic achievement and well-being. Pupils who struggle to read words accurately quickly fall behind their peers. They read less and do not accumulate the necessary background knowledge and vocabulary from reading. To fulfil the demands of the secondary school curriculum, pupils need to be able to read age-appropriate texts fluently. Pupils who cannot read well are not able to access the curriculum and are disadvantaged for life.

It is therefore essential that reading is a priority to prevent pupils from falling any further behind with their education.
Additional support for weaker readers
Pupils who are struggling with reading need help. Comprehension suffers when pupils cannot read words accurately and fluently. Pupils who are struggling to read the words on a page find that their working memory is overloaded. They can't make sense of what they read, can't recall previous content, and so fall behind in any subject that requires reading.

So, it's important that assessment checks exactly which aspect(s) of reading that pupils are struggling with - whether weaker readers are having difficulty reading words accurately and/or automatically. This makes sure that you can target extra support effectively. For example, pupils who can't read unfamiliar words accurately will need phonics teaching. Regardless of age, special educational need or background, the same knowledge of the alphabetic code and phonics skills underpins all reading. Intensive practice should soon make sure that pupils can read age-appropriate texts accurately and automatically.

Pupils' understanding of language can still be developed while they get extra help with phonics. Age-appropriate texts should be read to them so that they can benefit from discussions and broaden their understanding of the vocabulary and concepts that the texts contain. This way, when their word reading catches up, they will have the understanding of language needed to comprehend what they read. It is also why it is so important to get phonics sorted quickly - so that pupils can read and gain knowledge for themselves.
How leaders can prioritise reading without narrowing the curriculum
Having additional support may well mean that pupils need to miss some other lessons for a short period of time so that you can address their reading difficulties swiftly. Leaders have told us about ways they have managed this, for example by rotating the subject missed, using registration time or using a slot before the start of school.

We recognise that there are difficult timetabling decisions for leaders to make but teaching pupils to read fluently is in their best long-term interests. Reading is the gateway to the curriculum.
How we look at what support you're giving struggling readers on inspection
Our focus on early reading in secondary schools is not new. This approach has always been in our school inspection handbook.

We will look at how well reading is prioritised to allow pupils to access the full curriculum.

'If pupils are not able to read to an age-appropriate level and fluency, they will be incapable of accessing the rest of the curriculum, and they will rapidly fall behind their peers' (school inspection handbook evaluation criteria, paragraph 221. See paragraphs 348 to 350 for further information on early reading).

We will use a range of evidence from various inspection activities, as follows:

pre-inspection phone call - we want to understand the impact of COVID-19 on whether pupils are learning to read with fluency and understanding as soon as they should. We will ask how you identify pupils who are behind with reading and what support they receive. We will be interested to hear who is responsible for checking the impact of pupils' reading support so that we speak to the right people during inspection.

evaluating reading support - we will talk to the person responsible for the support for weaker readers to find out more about your approach. We are keen to hear how you build staff expertise and how you check how well your approach is working. This discussion may happen as part of other meetings, for example when speaking to the special educational needs coordinator or English leader. Further activities might include lesson visits to see the support in action and discussions with staff who deliver support and the pupils who receive it.

subject deep dives - in all subject deep dives, we will be alert to pupils' reading and the impact it has on them being able to access the subject curriculum. We may well follow this up in our discussions with staff and pupils.

Where can I find out more information?
We have created a SlideShare pack with some points that leaders may want to consider regarding assessment, curriculum and pedagogy for weaker readers. These messages are based on what research and inspection practice tell us about indicators of quality.

The Department for Education's reading framework also has a useful section (section 4) on older pupils who need to catch up with reading.

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Gill Jones, Deputy Director, Schools and Early Education

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Supporting secondary school pupils who are behind with reading

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Gill Jones, our Deputy Director, Schools and Early Education, on reading in secondary schools and supporting weaker readers. Since we have been back to inspecting, many of you have asked us about how we're inspecting reading in secondary schools. You ...

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Ofqual: Arrangements for 2022 to 2023 NEAs and Exams

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Ofqual: Arrangements for 2022 to 2023 NEAs and Exams

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- Ofqual confirms the usual arrangements for NEA, fieldwork and practical science are in place for 2023.
- Ofqual will ask exam boards to look carefully at the design of the exam timetable for next year, to see if the increased spacing between subjects in the exam timetable should be retained.

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Applies to England

In 2021 and 2022, Ofqual made a range of adjustments to the arrangements for NEA and fieldwork and practical science requirements in some GCSE, AS and A level subjects to respond to public health measures. Given that they are no longer in force, for the 2023 cohort Ofqual confirms that, as planned, the usual arrangements for NEA, fieldwork and practical science are now in place.

For the 2022 cohort, the Department for Education determined that there should be a choice of topics in GCSE English literature, history and ancient history and a choice of content in GCSE geography as part of a range of adaptations to GCSE, AS and A levels for this year. For 2023, the Department for Education confirms the return to full subject content coverage for those GCSE subjects.

For other qualifications, including vocational and technical qualifications taught alongside or instead of GCSEs, AS and A levels, a range of adaptations were permitted in academic year 2021 to 2022. Awarding organisations decided which adaptations were appropriate for their qualifications in accordance with Ofqual's Vocational and Technical Qualifications Contingency Regulatory Framework (VCRF). Some adaptations were in response to public health restrictions. Given that public health restrictions are no longer in place, these adaptations are no longer necessary for the academic year 2022 to 2023 onwards.

This means that schools and colleges have the information they need to plan their teaching of the required content and to provide non-exam assessments. The Department for Education and Ofqual will continue to monitor the path and impact of the pandemic and evaluate the delivery of arrangements this year, including the provision of exam aids, such as formulae sheets, and advance information to support students' revision, before finalising 2023 arrangements. Our intention is to return to the carefully designed and well-established pre-pandemic assessment arrangements as quickly as possible, given they are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do.

For GCSEs, AS and A levels, Ofqual will, as planned, consider the approach to grading for 2023 in light of outcomes in 2022. Ofqual will also ask exam boards to look carefully at the design of the exam timetable for next year in the light of experience this year, to see if the increased spacing between subjects in the exam timetable should be retained.

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Subject content and assessment arrangements in the academic year 2022 to 2023

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Skip to main content We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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Ofqual: New tender for National Reference Test from 2025

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Ofqual: New tender for National Reference Test from 2025

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Published:
30 June 2022

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Ofqual is inviting organisations to run the National Reference Test from 2025.

Organisations are invited to run the National Reference Test (NRT) from 2025, Ofqual announced today.

Since 2017 the NRT has measured the attainment of year 11 students in English and maths each year. It has provided important evidence used to set grade boundaries in GCSE English language and maths.

Every year, about 300 schools take part in the tests which last 1 hour each. Crucially, the questions remain the same, which mean that Ofqual and exam boards can measure changes in student attainment over time. If NRT results go up, then that means students have performed better than those in previous years which, in turn, can explain better performance in GCSE English language and maths.

In line with our corporate plan commitment to explore the use of technology, the NRT contract includes planning for a possible move to online tests. However, the NRT will remain on paper in the short term.

The current contract with the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to provide NRT ends in 2024. Ofqual is publishing a prior information notice (PIN) to begin procurement for 2025 tests onward.

The contract is worth an estimated £10 million for providing the NRT from 2025 to 2030. Ofqual is open to awarding a single contract or to working with a number of organisations.

To express interest in taking part in the procurement and receive more information in due course, organisations can view the PIN and register interest on MyTenders.co.uk by searching for Notice 226560. If they do not already use My Tenders they will first need to register as a new supplier.

Published 30 June 2022

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Ofqual is inviting organisations to run the National Reference Test from 2025.

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Advance Information for November GCSE English Resit exams released  

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Advance Information for November GCSE English Resit exams released  

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Published: 27th June 2022
Links for each exam board's maths info:
Edexcel: GCSE English Language 2.0 Advance Information for November 2022 (pearson.com)
AQA: Advance information November 2022 - GCSE English Language (8700) (aqa.org.uk)
OCR: J351 GCSE English Language Advance Information_Nov2022.pdf

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EMC: Teaching Writing for GCSE – Inspiring Strategies

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EMC: Teaching Writing for GCSE – Inspiring Strategies

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Virtual
10:00-15:30
20th September 2022

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This one-day course will offer you a range of ideas to engage and challenge your students and help them to become confident and independent writers of non-fiction and creative writing. The day’s course will include plenty of resources and classroom ideas. There will be an opportunity for some interaction to explore how some of the activities would work with students. This course will run with limited numbers to allow for a more interactive and personalised experience and a chance to have your teaching questions answered.

Session 1 Developing a point of view (10-11.35am)

Unlocking students’ language resources to get them writing more purposefully in the argue/persuade genres.

Session 2: Teaching narrative (11.50-1.15pm)

Teaching students the difference between a story and a narrative.

Activities to help students to use setting effectively.

Session 3: Teaching descriptive writing (2-3.30pm)

Adding to your students’ descriptive writing repertoire.

Effective feedback.

N.B. This is a repeat course.

Further details

This course will run with limited numbers.

On these longer EMC online courses we try to make good use of Zoom’s interactive features, such as breakout rooms and live Q&A. This requires people to unmute their microphones and, preferably, to turn on their camera. If you would like to take part but will not be able to unmute your microphone, please email Kate to discuss whether the course is suitable for you.

As participants may be audible and visible, this course will not be recorded.

Resources

Course materials will be sent out the day before the course, in the email with your joining instructions. Please either print these out or have them available on screen during the course.

After the session you will receive the PowerPoint presentation, any resources used on the course and a £10 voucher to use against any purchase on www.englishandmedia.co.uk

Vouchers can only be redeemed online.

Only one voucher can be used per purchase.

Course tutors: Andrew McCallum and Kate Oliver

Andrew McCallum is Director of the English and Media Centre. Prior to that he ran a PGCE course in secondary English, and previously he taught for 15 years in London schools, spending most of that time at Acland Burghley School in Camden. He holds a doctorate in education, is author of Creativity and Learning in Secondary English (Routledge) and writes regularly for NATE's Teaching English magazine. If asked to name the EMC publication he's most proud of having worked on, it would be a three-way contest between Literary Shorts, Diverse Shorts and Write On.

Kate Oliver taught for 14 years in Inner London in various roles. She now works as an education consultant for the English and Media Centre, specialising in KS3 and KS4. Her most recent publications for EMC are KS3 Poetry Plus, Just Write and Animal Farm: An EMC Full Text Study Edition.

How to book your place

Bookings for this course will close at 8am on Friday 16th September, or when capacity is reached, whichever is the sooner.

To book a place on this course, first sign in to your account on the website, or register one if you need to.

Click ‘Book online’ (right-hand column) and fill in the name and email address of the person attending the course. The joining information and post-course email will be sent to this address.

If you are booking for more than one person, repeat the process.

Then hover over your basket (top right) and click checkout.

If you want to book another place on the course, return to the course page and go through the same process. You cannot update number of places booked from within your basket.

Once you have booked your place, you will see a screen ‘Your order was a success!’ You may want to make a note of your order number. You will also receive an automatic acknowledgement of your booking.

Your email with all the information you need to join the session will be sent out on Monday 27th June. You will be sent a reminder on the day of the course. Please check your junk or promotions folder. Still no luck? Email courses@englishandmedia.co.uk

Testimonials

Great balance of pedagogical and practical input; really engaging activities and a broad range of aspects to consider when approaching writing.

The strategies and resources were excellent and could be used practically in lessons immediately after the course. It was also really refreshing to be given new and useful ideas for teaching writing which I feel has been lacking in the last few years of teaching!

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EMC CPD Online: Teaching Writing for GCSE - Inspiring Strategies (Full day online 20.9.22)

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English and Media Centre (EMC) is an educational charity providing CPD and innovative & award-winning teaching materials to secondary English & Media teachers

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EMC: Starting to Teach English Language A Level 

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EMC: Starting to Teach English Language A Level 

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Virtual
10:00-15:30
13th September 2022

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Course content

If you are (or are about to be) teaching English Language for the first time, this course will give you an introduction to most of the key areas. We will explore ways to develop both your own knowledge and your students’ understanding of the building blocks of language analysis and the main approaches to sociolinguistic research used on all AS & A Level courses. Assuming no prior knowledge of English Language teaching and not focused on one particular specification, this course will equip you to take on the first year of teaching with confidence.

What will the course cover?

How to develop confidence, knowledge and skills for analysing texts

A look at the different types of text and data typically found at A Level

An introduction to sociolinguistic topic areas such as gender, ethnicity, accent and language change

A survey of some of the main debates and arguments about language

How to encourage student-led research and writing.

N.B. This is a repeat course.

Further details

This course will run with limited numbers.

On these longer EMC online courses, we try to make good use of Zoom's interactive features, such as breakout rooms and live Q&A. This requires people to unmute their microphones and, preferably, to turn on their camera. If you would like to take part but will not be able to unmute your microphone, please email Kate to discuss whether the course is suitable for you.

As participants may be audible and visible, this course will not be recorded.

Please note: courses are designed to be watched by one participant only.

Resources

Course materials will be sent out in advance. Please either print these out or have them available on screen during the session.

After the session you will receive the PowerPoint presentation, any resources used on the course and a £10 voucher to use against any purchase on www.englishandmedia.co.uk

Vouchers can only be redeemed online.

Only one voucher can be used per purchase.

Course tutor: Dan Clayton

Dan Clayton is an education consultant at the EMC and specialises in English Language work at A Level and language education across the secondary curriculum. He has been a teacher of A level English for over 20 years, senior examiner and moderator for an awarding body and is author/editor of many books for A Level English Language, including ones for Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press & Routledge, as well as publications for the EMC and NATE. Dan has worked closely with many universities to help develop links between A Level and HE, worked as a research fellow at UCL and runs the EngLangBlog site and @EngLangBlog twitter account. He has also taught Media and Film Studies and is Associate Editor of both emagazine and MediaMagazine.

Information about booking your place and joining the course

Bookings for this course will close at 8am on Friday 9th September, or when capacity is reached, whichever is the sooner.

If someone else is booking the place on your behalf, please confirm with them that the booking has been made online and that the automated acknowledgement has been received. (These emails sometimes go into junk – they can also check the booking by logging into their account and clocking 'My orders'.)

This course must be booked online. If you pay by card that is a big help to us as a small, not-for-profit organisation. Please only ask to be invoiced if required by your school. If you need to pay by invoice, you must be signed into a 'School User' account. You will not be able to request an invoice if you have one of the short courses in your basket at the same time. These must be paid for in advance.

To book a place on this course, first sign into your account on the website, or register one if you need to.

Please note: courses are designed to be watched by one participant only. Click 'Book online' (right-hand column) and fill in the name and email address of the person attending the course. The joining information and post-course email will be sent to this address.

If you are booking for more than one person, repeat the process.

Then hover over your basket (top right) and click checkout. You cannot update number of places booked from within your basket. If you want to book another place on the course, return to the course page and go through the same process.

Once you have booked your place, you will see a screen 'Your order was a success!' You may want to make a note of your order number. You will also receive an automatic acknowledgement of your booking.

Your email with all the information you need to join the session will be sent out on Monday 12th September. Please make sure the name and email address of the person attending is included in the booking. You will be sent a reminder on the day of the course. Please check your junk or promotions folder. Still no luck? Email Maria.

Testimonials

The course was thorough, engaging and the balance of subject knowledge and pedagogical approaches was just right, with the two being intelligently woven together.

The course was so well planned and organised. Dan was brilliant, it allowed me to revise my knowledge whilst giving me resources to use in the classroom.

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EMC CPD Online: Starting to Teach English Language A Level (Full day online 13.9.22)

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English and Media Centre (EMC) is an educational charity providing CPD and innovative & award-winning teaching materials to secondary English & Media teachers

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EMC: The New and Aspiring Head of Department

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EMC: The New and Aspiring Head of Department

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16:00-18:00
30th June 2022
Online

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This course is part of the 2 for 1 offer - see under 'How to book' for details of the offer

Leading an English department can be a daunting prospect. It often involves leading a large team and managing everything from stationery orders to curriculum design. The course will equip new and aspiring Heads of English with practical tools to lead their teams effectively. The two-hour webinar will cover three areas:

1. Establishing strategic vision

Developing your vision

Identifying key priorities and actions

Measuring success through data.

2. Managing the day to day

Time management and prioritisation

Running effective department meetings.

3. Getting the best out of your team

Taking an asset-based view of your team

Dealing with challenging situations.

Further details

This course will be recorded but participants will not be audible or visible.

Resources

If relevant, course materials will be sent the day before the course in the email with your joining instructions. Please either print these out or have them available on screen during the session.

After the session you will receive the PowerPoint presentation, any resources used on the course and a £10 voucher to use against any purchase on www.englishandmedia.co.uk

Vouchers can only be redeemed online.

Only one voucher can be used per purchase.

A recording of the session will be available for 7 days after the event.

Course tutor: Amy Druce and Bronagh Maguire

Amy Druce is a practising English teacher with more than 15 years' classroom experience. She has held various departmental and whole school roles, including Head of English and whole school Literacy Lead, and is currently Head of Professional Learning at School 21 in Stratford. Amy brings a wealth of practical experience from across her experiences in education.

Bronagh is a practising English teacher with eight years experience in East London schools. She has been leading the English department at School 21 in Stratford for the past three years. Bronagh recently completed a Masters in Expert Teaching with the Ambition Institute and brings her perspective of balancing day-to-day teaching with the department's strategic priorities.

How to book your place

Bookings for this course will close at 8am on Tuesday 28th June, or when capacity is reached, whichever is the sooner.

This course is part of our 2 for 1 offer
Book a place on this course and you'll be sent a voucher code entitling you to book a further place on the same course for a colleague at your school. (Your code will be sent within 3 working days of booking. Any issues please email Lucy.)

To book a place on this course, first sign into your account on the website, or register one if you need to.

Click 'Book online' (right-hand column) and fill in the name and email address of the person attending the course. The joining information and post-course email will be sent to this address.

If you are booking for more than one person, repeat the process.

Then hover over your basket (top right) and click checkout.

IF TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR 2 FOR 1 OFFER, PLEASE WAIT TO BE SENT YOUR CODE BEFORE BOOKING YOUR 2ND PLACE.

Once you have booked your place, you will see a screen 'Your order was a success!' You may want to make a note of your order number. You will also receive an automatic acknowledgement of your booking.

Your email with all the information you need to join the session will be sent out on Wednesday 29th June. You will be sent a reminder on the day of the course. Please check your junk or promotions folder. Still no luck? Email courses@englishandmedia.co.uk.

This course must be booked and paid for online. Payment by invoice is not available for this session. Please note: your fee is non-refundable.

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English & Media Centre | EMC CPD Online: The New and Aspiring Head of Department (Twilight online 30.6.22) | Courses at EMC | CPD & Consultancy

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English and Media Centre (EMC) is an educational charity providing CPD and innovative & award-winning teaching materials to secondary English & Media teachers

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQLT 2022/23

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQLT 2022/23

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16-19 Year olds
Deadline: 1st October 2022

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Download the poems.

Read and think about the poems.

Choose one of the poems and write a creative response to it in the form of a poem (maximum 30 lines), along with a reflective commentary (maximum 300 words).

Complete your details and submit your entry via our online entry form. (Link will be published when the competition launches.)

Competition launches Wednesday 22nd June.

Close of competition: 5pm Wednesday 1st October (We will not be able to accept entries received after 5pm, so don't leave it to the last minute!)

Winners contacted: week beginning 20th October

Results announced online: 28th November.

This year emagazine editors will be joined by award-winning poet Hannah Lowe to judge the competition.

Winner: £200

Two runners-up: £50

The winning entry will be published in the February 2023 issue of emagazine.

emagazine competitions are open to all 16-19 year olds currently in full-time education. This means that students who finish their A Level courses (or equivalent courses such as IB, BTEC and Pre-U) in Summer 2022 are eligible to enter.

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Forward/emagazine Creative Critics 2022 - Live!

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Download the poems. Read and think about the poems. Choose one of the poems and write a creative response to it in the form of a poem (maximum 30 lines), along with a reflective commentary (maximum 300 words). Complete your details and submit your entry via our online entry form.

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Norfolk English Network Meeting - Chaired by Katrin Wilhelm (CWA) & Sarah Murkin (APHS)

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Norfolk English Network Meeting - Chaired by Katrin Wilhelm (CWA) & Sarah Murkin (APHS)

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Summer Term - TBC
16:00-17:00
Online
Contact: 14-19subjects@norfolk.gov.uk to join meetings and be added to the mailing list

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Ofqual: Podcast on Marking and grading in summer 2022

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Ofqual: Podcast on Marking and grading in summer 2022

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Published: 13th May 2022

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Ofqual Podcast: Marking and grading in summer 2022

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EEF Project: KS3 English Mastery Project

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EEF Project: KS3 English Mastery Project

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Deadline: 31st July 2022

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As part of the Department for Education's Accelerator Fund, the EEF is commissioning a number of efficacy trials of programmes that show promise for increasing pupil attainment. These trials will take place in the Research School Commissioner regions of the North, East Midlands & Humber, West Midlands.

The EEF previously funded an efficacy trial of English Mastery in 2018 which was disrupted due to partial school closures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. A short report focusing on implementation and process evaluation activities undertaken will be published in Spring 2022.

English Mastery has been independently evaluated by the Brilliant Club using a matched design involving 14 schools (1,700 pupils). After three years of the intervention, pupils in the intervention schools made greater progress than those in the control schools (around +4 months' additional progress) on a standardised measure of reading. There was also evidence that English Mastery was particularly effective for pupils with low prior attainment. This impact is based on the first few years of the programme during which time it was still being developed.

In addition, the programme includes a variety of elements that are of particular interest to schools, such as an emphasis on explicit teaching, delivering a knowledge-rich curriculum and interleaving.

Register your interest in participating here.

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the project    english mastery is a two-year intervention aiming to support ks3 english teachers to be more effective by implementing a coherent and cumulative approach to curriculum design including bespoke assessments. in this trial

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years 7 and 8 pupils will receive the curriculum with the aim of improving achievement in the subject of english. there is a traditional pathway for children reaching age-related expectations and a foundational pathway for those working below expectations. the three distinct elements of the programme are:  literary heritage : introduces pupils to canonical texts and modern classics. the lessons follow a knowledge-rich approach to teaching english. content about the subject of english

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culture and heritage and how that knowledge connects together is taught explicitly.  writing mastery : introduces pupils to grammatical concepts and rules in a logical and cumulative sequence. the rules are taught discretely from reading. the lessons follow an interleaved structure and pupils deliberately practise concepts to the point of mastery.  reading for pleasure : introduces pupils to shared reading of contemporary texts using a structured approach. this strand is used to teach vocabulary explicitly.  schools nominate a member of their english department to become the english mastery lead (eml) to lead the implementation of the programme in their school. the eml leads weekly co-planning sessions to support teachers to plan their implementation of the curriculum together. teachers are provided with subject-specific training

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curriculum materials including access to the mymastery platform and ongoing in-school support and coaching.  why are we funding it?    as part of the department for education’s accelerator fund

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the eef is commissioning a number of efficacy trials of programmes that show promise for increasing pupil attainment. these trials will take place in the research school commissioner regions of the north

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west midlands.   the eef previously funded an efficacy trial of english mastery in 2018 which was disrupted due to partial school closures caused by the covid-19 pandemic. a short report focusing on implementation and process evaluation activities undertaken will be published in spring 2022.  english mastery has been independently evaluated by the brilliant club using a matched design involving 14 schools (1

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700 pupils). after three years of the intervention

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pupils in the intervention schools made greater progress than those in the control schools (around +4 months’ additional progress) on a standardised measure of reading. there was also evidence that english mastery was particularly effective for pupils with low prior attainment. this impact is based on the first few years of the programme during which time it was still being developed.  in addition

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the programme includes a variety of elements that are of particular interest to schools

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such as an emphasis on explicit teaching

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delivering a knowledge-rich curriculum and interleaving.  register your interest in participating here .  how are we evaluating it?    the programme will be evaluated by a team from sheffield hallam university (shu) using a randomised controlled trial. this will be an efficacy trial: the programme will be tested under best possible conditions. it will measure the impact of delivering english mastery to years 7 and 8

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measuring english outcomes at the end of year 8 via the gl progress test in english (pte). in addition

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the impact evaluation will include spelling

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punctuation and grammar and reading comprehension as secondary outcomes.  the evaluation will also include an implementation and process evaluation

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which will examine the impact of english mastery on teacher confidence to deliver a coherent and cumulative approach to curriculum design

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identify issues of fidelity and scalability

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enablers/barriers to implementation of different strands of the programme

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cost effectiveness and perceived impact by teachers and by pupils.  when will the evaluation rep

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As part of the Department for Education's Accelerator Fund, the EEF is commissioning a number of efficacy trials of programmes that show promise for increasing pupil attainment. These trials will take place in the Research School Commissioner regions of the North, East Midlands & Humber, West Midlands.

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Currys are working with the Digital Poverty Alliance to get free technology to children who need it.

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Currys are working with the Digital Poverty Alliance to get free technology to children who need it.

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Priority Area:  Norfolk Coast (Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Great Yarmouth local authorities)

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Not as a loan or rental. It’s for your family, for good. Connecting disadvantaged families to devices and connectivity across the UK. Apply now!

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Ofsted: Inspection Data Summary Report (IDSR) - Updated guidance on report

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Ofsted: Inspection Data Summary Report (IDSR) - Updated guidance on report

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School inspection data summary report (IDSR) guide

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This guide provides an overview of the inspection data summary report (IDSR) for primary and secondary schools, including schools with a sixth form and gives guidance on interpreting the data.

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Marc Hayes: Summary of Ofsted English Research Review

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Marc Hayes: Summary of Ofsted English Research Review

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Published: 24th May 2022

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Ofsted have released their long-awaited research review into effective and high-quality English curricula. The report is a decent sized read, although much shorter than I had anticipated. I would definitely recommend reading the full review, but I have created a written summary of some of the main points, as well as a graphic summary of the key ideas.

I must say that I agree with a lot of what has been included in the report, although some of the findings have been food for thought. From a quick look on Twitter, the responses range from broad support, to downright disapproval and disappointment. I think for a subject like English, there is going to be such a huge range of expertise and viewpoints, that it is quite unlikely for a document to be produced which is pleasing to everyone's opinions and positions. Some of the criticism has been that the report draws findings from bloggers and non-empirical studies, yet I would argue that there is often huge support for such ideas when they appear as tweets that garner a significant interest (though not necessarily by the same critics).

In any case, I've found the review to provide a really useful tool for reflection, and to contribute to our understanding of what makes an English curriculum effective. I hope I have represented the content accurately, but am happy to be corrected if that's not the case.

You can find the original version by clicking .

If you would like to support the work I do at the same time as downloading a high-quality PDF version of the visual summary, please visit my Gumroad page by clicking here. (I've included an additional PDF of the written notes and editable Microsoft Word version as a thank you for your support 🙏).

If not, you can find the usual download link at the bottom of the page.😀

The National Curriculum states that children should hear, share and discuss a wide range of high-quality books; in their own reading, children should first practise with decodable books.

Decodable books are ones which are consistent with the children's developing phonic knowledge, and which do not require the use of other strategies to work out how to read words.

Non-decodable books should form part of the 'language-rich' environment which is contributed to by reading and sharing stories and other high-quality texts. These texts develop children's knowledge of language.

Children should have daily opportunities to read decodable words both in isolation and in the books they read.

Decodable books allow children to apply their phonic knowledge to words.

It is critical that children achieve fluency in the early stages of learning to read. This can be understood as reading with accuracy and sufficient speed in decoding.

Fluency frees up children's working memory and allows them to focus on comprehension.

Fluency can be developed through repeated practice.

Writing involves transcription and composition.

Transcription skills - spelling and handwriting - need to be secure so that pupils can concentrate on composition - articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing them down.

Transcription skills should be a critical focus for EYFS and KS1.

Dictated sentences can be a useful way to apply and practise spelling, if children are not yet able to compose and transcribe at the same time.

It follows that it may be effective to teach transcription and composition skills separately in the earliest stages of writing instruction. Composition can be done orally, and led by the teacher, until children are secure with transcription.

Progression in Comprehension

Components of Comprehension - Vocabulary

Vocabulary is important for comprehension and most vocabulary will be encountered through reading - the words and language patterns of the spoken word are not sufficient to teach the breadth and depth of English vocabulary.

Teachers should select texts which contain some vocabulary that is likely to be unfamiliar but which is not too difficult to understand.

Pupils of all ages will gradually learn vocabulary through repeated encounters; however, it is also beneficial to identify and teach some vocabulary explicitly.

Tier 2 words are vocabulary which are high-frequency and can be used in multiple contexts, though are unlikely to be encountered in everyday conversation. Identifying these words can be helpful in identifying which words to explicitly teach. See my post on Bringing Words to Life.

An effective curriculum is also likely to teach about the morphology of words, including the meaning of roots, prefixes and suffixes. Teaching about morphology can support children in making connections between words in terms of meaning and function.

Teaching vocabulary should avoid complicated activities which incur unnecessary cognitive load for pupils.

Pupils usually need to encounter a word a number of times in different contexts before it enters their working vocabulary.

It is more effective to teach how new words function in different contexts than through simply teaching definitions.

See my post on Bringing Words to Life. for more detail on effective teaching strategies.

Activities which involve children using their knowledge of morphology can be designed to help recognise similarities between words which share the same root. This also supports their understanding due to the correlation between spelling and comprehension.

Components of Comprehension - Context

Components of Comprehension - Knowledge of Narrative Structure

Components of Comprehension - Syntax Knowledge

Components of Comprehension - Prosody

Teaching Reading Fluency

Comprehension Processes

Comprehension Monitoring

Comprehension as a Pedagogical Tool

Working Memory Limitations

Features of an Effective Writing Curriculum

Composition - Knowledge of Grammar

A Curriculum for Writing

Factors Linked to Effective Teaching of Writing

Self-regulated Strategy Development

Progression - Carefully Chosen and Sequenced Texts

Appreciation of English Literature and Key Components

Pedagogy - Novices and Experts

Pupils need to learn the component skills of how to embed evidence, apply precise vocabulary and evaluate interpretations. There should be a range of subject-appropriate writing activities that require the use of these components, so that pupils can apply what they have learned.

Spacing and Interleaving

A Coherent Sequence of Texts

Studying Complex and Whole Texts

Alternatives to Written Feedback and Marking

Problems with Mark Schemes

If you would like to support the work I do at the same time as downloading a high-quality PDF version of this graphic, please visit my page by clicking here. If not, you can find the download link below.

If you would like to support the work that I do, a coffee would always be greatly appreciated. A huge thank you in advance for your kindness.

I also have summaries for all the other Ofsted research reviews. You can find them all on the curriculum page.

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A Summary of Ofsted's English Research Review for Teachers and Leaders

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Ofsted have released their long-awaited research review into effective and high-quality English curricula. The report is a decent sized read, although much shorter than I had anticipated. I would definitely recommend reading the full review, but I have created a written summary of some of the main points, as well as a graphic summary of the key ideas.

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Published: 23rd May 2022

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Introduction

More than any other subject, English - and especially reading - gives pupils access to the rest of the curriculum and is fundamental to their educational success. This is why the introduction to the national curriculum says: 'Fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects'.

But English is so much more than the gateway to success in other curriculum subjects. Through studying literature, pupils' eyes are opened to the human experience; they explore meaning and ambiguity as well as the beauty and power of language. English also has a strong creative and expressive dimension.

This review explores the research literature relating to English. Its purpose is to identify factors that can contribute to high-quality curriculums, pedagogy, assessment and schools' systems for managing the subject. The purpose of this review is set out more fully in the 'Principles behind Ofsted's research reviews and subject reports'.

Aspects of English, particularly how to teach reading, have been the subject of much debate over many years. In this report, we have:

set out the national context in relation to English

summarised our review of research into factors that can affect the quality of education in English

considered curriculum progression in English, pedagogy, assessment and the impact of school leaders' decisions on provision

The review draws on a range of sources, including our 'Education inspection framework: overview of research' and the 3 phases of our curriculum research. However, it does not revisit in depth the research literature on phonics and on what pedagogical approaches to teaching phonics are most successful: these have already been summarised as part of the overview of research.

Our education inspection framework ( EIF) and the research underpinning it are the lenses through which we have considered, framed and presented the research literature in this review.

We hope that, through this review, we will contribute to improving the quality of education in English, thereby raising standards in reading, writing and spoken language for all young people.

Ambition for all

The requirement for maintained schools and academies to offer a broad and balanced curriculum is set out in:

the Education Act 2002, which applies to all maintained schools

the Academies Act 2010, which applies to academies

This expectation is reflected in the national curriculum and is at the heart of the EIF. English has been a core subject of the national curriculum since the Education Reform Act of 1988.

National context

The broad headlines about the performance of pupils in English have remained constant over many years.

National checks, tests and examinations show girls outperforming boys, and pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds achieving less well than their peers. International studies in which England has participated, such as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study ( PIRLS) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD)'s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), show a similar picture.

In 2018 and 2019, 74% of children achieved the early learning goal for writing at the end of the early years foundation stage ( EYFS). In the same years, 77% met the early learning goal for reading. In 2019, 73% of children met the expected level of development across all the combined early learning goals for communication, language and literacy, which include reading and writing.

At the end of Year 1, the phonics screening check assesses whether children can accurately decode a selection of words that include common grapheme-phoneme correspondences ( GPCs): the first step in word reading. Performance overall has improved substantially since 2011, the first year of the check - by 24 percentage points. These figures still show that around 3 in 10 pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds cannot decode at the minimum standard required.

Since new key stage 1 assessments were introduced in 2016, the percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard for reading and writing has remained broadly stable for reading, with an upward trend for writing. In the 2019 key stage 2 national tests, 73% of pupils reached the expected standard in the reading test. However, put another way, over 1 in 4 pupils moved to secondary school having not met the expected standard of the test. This carries implications for their learning both in English and more widely across the secondary curriculum.

Over the last 10 years, the number of pupils studying A-level English has declined: in 2019, 57,912 pupils chose A-level English, compared with 84,037 in 2010.[footnote 13] The same data shows the decline was more marked for boys.

Curriculum and pedagogy

Aims of education in English

English is a complex subject that combines the disciplines of English language and literature. It is beyond the scope of this review to debate the aims of a curriculum for English. Instead, we discuss the nature of the curriculum and the pedagogy that could meet the aims of the national curriculum for English.

The review structure is designed to consider individual national curriculum aims. It draws on research that outlines the progression in curriculum content that best enables pupils to meet each of these aims. The review then discusses what might be the most appropriate pedagogies for learning that particular content. For example, the review considers the aim of improving reading comprehension and how comprehension becomes possible partly through acquiring and deepening vocabulary. Appropriate pedagogies for learning vocabulary are then discussed. The use of this structure avoids confusion between curriculum goals and the means of achieving and nurturing those goals. It also helps reduce repetition when discussing knowledge of language, such as vocabulary, across each of the speaking, reading and writing modalities.

The implications of research into expertise bear out the usefulness of a curriculum structure that places varying emphasis on different curriculum goals as pupils gain expertise.[footnote 16] However, this review also considers the ways in which English is a unified subject across all phases of schooling. There is a separate section on early years, but the insights in the other sections are generally relevant to pupils in both primary and secondary schooling. This is because most of the principles discussed are important at primary and secondary level or are relevant to many pupils in both phases of schooling. Where it is probable that findings of the review are more relevant at primary or at secondary level, we refer to 'younger pupils' or 'older pupils', respectively. We use this wording to be clear that we do not imply there is a specific age when these findings start to apply.

The importance of foundational knowledge for spoken language, reading and writing

One distinctive feature of English teaching is that the modalities of speaking, reading and writing are not only the objects of study but also the means through which the subject is learned. Teaching activities, or pedagogies, to improve speaking, reading and writing will necessarily involve activities that use speaking, reading and writing.

There is a risk that planning for English teaching ends up focusing on using modalities (pedagogy) at the expense of identifying the foundational knowledge of language that pupils need for comprehension or communication in whatever modality they are using. When this happens, means and ends have become confused. For example, there is a body of research exploring the benefits of using discussion (dialogic talk) as a generic pedagogy.[footnote 17] Using such a pedagogy to help pupils learn any objective across curriculum subjects should not be conflated with the prior teaching of the structures of language that would allow effective communication in the first place.

Knowledge of language, which includes linguistic knowledge like vocabulary and grammar, as well as knowledge of the world for comprehension, underpins progression in spoken language, reading and writing. This insight repeatedly emerges from the evidence outlined in this review. The review will explore the important implications of this insight for curriculum design. It argues that, when planning a curriculum, teachers and leaders should prioritise progression in knowledge of language and of its forms, usage, grammar and vocabulary. This knowledge, of the structures of language, can then be used by pupils across their spoken language, reading and writing.

A survey of teachers reported overwhelmingly that if pupils have limited vocabulary, this affects their progress across a wide range of subjects.[footnote 18] Eighty per cent of these teachers said it was 'very' or 'extremely' challenging for pupils with limited vocabulary to read national test papers. This limited vocabulary, or so called 'word gap',[footnote 19] has been an area of interest over decades. A range of research has found that this word gap exists between pupils from different socio-economic backgrounds and within different socio-economic groups.[footnote 20] The nature of this word gap is explored in the section 'The importance of high-quality spoken language'.

Importantly, pupils can use the knowledge learned in the context of one modality to help them in another. For example, they can use vocabulary learned through reading when they are speaking and writing, both in school and their wider lives.

The early English curriculum in schools

Summary

This section will outline findings suggesting that, in the early years and into key stage 1, teachers need to develop children's spoken language as well as accurate word reading and spelling. They also need to teach children fluent letter formation (unjoined handwriting).

Pupils should be taught to read using a systematic synthetic phonics programme in Reception and this should not be delayed if children are not already phonologically aware. Teaching phonics also supports the development of pupils' handwriting and spelling. Schools should identify early on any children who have not grasped the alphabetic code and intervene swiftly. Children who master the alphabetic code early on make better progress than their peers who do not. Good language development, including vocabulary, has benefits for pupils beyond their reading.

The importance of high-quality spoken language

The components of reading and writing in the early years and key stage 1

Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Underpinning both is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words. Good comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge (in particular of vocabulary and grammar) and on knowledge of the world.

The programmes of study for key stages 1 and 2 are organised to reflect these 2 aspects of reading - word reading and comprehension.[footnote 37]

The programmes of study for writing distinguish between 'transcription' and 'composition'. This reflects the approach to reading, and sees writing as its counterpart (with spelling as the counterpart of decoding). Transcription also includes handwriting.

Once children are fluent in word reading, they are able to focus on comprehending what they read.[footnote 38] Similarly, fluency in transcription frees up working memory to focus on composing writing.

Language comprehension and composition can be developed through a literature-rich environment,[footnote 41] for example through interactions between adults and children and by listening to, talking about and learning by heart stories, poems, rhymes and songs.

Starting phonics teaching early

A rigorous review and meta-analysis of research literature on reading by the National Reading Panel ( NRP), from the United States, found it highly beneficial for phonics teaching to begin on entry to school.[footnote 42] According to the NRP analysis, systematic phonics teaching is much more effective if introduced early on rather than after American first grade at age 6. Daily systematic phonics instruction leads to a faster start in early reading and spelling.[footnote 43] Findings from cognitive neuroscience reinforce the importance of early phonics teaching. This allows children to develop efficient word-reading skills.[footnote 44] Children become primed to learn to read.

Our overview of research highlighted evidence that showed a systematic synthetic approach is particularly effective and that children need direct instruction in phonics. This is especially the case for those from lower socio-economic status backgrounds and those who are having difficulties reading.[footnote 45] Phonics represents a body of knowledge needed for successful word reading. Synthetic phonics teaches children to decode words: children look at each grapheme to say each corresponding phoneme in turn, and then to blend the phonemes to say the whole word. They are taught to encode (spell) words, by identifying the phonemes in spoken words first and then writing the graphemes that represent the phonemes.

Young children with well-developed phonemic awareness skills tend to be successful readers, while children without these skills are not.[footnote 46] Shanahan defines phonemic awareness as being about 'hearing and thinking about or manipulating the individual sounds within words'.[footnote 47] However, phonics teaching in Reception should not be delayed if children cannot yet distinguish individual phonemes. This is because children's ability to do this will typically develop as a result of phonics teaching.[footnote 48] Exposing them to letters and the sounds they represent and teaching them about GPCs in phonics lessons help children to distinguish individual phonemes and improve their phonemic awareness.[footnote 49] Evidence from the NRP concluded that phonemic awareness instruction had a greater impact when it was taught with letters rather than without letters.[footnote 50] Children who find it difficult to distinguish between phonemes often benefit from small group or one-to-one teaching to support them to link sounds to letters.[footnote 51]

Drawing on these research findings, the Department for Education reading framework[footnote 52] states that: 'To enable children to keep up, they should be given extra practice, either in a small group or one-to-one, whether or not a specific reason has been found. The extra practice should:

take place in a quiet place, at a regular time every day so that the children become familiar with the routine

be a school priority, with maximum efforts made to avoid disruption or cancellation

be provided by a well-trained adult: teacher or teaching assistant

be consistent with the school's mainstream phonics programme

include activities that secure the important phonic knowledge the children have not grasped.'

Decodable books

The national curriculum requires that children hear, share and discuss a wide range of high-quality books. In terms of their own reading, the national curriculum states that they should practise with decodable books. These are 'books that are consistent with their developing phonic knowledge and that do not require them to use other strategies to work out words'.[footnote 53] During story time, the books that teachers and parents read to children develop their language knowledge. These books do not need to be decodable because the children are not using them to learn to decode.

Pupils who struggle with decoding

Ongoing assessment of all children's phonic knowledge is critical to identifying pupils who need intervention. They need to be taught the alphabetic code as effectively and as swiftly as possible so that they do not fall behind their peers, and so that they have full access to the curriculum that proficient reading gives them.

Fluency

In the early stages of learning to read, it is critical that children achieve both accuracy and sufficient speed in decoding (fluency). The national curriculum says that pupils in Year 1 should be able to read words comprising the Year 1 GPCs 'accurately and speedily'.[footnote 60] Pupils who can decode accurately but cannot do so quickly will not progress towards reading confidently beyond sounding out words in texts. Fluent word reading frees up children's working memory to focus on comprehension.[footnote 61] To develop fluency, children need repeated practice.

Writing

Working towards written composition

In the earliest stages of writing instruction, it may be effective to teach composition and transcription separately. For example, when focusing on composition, pupils can convey their ideas orally. Teachers can model how text is an important vehicle for recording ideas, thoughts and feelings by putting pupils' ideas into writing, modelling spelling and punctuation, or showing how a writer chooses appropriate words and sentence structure to convey an idea. This allows pupils to focus their attention on composition through oral activities. Separate teaching activities can be devoted to transcription. For example, in the early stage of phonics instruction, practising letter formation or writing simple sentences dictated by the teacher can support recall of GPCs for spelling.[footnote 64] Developing written composition is considered in more detail in the 'Writing' section of this review.

Spelling

When young children are taught phonics, they learn the alphabetic code for spelling (encoding) as well as for reading (decoding). This is why spelling and decoding have been referred to as 'reversible processes'.[footnote 65] Reading involves blending the individual sounds of a word to say the whole word, while spelling requires the writer to segment a whole word into its individual sounds (phonemes) and to identify what they are.

As well as the skill of segmenting, children need to know which graphemes can represent the separate phonemes they have identified in the word they want to spell. They also need to know how to spell what the national curriculum refers to as 'common exception words', so called because their GPCs are unusual or have not yet been taught.[footnote 66]

Knowing how to spell a word 'makes the representation of it sturdy and accessible for fluent reading'.[footnote 67] This is because spelling and reading call on the same representation - that is, the order of the letters that make up the word.

The Department for Education's non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years, 'Development matters', suggests that teachers of Reception-age children should dictate sentences for children to write that contain only the taught letter-to-sound correspondences.[footnote 68] Similarly, the Year 1 national curriculum programme of study requires pupils to write down dictated sentences using 'the GPCs and common exception words taught so far'.[footnote 69]

Dictation gives children opportunities to practise and apply their spelling knowledge and segmenting skills, without having to compose sentences by themselves. It requires them to distinguish between the sounds they hear in order to choose the correct graphemes to represent the sounds and to form the letters correctly. They also have to understand what they are hearing to distinguish between homophones (for example, 'to'/'two' and 'meat'/'meet').

Handwriting

The national curriculum specifies that children should be taught to correctly form letters of the correct size and orientation.[footnote 70] This requires effort and attention, as well as suitable motor skills. There is evidence that repeated practice in handwriting is necessary to go beyond accuracy to fluency in letter formation.[footnote 71] There is no need to start the formal teaching of handwriting before Reception, but children at the end of the EYFS should be able to 'hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing - using the tripod grip in almost all cases'.[footnote 72]

The national curriculum requires children to learn unjoined handwriting before they 'start using some of the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join letters'.[footnote 73] Delaying teaching joined handwriting gives teachers and children time to focus on other aspects of the writing process, such as composition, spelling and forming letters correctly.

Research supports the idea that writing letters may be important for supporting children's early reading development, because it stimulates the areas of the brain known to underpin successful reading. A small study with 4- to 5-year-olds showed that practice in writing letters 'stroke by stroke' may be the 'gateway' through which beginning readers learn to recognise the features of each letter, as well as learning which features are not important.[footnote 74]

Based on the above, high-quality English in early years/key stage 1 may have the following features:

Vocabulary is developed explicitly to reduce the word gap in the early years, and to enable disadvantaged children to develop their vocabulary faster.

The school prioritises daily teaching of systematic synthetic phonics from the start of the Reception Year and into key stage 1, until pupils are fluent in word reading (decoding) and transcription (spelling and handwriting).

Daily opportunities for children to apply their knowledge of GPCs by reading 'decodable' books that support their fluency in word reading.

Teachers focus on identifying children who are not able to decode accurately (or are otherwise at risk of not learning to read) early and prioritise teaching them to read.

The programme of reading develops pupils' accuracy and speed.

Children practise composition through oral activities before their transcription becomes fluent.

Children get the practice they need to acquire fluent transcription skills (spelling and handwriting), which is the foundation for their progress in writing.

Carefully chosen dictation activities enable pupils to practise and apply their spelling knowledge and segmenting skill to use the content they have been taught and to do so without having their working memories overloaded by composing sentences.

Spoken language

Summary

This section will outline findings that suggest that a strong command of the spoken word is a crucial outcome of English education. The benefits of spoken language extend beyond just success at school. Becoming an articulate, effective communicator forms the basis of democratic engagement within wider society.

A curriculum for spoken language depends on a range of different interrelated aspects: physical, linguistic, cognitive, and social and emotional. The discipline of rhetoric can provide pupils with insight into how spoken language is used by writers and orators. Opportunities for pupils to develop their proficiency in spoken language require explicit teaching of the knowledge, for example vocabulary, and ideas necessary for effective communication. These opportunities should be planned carefully, both in English lessons and across other subjects. The teacher has an important role in modelling competence as a speaker and listener, contributing significantly to developing pupils' spoken language.

A curriculum for spoken language

This section builds on 'The early English curriculum in schools' section of the review and applies to primary and secondary levels. Research indicates that there is a correlation between pupils' spoken language skills and their academic outcomes, social development and emotional development.[footnote 77] This suggests a link between spoken language development and pupils' broader life outcomes.[footnote 78] Therefore, spoken language is an important goal of the curriculum. Alexander outlines how talk can be undervalued because its function is considered to be primarily social, but talk in classrooms is cognitive and cultural and well as social.[footnote 79]

For pupils of all ages to use spoken language successfully, they need to make progress in interrelated aspects of language:[footnote 82]

physical (vocal control and body language, such as making eye contact and speaking loudly and clearly)

linguistic (knowledge of vocabulary and grammatical constructions, and use of rhetorical devices)

cognitive (knowledge of content, organisation of ideas, and tailoring talk to a specific purpose, such as to persuade or inform). This will include pupils learning about 'exploratory talk' (to explore new ideas and come to new understandings) and 'presentational talk' (to share their thinking with others).[footnote 83] Pupils should learn how to pose questions, and use talk to narrate, explain, speculate, imagine, hypothesise, explore, include, discuss, argue, reason and justify[footnote 84]

social and emotional (considering the needs of different listeners, responding appropriately to others and developing the confidence to share ideas with different audiences)

It is important to note that spoken language is not just about improved speech. Pupils also need to develop their ability to collaborate through conversation.[footnote 85]

A curriculum should link these elements. For example, pupils' success in using spoken language depends on their knowledge of the topic. Even when classroom talk is chosen as a pedagogy to encourage speculative and exploratory discussion, pupils need knowledge of possible areas to explore through discussion and how they can be framed.

Standard English

The register and vocabulary of social talk that pupils might engage in at home and with their peers is different to the academic or formal register and vocabulary used in classrooms, in universities and formally in many workplaces. The national curriculum programmes of study for spoken language and for writing emphasise the importance of pupils being taught to use Standard English. A spoken language curriculum should ensure that all pupils can select and use appropriate grammar and register for audience and purpose, including Standard English where necessary.

Teaching activities for spoken language

There is an important distinction between what primary and secondary school pupils need to learn for success in spoken language and the teaching activities that might promote learning spoken language. This distinction is important because it cannot be assumed that pupils will learn the knowledge necessary for effective spoken communication, for example vocabulary, simply by being encouraged to speak more or through unstructured activities. That knowledge can be identified and directly taught and is also acquired through reading.[footnote 86]

Opportunities for pupils of all ages to develop their proficiency should be planned carefully, both in English lessons and across other subjects. Classroom activities should allow opportunities for teachers to model competence as a speaker and listener. This modelling contributes significantly to developing pupils' spoken language.[footnote 87]

Teachers should therefore model language forms that pupils might not encounter away from school, as well as introducing potentially unfamiliar vocabulary, returning to key words and phrases to embed new knowledge. This might include teachers reframing pupils' spoken language and asking pupils to repeat back the reframing.

Teachers can support pupils in developing the ability to collaborate in conversation by providing ground rules.[footnote 91] For example, they can ensure that all pupils contribute, without any individual dominating. Effective talk involves turn-taking, managing interactions, active listening and responding appropriately.

Rhetoric

For older pupils, the discipline of rhetoric can give an insight into how writers and orators use spoken language.[footnote 92] Pupils can learn how spoken language is constructed and produced, and the connections between words, sentences and whole texts or in speech, from individual utterances to dialogues and speeches. Pupils can learn about the meanings and nuances of the spoken word, the craft of a writer or speaker, and the ways in which spoken language conveys, explores and manipulates meaning. They can grasp the role and effect of rhetorical devices, the range of registers and social contexts of spoken language in use, the interplay of speaking, reading and writing, the artistry of spoken language and the knowledge and skills that underpin that artistry.

Based on the above, high-quality English may have the following features:

An effective spoken language curriculum identifies the components that pupils need to learn for successful spoken communication. It focuses on interrelated aspects that constitute effective spoken language (physical, linguistic, cognitive, and social and emotional).

Teachers equip pupils with the right knowledge and vocabulary for them to be able to speak on a topic effectively.

Pupils learn how to take part in exploratory talk and use talk to present ideas.

There is a focus on ensuring that pupils can select and use appropriate grammar and register for audience and purpose, including Standard English where necessary.

Teachers model spoken language for pupils. This includes language that pupils might not encounter away from school.

The curriculum provides frequent opportunities for pupils to practise, refine and apply their spoken language knowledge and skills.

Reading

Summary

This section sets out findings that suggest that skilled reading requires accurate, speedy word reading and good language comprehension. Urgency is necessary to ensure that pupils learn to decode accurately and with automaticity at the start of primary school. This also allows pupils to form positive attitudes to reading.

Pupils of all ages need to be taught a broad curriculum that will allow them to comprehend increasingly complex texts. Reading comprehension is supported by practising strategies to uncover the meaning of texts. However, teaching these strategies is time-limited in its usefulness and unlikely to benefit pupils before they can read sufficiently fluently, which is most likely to be in upper key stage 2. Reading comprehension requires knowledge of vocabulary, context, syntax and narrative structure and the capacity to read fluently. Carefully choosing texts to be studied in English can support progression, as will reading in other relevant subjects.

In this section of the review, we will go beyond discussion of what children need to learn in Reception. We will consider the goals of a high-quality curriculum in reading for primary- and secondary-age pupils.

Progression in comprehension

Factors that underpin reading comprehension

Three factors underpin reading comprehension and their significance to comprehension is explored, in turn, below. These factors are:

knowledge - for example, linguistic knowledge, orthographic knowledge and general knowledge

processes - for example, decoding, word identification, meaning retrieval, sentence parsing, inferring and comprehension monitoring

general cognitive resources: for example, memory[footnote 93]

Knowledge informs comprehension

References to knowledge as it informs comprehension can be understood in different ways:

in research, references to knowledge for comprehension include syntactical and lexical knowledge. Thus, the knowledge necessary for comprehension is 'broadly conceived and may include information such as the meanings of words, rules of grammar, knowledge of events and temporal relations, episodes, scenarios, emotions, and characters'.[footnote 98]

in English schools, references to knowledge for comprehension can sometimes more specifically refer to a more limited consideration of 'background knowledge', understood as a pupil's knowledge of the text's context. This might be topic knowledge provided by the teacher to help the pupil make sense of the text or - more particularly - knowledge that the pupil can supply in their answers to comprehension questions.

A narrower discussion of knowledge, limited to context, may lead to confusion when discussing the knowledge needed for comprehension. This is because it is difficult to disentangle the types of knowledge used in comprehension. For example, it can be unhelpful to consider vocabulary separately from contextual knowledge. For comprehension pupils will need knowledge of vocabulary as well as knowledge of the text's context, and these are closely intertwined. To understand the text's vocabulary requires a grasp of the context in which those specific words have been used. This is because the words that readers know represent concepts and information. Therefore, these concepts have to be understood to appreciate the meaning of the words that are read.[footnote 99]

In this review, we will consider knowledge broadly. Where the term 'background knowledge' is used, this will not preclude an appreciation of how vocabulary serves as a label for concepts pupils understand from their contextual knowledge to allow comprehension.

Text complexity and progression in reading comprehension

For example, the primary curriculum should prepare pupils during key stage 2 to read independently in different subjects and to read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction. The key stage 2 curriculum should prepare pupils for key stage 3, at which point texts will include prose, poetry and drama, Shakespeare plays and seminal world literature, both contemporary and pre-1914. The key stage 3 curriculum should prepare pupils for the reading demands of key stage 4, including literature on the GCSE examination specifications.

Factors that may affect text complexity for pupils of all ages, and therefore their comprehension, include:

linguistic features, such as longer or more complicated sentence structures or less-common, academic or domain-specific vocabulary[footnote 103]

textual references to concepts and objects, and knowledge drawn from experience, including cultural experience[footnote 104]

cohesion - both in the ideas explored across a text and the language used to articulate those ideas[footnote 105]

levels of meaning - texts with a single level of meaning are often simpler to understand than those with multiple levels, for example allegorical or satirical texts[footnote 106]

text structure - texts with simple, linear, chronological structures are often easier to understand than those that have non-linear time sequences or other structural irregularities and manipulations[footnote 107]

style of narrator - texts with a single, reliable narrator are often more accessible than those that contain unreliable or multiple narrators[footnote 108]

allusions, cultural references and intertextuality (relationships or references to other texts)[footnote 109]

These factors are discussed in further detail in the 'Literature' section of this review.

The curriculum should ensure that pupils of all ages acquire the knowledge they need for improved comprehension through reading increasingly challenging texts at each stage. These can provide a smooth ramp from listening to stories and poetry in the early years to reading Shakespeare and 19th-century texts as well as pre-20th-century literary non-fiction.

First in reading The Magician's Nephew, they are alerted to the fact that people spoke differently then. Over time, they begin to pick up some of... [the text's] rhythm and quirks but at an accessible scale and wrapped in a story that is engaging... perhaps later they read something that has been written fifty years before that. It is the first step in a process that gives students access over the long run to the texts of the past.

Incremental exposure to increasingly difficult texts alone may allow some pupils to acquire the knowledge they need to read challenging material independently. However, an effective English curriculum will explicitly identify what it is that pupils need to learn in order to understand progressively more complex texts. It is this knowledge, listed below, that teaching should highlight and develop.

Progression in reading should come from reading a broad range of increasingly challenging texts. Reading these texts can gradually increase pupils' 'readiness' for reading the ambitious literature that is the end point of the national curriculum. The knowledge gained through this reading is explored in the 'Components of comprehension and effective pedagogies to teach them' section.

Components of comprehension and effective pedagogies to teach them

Vocabulary: what words should instruction focus on?

Teachers can select texts that contain some vocabulary that is likely to be unfamiliar but that are not overwhelmingly difficult to understand. While pupils of all ages will gradually learn vocabulary through repeated encounters as they read, there is evidence showing that it is beneficial to identify and explicitly teach some vocabulary.[footnote 118]

An effective curriculum is also likely to teach pupils the meaning of roots and affixes (prefixes and suffixes).[footnote 121] Research has shown that learning the meaning of common affixes such as un-, dis-, -able and -ing can help pupils to understand unfamiliar words, as well as being useful for spelling.[footnote 122] Building knowledge about morphemes (the smallest meaningful units of language) in English can develop vocabulary by helping pupils to make informed guesses about the possible meanings of new words, linking new words with familiar ones.[footnote 123] Awareness of how in English the meaning of words can be changed by adding inflections such as -s, -ed or -er as well, and knowledge of the history of words (etymology) and how this can affect meaning, will also support pupils' vocabulary and reading comprehension.[footnote 124]

Ways of teaching vocabulary

Knowledge of morphology, which is also vital for spelling, plays an important role in comprehension. Activities can be designed to help pupils recognise that similar-looking words might be related in meaning, even if they are pronounced differently - such as 'inquire' and 'inquisition'. These activities can help pupils' understanding because there is a strong correlation between spelling and comprehension.[footnote 131]

Knowledge of context

As outlined in the 'Knowledge informs comprehension' section above, it is difficult to clearly delineate knowledge of the context of the text from other knowledge needed for comprehension, such as knowledge of vocabulary. This is because understanding a text's vocabulary requires a grasp of the context in which those specific words can be used. The background knowledge needed to understand the words, phrases and ideas in a text goes well beyond socio-historical background to the text or topic knowledge. However, readers with good topic knowledge will have better comprehension of texts related to that topic than of texts that they know less about.[footnote 132] As knowledge development is related to reading, weaker readers often have less relevant knowledge than their peers.[footnote 133]

Teaching, therefore, needs to provide the contextual knowledge that pupils require to adequately comprehend a text. This does not, however, mean that it is necessarily useful to pre-teach swathes of background to an individual text if that knowledge is not essential for adequate comprehension of that text. Indeed, through reading itself, pupils can find out about the world beyond their own experience, including what they learn in other lessons on the curriculum. Teachers should therefore give pupils an abundant and rich variety of accessible texts to read in relevant classes across the curriculum as well as independently. Over time, this reading can gradually broaden pupils' horizons and their knowledge of words, phrases and ideas and ensure that they become increasingly able to comprehend the texts they will encounter in their later education and through life.

Knowledge of narrative structure

From the early years onwards, pupils should become increasingly familiar with the structures and features of narrative texts, such as setting, character, plot and conflict. This is not the same as knowing the meaning of these terms but rather an increasing familiarity with different structures and features of texts that can come through broad and deep engagement in a rich variety of texts provided by the teacher. Once pupils are fluent readers, teachers can draw their attention to these features to better enable pupils to recognise them in future reading. Older primary-age pupils can use texts that contain a much wider range of structural elements, such as subplots and multiple problems.

Knowledge of syntax

Pupils who can read fluently should increasingly encounter texts that contain more, and more complex, multi-clause sentences. An effective curriculum can include teachers reading accessible but more complex texts aloud. Pupils need to hear and read these texts regularly to help them become familiar with the structure of sentences and therefore increase the likelihood that they will be able to understand the texts they read independently.[footnote 139]

When pupils understand the meaning conveyed through a sentence structure, they are better able to read aloud with an understanding of the possible and intended phrasing, rhythm, expressiveness and stress of sentences (also known as prosody).[footnote 140]

Rasinski suggests a focus on 4 aspects of prosody:[footnote 141]

Prosody is important because it connects children's knowledge of written sounds and words with spoken language and allows children to read with meaning. It 'completes the bridge by connecting to comprehension'.[footnote 142]

Teaching reading fluency

Research found that simultaneously listening to and reading along with texts was a valuable strategy with struggling readers. The teacher's reading shows how the text should sound and, in doing so, highlights the 'prosodic cues' in a text to pupils. However, the demands on working memory of this activity suggest that pupils' comprehension might be lower when reading-while-listening.[footnote 151] This possible limitation should be considered when deciding whether this strategy will fulfil the aims of the lesson. It would also seem counterproductive to undertake this sort of activity before pupils have mastered the alphabetic code.

A third strategy considered in the same review was discussing the wording in a text before reading it. Pupils can practise key words in the text before they read it for themselves.

Comprehension processes and the limits of teaching comprehension strategies

A range of processes allow knowledge to be activated and processed. These processes include decoding, word identification, meaning retrieval, sentence parsing, inferring and comprehension monitoring.

There is good evidence that significant aspects of these processes happen automatically, for example inference generation.[footnote 154] Skilled readers may unconsciously use a range of comprehension strategies to uncover the meaning of texts. However, pupils may need to be taught to use strategies that prompt comprehension processes. For example, teachers may recognise the phenomenon of a child who sounds fluent but has limited understanding of what has been read. This may be particularly the case when pupils regularly do not have all the knowledge (outlined in the 'Components of comprehension and effective pedagogies to teach them' section above) that they may need to readily comprehend a text and therefore may have never grown to expect to understand the texts they read even if they can decode them. Therefore, some pupils may need to build the habit of constructing meaning as they read. There is plentiful evidence of the benefit of teaching pupils reading comprehension strategies that direct them to pay attention to the meaning of the text.[footnote 155] The NRP found that those approaches that emphasise pupils' understanding of the reasoning and mental processes involved in reading strategically were most successful.[footnote 156]

The implications of these findings are significant, given that it could be assumed that if pupils struggle to comprehend texts, then more teaching of strategies must be necessary. Beyond some time-limited instructional and practice sequences, comprehension strategies are unlikely to be useful as a continued learning objective for most pupils. Willingham and Lovette argue that this is because these strategies are not skills that can be honed through repeated practice regardless of context. Rather, they are useful metacognitive strategies, or maxims, that will be applied successfully when pupils have enough relevant knowledge of the text to do so.[footnote 160]

This underlines the importance of ensuring that pupils read a breadth of literature. This will allow pupils to embed strategies they have learned even when they no longer need the time-limited instructional prompting of the teacher, as well as ensuring that pupils encounter the range of knowledge they need for successful comprehension. Comprehension strategies do not provide an ongoing progression in reading. Progress comes from developing the knowledge needed to understand increasingly challenging texts. This can be illustrated when considering inference.

Making inferences

Inference depends on a reader's vocabulary knowledge, contextual knowledge and knowledge of language structures. The reader needs this knowledge to make links between different parts of the text and construct a robust mental model of it. This is because language is 'surrounded by a cloud of taken-for-granted, unspoken knowledge, without which the said cannot be understood'.[footnote 161]

Readers use these links and background information to fill in details not explicitly stated by the author.[footnote 162] Therefore, knowledge of the text content is needed to make inferences and this is why general practice in making inferences will not lead to a general inferencing skill.

To illustrate this point, in the following example, the reader unconsciously draws from background knowledge, for example of vocabulary and context, to realise that it is Alison's birthday, although we are not told this: 'As the singing came to an end, Alison blew out the candles. Everyone clapped.' The reader integrates the new information from the text with their existing knowledge - in this case, about birthday parties.

Comprehension monitoring

Skilled readers monitor their comprehension and detect when it breaks down. For example, when they spot an apparent inconsistency, they re-read or apply their background knowledge of the topic. In the 'Comprehension processes and the limits of teaching comprehension strategies' section above, we discuss how pupils may not expect to understand a text when they regularly do not have all the knowledge that they may need for comprehension. These less-skilled readers may not know that it is important to think while reading.

This 'comprehension monitoring' correlates closely with wider reading comprehension. As we might expect, older pupils and more expert readers tend to be better at detecting when their understanding has broken down. For this reason, pupils need to be alerted to the importance of thinking about what they read and understanding the content.

Comprehension strategies have an ongoing use as a pedagogical tool

When pupils no longer need to be taught to use comprehension strategies, it is reasonable to continue to use these strategies as a pedagogical tool. When a teacher needs pupils to think carefully about a certain meaning of a particular text, they might direct pupils to apply a particular strategy they have learned, for example summarising or identifying the main point. In this situation, the primary curriculum goal is not to teach or practise a strategy (when pupils are already familiar with the strategy from prior teaching). Rather, the teacher can direct pupils to use a strategy to draw out a particular aspect of the text and its meaning, which may not otherwise have been readily apparent to pupils, given their current knowledge.

Through applying the strategy to consider a feature of the text, pupils acquire new knowledge that may enable them to comprehend other and more challenging texts in the future. While there might be good reasons for selecting comprehension strategies as a pedagogical tool, this does not mean that there is a benefit from pupils discovering an insight (about a text or otherwise) for themselves over learning such an insight from their teacher.[footnote 165]

Implications of limits to working memory

Reading independently and for pleasure

Research on the benefits of pupils' reading for pleasure is extensive.[footnote 169] This research indicates a positive correlation between pupils' engagement with reading and their attainment in reading, motivation to read and their self-confidence in reading.[footnote 170] Research also suggests a link between pupils choosing to read and improved general knowledge;[footnote 171] a wider vocabulary and better language development;[footnote 172] and improved attainment and more positive attitudes to writing.[footnote 173]

Reading for pleasure is highly desirable. However, an emphasis on reading for pleasure does not mean it is wise to ignore the positive impact on all children of exposure to increasingly challenging texts in relevant lessons across the curriculum. Initiatives like dressing up as book characters, collecting points and certificates, or creating elaborate displays might also help to raise awareness of reading. Yet they could also be a distraction, taking time and energy away from reading itself.

A curriculum for reading for pleasure

The manifold benefits of reading for pleasure might lead to the assumption that the best starting point is to encourage pupils to read. However, research suggests that it is the more accomplished readers who choose to read more.

A meta-analysis of research with children aged 5 to 18 considered predictors of long-term motivation to read.[footnote 174] This analysis suggested that achieving short-term motivation to read is not a predictor for the long term when compared with pupils becoming accomplished readers early. The latter is a stronger predictor of later motivation. In other words, if children struggle with reading early on, they may not be persuaded to read more. The findings emphasise the overriding importance of children getting off to a successful start with reading, as this is the strongest predictor of later motivation.

For many, reading for pleasure is something that develops at home, when books and other reading material are available, and where parents and carers read with children and also read themselves.[footnote 175] For others, it is vital that the curriculum and wider school culture nurture reading for pleasure.

Research suggests several strands that form a 'coherent strategy' that schools can draw on when designing a curriculum that supports reading for pleasure. These include:

developing teachers' knowledge of children's literature and other texts

developing teachers' knowledge of pupils' current reading practices and preferences

establishing a 'reading for pleasure pedagogy' that includes reading aloud and time for pupils who can read fluently to read independently

creating social reading environments, and providing time for informal book talk and recommendations

supporting staff to become 'reading teachers' who read widely and reflect on their own and others' reading

creating reading communities, both in and out of school[footnote 176]

Children may enjoy reading but prefer other activities. Making the option of reading the most readily available seems sensible. When the option is visible and attractive, it can make it more likely that children will read.[footnote 177]

Based on the above, high-quality English may have the following features:

The reading curriculum enables pupils to read increasingly complex and whole texts.

Teachers develop pupils' reading accuracy, automaticity and prosody.

Time is given to pupils reading a lot of text, across the school curriculum, to develop their reading fluency.

Instruction in reading comprehension strategies is time-limited and explicit.

Knowledge necessary for comprehension is taught explicitly and includes vocabulary, knowledge of narrative structure, lexical and syntactical knowledge, as well as knowledge of context and ideas in the text.

Teachers emphasise the relationships between words, helping pupils to explore morphology and etymology to support their comprehension and spelling.

Teachers encourage pupils to read for pleasure while ensuring that they become accomplished readers as soon as possible.

Planned and spaced recall helps pupils to retain the new vocabulary they have learned.

Writing

Summary

Fluent writing depends on transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition, which involves knowledge about the topic and discourse knowledge about how to write effectively. Explicit teaching of foundational skills, including spelling and handwriting, sentence construction, control of grammar and use of vocabulary, allows all pupils to write effectively. Cycles of planning, drafting, revising and editing can improve writing but do not significantly improve motivation to write or improve the quality of struggling writers' compositions.

Features of an effective writing curriculum in primary and secondary schools

... well-structured formal expository and narrative essays; stories, scripts, poetry and other imaginative writing; notes and polished scripts for talks and presentations; and a range of other narrative and non-narrative texts, including arguments, and personal and formal letters.

An effective writing curriculum will give pupils opportunities to develop their proficiency in 2 interrelated areas of writing:

transcription (spelling and handwriting)

composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing)

Transcription

Fluent transcription skills are the foundations of writing. If pupils master these, they can then focus their attention on developing, organising and communicating their ideas. If spelling and handwriting are not fluent, pupils' working memory is overloaded and it becomes difficult to focus on composition.[footnote 181]

An effective writing curriculum should give time for pupils to be taught and to practise the component skills of transcription, at least in the early stages of primary. Kellogg has argued that, if pupils do not develop sufficient fluency in handwriting (or typing) in primary school, this significantly affects the development of the higher-order processes, such as planning and generating ideas, and writing and reviewing texts.[footnote 182]

These transcription skills should continue to be the focus later for any pupils who lack sufficient fluency. If they struggle with the process of writing as a whole, interventions aimed at writing overall, like asking them to do further extended writing, are likely to be ineffective. Instead, research suggests the focus should be on more time spent practising individually the specific components of writing that need attention.

Spelling

encouraging them to draw on their knowledge of phonics to identify the sounds in more complex words[footnote 190]

relating spellings to the content being taught (rather than teaching spelling from 'decontextualised word lists')[footnote 191]

pre-teaching spellings of challenging words and anticipating common errors[footnote 192]

ensuring that pupils practise spellings, for example by using new spellings in their writing or writing words from dictation[footnote 193]

focusing on a word's etymology to show how spelling is related to meaning and drawing attention to shared morphemes in words, even when the sounds in the related words differ (for example, 'vine' and 'vineyard')[footnote 194]

adding morphemes (where possible) to words in the national curriculum Years 5 and 6 word list to spell many related new words (for example, correspond > correspondence, corresponding, correspondingly, correspondent)[footnote 195]

combining vocabulary development with spelling instruction, including explaining the meaning and function of prefixes and suffixes[footnote 196]

teaching irregular words by grouping these together where there are useful similarities (such as grouping the irregular spelling 'two' with associated regular words such as 'twin', 'twice' and 'twenty')[footnote 197]

Composition

Knowledge of grammar

Pupils need secure knowledge of English grammar for composition. This enables them to express themselves clearly and creatively through writing. The grammatical structures of a text carry much of the writer's intended meaning. Exploring these choices in texts allows the writer to understand the writer's thoughts better.[footnote 200]

Research with secondary school pupils suggests that pupils benefit from being taught how to combine and construct sentences. This not only improves the sentences they write but also improves their writing quality and accuracy.[footnote 201]

The curriculum can therefore be organised so that pupils are taught to write using a variety of sentences. Teaching should focus on sentence recognition, construction, meaning and accuracy. A logical progression might start with the concept of a sentence, including capitalisation and other basic punctuation, before progressing from single main clauses to constructing multi-clause sentences.

For expertise to develop, pupils will benefit from direct instruction and modelling, followed by extensive, deliberate practice until they are fluent. Effective practice may consist of short, focused tasks, interspersed with feedback, before pupils apply what they have learned to their independent writing.[footnote 202]

Research suggests that it can be effective for teachers to focus on the function and application of grammar within the context of writing.[footnote 205] Teaching pupils grammar as part of writing lessons, emphasising the connections between linguistic features and the effects they can produce, can have a positive impact, at least for more able writers.

Vocabulary knowledge

Pupils without a specialised vocabulary for different types of text will struggle to express ideas and opinions in writing.[footnote 206] A broad and deep vocabulary leads to better writing.[footnote 207] Teaching vocabulary is covered in 'Ways of teaching vocabulary' in the reading section.

A curriculum for writing

In practice, teachers can ensure that pupils have knowledge of the world that provides content to write about, for example by ensuring that pupils write about the curriculum content they have studied. Teachers can help pupils to build discourse knowledge by making sure that they understand the characteristics of texts written for specific purposes and audiences, and by providing models of effective writing.[footnote 210] This gives pupils a repertoire of features to draw on for their own writing.

Models of writing development suggest that pupils move through several stages as they become more mature and proficient as writers.[footnote 211] Research highlights the starting points and assumptions of novice writers and how their writing can improve. Pupils need to become increasingly aware of:

how writing can be used to share new interpretations of their ideas

their reader's needs and existing knowledge

how that reader might interpret what they write[footnote 212]

Knowledge of the writing process and how to teach it

Repeated meta-analyses have identified several factors that are positively linked to teaching pupils to write effectively:[footnote 213]

explicit teaching of foundational writing skills (sentence construction and control of grammar and syntax, as well as spelling and handwriting), aiming for fluency

a 'process approach' to writing (see below for an explanation)

direct instruction about writing knowledge and targeted practice

encouraging pupils' self-regulation, such as pupils monitoring their own performance, setting goals for improvement and making self-assessments of their writing

opportunities to write frequently

opportunities to work cooperatively on different aspects of writing and stages of the writing process

A process approach

The process approach involves pupils learning to plan, draft, revise, edit and publish their writing, and practising these processes. This can develop pupils' proficiency.[footnote 214] Eventually, they can apply their knowledge independently.

Research suggests that explicit instruction about writing knowledge and strategies can develop older pupils' writing.[footnote 217] Self-regulated strategy development ( SRSD) is an approach to teaching writing strategies that has been found to be effective in helping pupils learn the specific discourse knowledge needed for effective writing. This knowledge includes general and task-specific writing strategies, the background knowledge needed to use these strategies, and procedures for regulating these strategies.[footnote 218] The 6 stages of SRSD are:

1. Pupils are taught the background knowledge they need to use a writing strategy effectively.

2. The teacher explicitly describes and discusses the purpose and benefit of the strategy.

3. The teacher models how to use the strategy.

4. Pupils memorise the steps/components of the strategy.

5. The teacher supports and scaffolds pupils' mastery of the strategy.

6. Pupils use the strategy independently.

At each stage, pupils have opportunities to learn and practise the main components. This can be particularly effective for less confident writers.[footnote 219] Because the strategies break up the complex process of writing into manageable smaller parts, each of which can be taught, practised and combined, SRSD instruction helps pupils to overcome the limits of their working memory and processing capacities. Research also suggests that these strategies are motivating for young writers, because pupils can write successfully and are likely to attribute their success to something they can control, such as following a specific process or working hard on a task.[footnote 220]

Although discourse knowledge of the features of certain text types and genres of writing is important,[footnote 223] listing the features that pupils must include in a piece of writing can lead to writing to follow mark schemes, as noted in the 'Assessment' section. This might lead to pupils using textual and language features without understanding why they are useful and what purposes they serve.[footnote 224] This might be avoided by emphasising the audience for, and purpose of, the writing and encouraging pupils to tailor their language and structure to these rather than trying to replicate the features of a specific genre or text type.

Motivation

Research suggests that motivation to write, and a classroom and school environment that promotes it, is correlated strongly both with pupils' attitudes to writing and their skill as writers.[footnote 225] Factors associated with motivation include:

writing for real audiences and purposes

writing collaboratively with peers

a choice of topic

the desire to share ideas with an audience[footnote 226]

Motivation can come from enjoying or being engaged with writing itself. It can also come from external factors, such as:

pride in creating a pleasing piece of work

accomplishing something after overcoming difficulty

mastering something that will be important when obtaining qualifications for the workplace

Based on the above, high-quality English may have the following features:

The curriculum secures the knowledge needed for successful writing: knowledge about the topic and knowledge about how to write.

Pupils' accuracy and automaticity in transcription are developed early on and secured by lower key stage 2, so that older pupils are able to pay attention to the higher-level processes of composing, planning, writing and revision.

Pupils write frequently, for a range of audiences and purposes (once they have sufficient accuracy and automaticity in transcription).

Teachers directly teach sentence construction, control of grammar and syntax, so that pupils can use them with accuracy, confidence and increasing flair.

Teachers teach older pupils to master the components of how to plan, draft, revise and edit their writing.

Pedagogical approaches for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities

The general principles from research into effective teaching outlined in this review are just as relevant for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities ( SEND), whether learning English or any other subject. Research shows that pupils with SEND do not generally benefit from differentiated teaching, activities or resources to achieve a curriculum goal.[footnote 227] Differentiation is not the same as targeted teaching to break down or reinforce aspects of the curriculum, for example repetition of important phonic knowledge.

Teachers may attribute weaknesses in reading to a pupil having dyslexia rather than having gaps in their phonic knowledge. This can also lead to teachers using reading interventions that have an alternative approach rather than teaching systematic synthetic phonics. However, reading requires the same phonic knowledge for all children. Teachers can help pupils overcome difficulties by ensuring that they learn GPCs; pupils with SEND are highly likely to need much more frequent repetition. Assessment should be used to identify a child's specific knowledge gaps. These gaps and their identification are considered in the 'Assessment' section of this review.

Based on the above, high-quality English may have the following features:

Teaching does not rely on differentiated teaching, activities or resources to achieve a curriculum goal.

Reading interventions incorporate training in knowledge of letter-sound correspondences, and how to apply knowledge of phonics to reading and spelling.

Struggling pupils have more opportunities for repetition where necessary. This can secure essential knowledge to automaticity.

Literature

Summary

An English literature curriculum should identify the knowledge pupils will need to make progress in English literature. Pupils need to learn epistemic knowledge of how critics apply different perspectives as well as knowing about influential readings of specific texts and how interpretations of texts can be reached. Pupils also require contextual and aesthetic knowledge to appreciate a text.

Knowledge can be acquired through studying carefully chosen and sequenced texts that become increasingly complex in style and substantial in content and themes. Studying carefully sequenced texts can gradually increase the knowledge pupils have, which in turn allows them to comprehend new literature. This learning will best be achieved with some explicit teaching and modelling, for example, of different interpretations.

The study of English literature

Literature is at the heart of the subject of English. It has profound effects on our thoughts and on the ways in which we experience the world. It can shape our inner lives, and our identity. Novels provide scope for the exploration of worlds: real and imagined; far and near. Drama can depict intense moral dilemmas, domestic conflicts and powerful moments in history. Poetry, because it works in special ways, can convey heartfelt emotions and epiphanies. Literature also contributes to the big debates in society and to political and social discourse.

The language in literature - the words writers choose and how they use them - can fire our imagination and introduce us to new ways of knowing. The study of literature as a discipline seeks to explain this power.

This section discusses how the content, scope and sequence of the literature curriculum, which is not necessarily specified in the national curriculum, can best enable primary- and secondary-school pupils to achieve the goals of the national curriculum. There is no fixed demarcation between this section and the previous parts of this review that discuss reading comprehension and reading for pleasure. However, this section explores the specific body of knowledge, additional to that already discussed, that enables the disciplinary study of literature.

This part of the review is different in character from other sections because the empirical literature is more limited. We have, however, drawn on a wide and diverse range of sources including opinion pieces and theoretical articles. In some cases, the overarching argument presented in these sources is not fully aligned to the principles of the EIF, but we decided to include them because they are indicative of the highly nuanced nature of the topic. The EIF and the research underpinning it remain the lenses through which the insights and research on literature is considered, framed and presented.

Literary knowledge

As pupils advance through school, the curriculum in English, including literature studies, should include the subject-specific prerequisite knowledge needed for achieving the subject's curriculum goals.

A strong curriculum will develop pupils' epistemic knowledge, defined by the OECD as 'the understanding of how expert practitioners of disciplines work and think'.[footnote 228] Some commentary uses the term 'disciplinary knowledge' to describe a similar idea. Epistemic knowledge helps pupils to 'find the purpose of learning, understand the application of learning and extend their disciplinary knowledge'.[footnote 229] For literature study, this might include learning how critics apply different perspectives (critical positions) to key concepts, as well as knowing about influential readings of specific texts. It also might include knowing that literary scholars and critics use evidence from the text and other relevant contemporaneous texts to justify their interpretations.

This review draws on Atherton, Snapper and Green to define 4 fields of literary knowledge. The following table is an adaptation of the 5 areas of literary knowledge identified by Atherton, Snapper and Green for teaching English literature at 16 to 19. The 4 areas described in the table, and what each covers, focus on those that relate to the EIF and the national curriculum.[footnote 230]

The history and development of literature

This includes: history of literature; literary forms; narrative; genre; poetry; drama; the novel; non-fiction; literary movements; how significant aspects of literature (for example, narrative or character) function in different forms, genres or even other media; how literary texts respond to historical or ethical events; and the relationship between literature and broader social and cultural movements.

The craft of the writer

This includes: how and why writers, including the pupils themselves, use language, form and structure, genre and conventions to respond to social and cultural contexts and respond intertextually to other works.

The response of the reader

This includes: how and why readers, including first and foremost the pupils themselves, respond to, interpret and value texts, balancing personal enjoyment with judgement and understanding of wider social and historical contexts; understanding works of literature in the context of life; and making and judging inferences.

The nature of literary study

This includes: the role of literary study, literary criticism and literary theory; how different approaches and ways of reading impact on what and how we read; how students value the study of literature; how to analyse perceptively, and write and develop their own critical voices in discussion; and the use of context.

The 4 fields above also draw on contextual knowledge, which is transferable between texts. In the case of historical context, this knowledge needs to be carefully selected. For example, pupils studying the Victorian novel may not need an extended preamble on key events in the reign of Queen Victoria. Rather, the specific knowledge that enables pupils to enter the imaginative world of the text should be identified. Historical context for a work of literature is not an end in itself. It might be useful to know that in Victorian times streets were cobbled and richer people travelled in hansom cabs. This knowledge may need to be explicitly taught or it may emerge through the study of the text rather than through teaching before reading.

The fields above also draw on aesthetic knowledge. This knowledge enables appreciation and thus enjoyment of a literary work. For example, knowing that, in Shakespeare's time, a nunnery was also slang for a brothel means that Hamlet's command to Ophelia, 'Get thee to a nunnery', is even more heart-breaking and emotionally charged. Enjoyment and knowledge can grow through text-based conversations, discussions and debates.

Progression in literature through carefully chosen and sequenced texts

Through the study of carefully chosen literature (see the 'Sequencing text choices for progression: building readiness' section), pupils' epistemic knowledge and capacity to appreciate literature can grow over time. For instance, pupils can gain an increasing understanding of the craft of the writer (including the specific language, grammar and syntax used in each text) through studying a carefully chosen sequence of texts over time. They also gain knowledge of the main characters, the plot and the literary techniques employed, and will have a progressively better grasp of the role of the reader and the nature of literature. This allows pupils to make increasingly meaningful connections between specific knowledge from different texts. This could be through a selection of texts that allow pupils to learn how writers use certain tropes in specific genres (for example, entrapment in gothic literature gives pupils a conceptual framework for connecting characters in 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' with characters in 'Jane Eyre').

Appreciation of English literature and key components

Our review has identified that there is specific component knowledge needed for comprehension and that novices benefit from learning these components. While pupils might engage meaningfully with unmediated text, it is the purpose of the curriculum to identify what they may need to learn, step by step, to be successful. This is not to say that some key aspects of a literature curriculum that work holistically can never form part of the earlier curriculum while components are still being mastered. For example, the curriculum can include meaningful personal responses to narratives that might be possible even if the components necessary to more fully understand those narratives have not yet been learned. In the very early stages, this form of literary knowledge can be developed by discussing stories that teachers read aloud to children or by asking pupils about how a story read aloud makes them feel.

Standish suggests that pupils can reach a possible 'transitional' point somewhere between late key stage 2 and early key stage 3.[footnote 231] At this point, pupils may have the capacity to understand different interpretations of literature. Teachers might introduce pupils to interpretations of literature that pupils can choose, adapt or reject. This would not be to stifle original interpretations, but to give pupils a useful framework for developing their own interpretations, as well as knowledge of subject-specific terminology.

Novices learn more efficiently by studying worked examples, while experts can learn from inquiry-based activities that allow them to apply their broad conceptual knowledge.[footnote 232] Expertise in English literature is characterised by the ability to carry out critical inquiry, engage in debates about meaning and explore how the text functions as a work of art. However, these practices need to develop over time. This will best be achieved through some explicit teaching and modelling different interpretations (worked examples) and the necessary component knowledge that underpins them.

Pedagogy for novices in literature is different than for experts

There are possible implications of the novice/expert research mentioned in the paragraph above.[footnote 233] If teachers use a purely inquiry-based approach from the start - in which pupils are expected to produce responses to texts with minimal guidance - the potential for success may be limited. For example, pupils may not learn what determines a credible or justifiable interpretation. They may also lack the background knowledge required to produce one.

Implications for pupils' written literary analysis

From their earliest years, children benefit from listening to adults read to them and recount stories verbally. Ongoing reading of carefully chosen and sequenced texts can ensure that pupils learn more about how stories are structured and how plots work. These understandings in turn make pupils better writers as well as readers.

Analytical writing is a composite process that involves multiple individual components, some learned through studying literature and some being explicitly part of the writing curriculum. Pupils need to be able to embed evidence, use appropriate subject terminology, apply precise vocabulary and evaluate interpretations, including their own interpretations. If pupils are to succeed at analytical writing, they need to be secure in each of these components. The curriculum should therefore include a range of subject-appropriate writing activities that require the use of the components for writing that pupils have learned.

Applying insights from cognitive psychology such as spacing and interleaving

Tharby suggests that insights from cognitive psychology can be used to ensure that pupils learn the literature curriculum and that this will allow them to appreciate that 'literature is a beautiful, throbbing nexus, not a set of unrelated texts'.[footnote 234] He qualifies this, stating that he has 'deep misgivings... about a crude scientific application' of cognitive psychology to curriculum planning. He suggests that the literature curriculum should be structured so that carefully selected content is revisited. He advocates spacing and interleaving content in literature to create a spiral-structured curriculum.

Some research suggests that spacing and interleaving might be useful for structuring some content in the literature curriculum. Appel and Richter show that some subject-specific 'habits of mind' that come from reading fictional narratives, such as empathy, do not present themselves immediately.[footnote 235] This pause before the results show is known as an 'absolute sleeper effect'. For sleeper effects to occur, a gestation period is required. In this time, pupils can rethink and relive what they have read. Spending some time on unrelated activities can be beneficial.

Elliott suggests that interleaving might help pupils make connections between 'texts and concepts, to create a larger schema of how literature works'.[footnote 236] She adds the caveat that 'like all tools, they are not good in and of themselves: it is the content that makes the difference'.

Sequencing text choices for progression: building readiness

We have already explored text choices in the reading comprehension section (see 'Text complexity and progression in reading comprehension'), but there is additional detail that is especially relevant when selecting texts specifically for English literature, which is explored below. Additionally:[footnote 237]

It is important to recognise that the books students read and study in school are finite - a scarce and valuable resource... these few books form the foundation of their knowledge of how literature works within and interacts with society, so teachers must select them like the precious resource they are.

Over time, texts studied should become increasingly complex in style and substantial in content and themes. In the 'Literary knowledge' section, we identify the range of knowledge pupils need to comprehend a text. Quality literary narratives tend to use a greater variety of sentence structures than simpler, easier narratives. This is important because it enables pupils to gain important grammatical knowledge that they can use in their own writing. It also builds 'readiness' for the complex syntax used in 19th-century narratives that are studied in key stage 4. Therefore, text selection is not as simple as moving more archaic texts or texts with adult themes to key stages 2 or 3. If pupils are required to read texts but do not have the knowledge they need to read fluently and understand them, whatever the ambition, pupils will not gain the hoped-for outcomes from reading those texts.

Texts may be chosen because they prepare pupils for later texts that they will study or writers they will encounter. Counsell calls this 'curriculum readiness' and argues:[footnote 238]

We need to take seriously the possibility that a curriculum can turn (say) a disadvantaged, vocab-poor Year 5 into a pupil who carries such reference points in poetry that they are ready to notice what is new and startling in (say) Romantic poetry before they hit Year 10.

Stoneman describes this readiness as 'deliberate crafting' in which 'we help knowledge to manifest itself indirectly but dynamically in future learning of other curricular content'.[footnote 239] It is very different from GCSE texts being taught in key stage 3. This would narrow the curriculum rather than create readiness for those texts when they are studied at GCSE.

An example of text choice for curriculum readiness might be reading 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' to create readiness for Perkins Gilman's novella, 'The Yellow Wallpaper', because one is more accessible than the other but both use unreliable narrators. Building readiness is not solely about themes and content of texts.

A coherent sequence of texts

In the section above, we discuss the importance of sequencing carefully selected literature texts so that they are increasingly complex in style and substantial in content and themes. Through the study of carefully chosen literature, teachers can develop pupils' epistemic knowledge so that their capacity to appreciate literature can grow over time. Therefore, as well as text complexity being a criterion for selecting individual texts, the sequence of these over time can enable a coherent progression.

Didau explores different curriculum possibilities that provide coherence.[footnote 240] For example, he suggests choosing texts that illustrate the development of English language or texts that illustrate the story of literature and its forms over time. Alternatively, a thematic approach might be chosen that weaves the threads of metaphor, story, argument, pattern, grammar and context as enablers of disciplinary considerations for pupils learning literature. Didau does not argue for any one of the models above but suggests that coherent text choices will allow pupils to appreciate past literature.

Studying complex and whole texts

Studying one substantial complex text can do a lot of curricular 'heavy lifting'. It can support pupils to develop and use knowledge across the categories detailed in this section. A text like this might use a complex narrative viewpoint to tell a story, and explore multiple or sophisticated themes. It might also contain allusions, cultural references and intertextual links.

In some circumstances, carefully chosen extracts from literary texts can have a purpose in the curriculum. However, there is research that suggests that whole texts read aloud and at a faster pace than usual (as opposed to extracts) are important, including for weaker readers. Research by the University of Sussex with 343 pupils aged 12 to 14 in 10 schools found that weaker readers made 16 months' progress in reading comprehension when they read 2 challenging novels in class in 12 weeks.[footnote 241]

There are other disciplinary-focused arguments for the study of whole texts. Sehgal Cuthbert suggests that, as the reader works their way through a whole work of literature, meaning is built up and layered and their responses evolve.[footnote 242] In addition, some specific forms of the novel need to be read in their entirety for the form to realise its intention. For example, the Bildungsroman, which aims to show the development of the protagonist's mind and character from childhood through to adulthood, needs to be read as a whole to achieve that aim.

A disciplinary-based approach to relevancy

According to Applebee, a focus on relevance has led to curriculum inequity, where only advantaged pupils get the chance to read texts that are distanced from their reality.[footnote 246] This has led to the narrowing of the literature curriculum for some groups of pupils, who only access texts that reflect their own lives rather than different times or settings. Some types of literature can provide knowledge of other times and places that, in turn, helps pupils to comprehend texts. Additionally, reading more literature from other times, places and cultures can enable pupils to both develop and expand what they might consider meaningful to them.

A range of perspectives

Teachers and critics advocate a greater range of perspectives in the choices of literature that pupils study.[footnote 247] It is beneficial for pupils to see people similar to them represented as the heroes and protagonists in the books they read.

However, ideas about writers' intentions can be over-simplified if they are viewed solely through the prism of our current political landscape or contemporary issues. This can also lead to reductionist interpretations: readings that fail to do justice to the many layers within the text and their meanings. It can also lead to significant, influential texts being removed from the curriculum or texts being included only because they address contemporary issues rather than due to literary merit.

Within the aims of the national curriculum, any rationale for choosing texts should be based on the knowledge, practices and traditions of the subject itself. Other purposes, for example learning about a particular contemporary social issue, such as 'homelessness' or 'social media shaming', should take a back seat to literary merit.

It may be useful for teachers and leaders to develop a set of criteria for choosing texts. Didau suggests questions to consider when choosing a text that include notions such as:[footnote 248]

an entitlement to read certain texts

whether texts have been read already

the extent to which texts introduce pupils to new knowledge

whether the text offers a genuine variety of voices and perspectives (including older, less popular voices)

whether the text has 'conversations' backwards and forwards with other texts

Based on the above, high-quality English may have the following features:

The curriculum has been designed to develop in pupils a genuine love of literature, and an ability to respond to texts personally.

The curriculum has been designed to enable pupils to deepen their understanding in the 4 domains or fields of knowledge in literature, and to apply the key concepts from each field using disciplinary methods in their writing.

The curriculum includes a range of ambitious whole texts in different forms and genres, which have been carefully chosen using subject-specific criteria.

Over time, teachers build pupils' 'readiness' for future encounters with texts and critical views. They do this in a meaningful way so as not to narrow the literature curriculum.

Teachers introduce pupils to texts that they would not choose to read for themselves, especially from other times and places and with a range of perspectives.

Assessment

Summary

This section outlines how formative assessment can allow teachers to assess pupils' knowledge and plan next steps. Feedback should be specific, challenging and related to the learning goals. Success criteria can be useful but do have their pitfalls. Similarly, problems can arise when mark schemes designed for summative assessment are used in place of a curriculum that identifies the range of knowledge pupils need for success in each written task. Multi-tiered systems can assess difficulties that pupils have with reading.

Formative assessment

Effective feedback for teachers

Effective formative assessment will allow the teacher to identify gaps in pupils' component knowledge and adjust the curriculum and pedagogy to take account of these. However, grade descriptors created for summative purposes may not function effectively to provide formative feedback for teachers. For example, grade descriptors probably will not allow the teacher to assess whether pupils had the specific knowledge of vocabulary and context that would allow them to comprehend a text.[footnote 251]

More useful formative tasks could ask pupils a series of questions on a particular section or aspect of a text or include specific practice activities, focused on areas where pupils need to improve, such as specific spellings or learning to use particular punctuation, embed a quotation or conclude an essay. The narrow focus in these tasks means that the teacher can identify precise knowledge gaps and misapprehensions.

Effective feedback for pupils

Research suggests that feedback should be immediate and precise when pupils are learning new knowledge and skills in order to prevent them from making errors and developing misconceptions.[footnote 259] For example, when pupils are learning how to embed examples in text through practice activities, teachers should give them instant verbal feedback that focuses on accuracy.

There is an important balance to be drawn here: the immediacy and frequency of feedback should be dependent on the stage of instruction and the pupil's level of expertise.

Success criteria

Sharing learning intentions and success criteria are common ways that teachers draw pupils' attention to what they need to learn. For example, if pupils are learning to punctuate direct speech, it is useful if they know what they should be able to do by the end of the lesson. It is helpful to use a worked example to draw attention to specific features before using those features as success criteria for pupils' own writing. For example, teachers could discuss the features of a persuasive letter, before using those features as success criteria for pupils' own writing.

However, there are a number of possible pitfalls when using success criteria. It can be unhelpful to give different pupils in the class different success criteria. This may result in pupils doing different tasks that require them to have been previously taught different component knowledge. This in-class differentiation has also generally not been shown to have much impact on pupils' attainment.[footnote 262]

Pupils need to understand the success criteria used to judge their work, but this can be problematic. Some approaches that are designed to avoid this problem, such as extended writing, can 'oversimplify the complexity of a good piece of writing'.[footnote 263] Marshall and Wiliam argue that this runs the risk of pupils following a rule or formula at the expense of meaning and writing becoming formulaic. Similarly, a learning intention such as 'To use the features of an effective story opening' is likely to be too broad for pupils to understand what a successful opening might look like. Success criteria amount to maxims that can only make sense to pupils who have enough expertise to appreciate how they can be applied.

Teachers and pupils might 'co-construct' success criteria derived from worked examples. However, this is not entirely straightforward. Since the teacher knows more about the subject than the pupils, the teacher would be abdicating their responsibilities to 'let whatever the students feel should be valued be adopted as learning intentions'.[footnote 264]

Alternatives to written feedback and marking

Written feedback can be time-consuming for teachers. There is also a risk that the pupils might not read feedback, or that they might not be able to understand it or act on it independently.[footnote 265]

Assessment of learning: summative assessment

Internal summative assessments allow schools to measure standards, see how effective teaching and the curriculum are across year groups, report to parents, and monitor pupils' progress and wider outcomes. It is crucial that schools are aware of the limits to the inferences that can be drawn from summative assessments, which check performance in complex tasks rather than the component knowledge necessary for success.

Reliability and validity of summative assessment of writing

The validity of assessment is an issue when using criterion-referenced assessments, where writing is assessed against a set of criteria describing particular levels of performance. Scoring rubrics with lists of criteria can be limiting, effectively narrowing the concept of quality and excluding legitimate responses that fall outside the descriptors.[footnote 271]

Problems with using mark scheme criteria as a progression model

Progression in English, as outlined in the curriculum section, depends on far more than just knowing how to approach test or examination questions. Mark scheme levels typically describe differences in the quality of final written outcomes that pupils produce. Mark schemes do not identify the range of curriculum content that pupils need to learn incrementally to succeed in the specific written tasks they are set. Therefore, treating examination mark schemes as the curriculum for pupils to master (that is, as a 'progression model') will mean that pupils may not acquire the very prior knowledge they need for final summative assessments.

Assessing reading

Word reading (decoding) and comprehension, the 2 aspects of reading discussed earlier (in 'The early English curriculum in schools' section) require different types of assessment to ensure validity.

Pupils' reading may be assessed through available standardised tests. However, these are not necessarily as effective as diagnostic tools.[footnote 274] One implication that the importance of prior knowledge has for reading comprehension assessments is that pupils' background knowledge of the topic being tested can vary and this can affect scores. This is because pupils' relevant prior knowledge is the most significant factor in successful reading comprehension. Difficulties with decoding are another possible explanation of why pupils might struggle to read a text. Standardised tests do not generally identify the reasons for pupils' reading difficulties.

Based on the above, high-quality English may have the following features:

The curriculum breaks learning down into component parts, which are assessed formatively. This enables teachers to identify precisely pupils' misconceptions, gaps and errors. Teachers use information from this assessment to adapt the curriculum.

Feedback to pupils is specific and provides them with a 'recipe for future action'.

Low-stakes assessment of knowledge and retrieval tasks are also used to improve pupils' retention of the content.

A multi-tiered approach to assessing reading problems leads to accurate identification and diagnosis of difficulties and pupils receive targeted support.

Teaching focuses on building pupils' prerequisite knowledge rather than on practice for answering examination questions.

Systems at subject and school level

Summary

The leadership roles of senior and middle leaders in primary schools are critical in ensuring that all pupils learn to read. Teachers' content knowledge in English is fundamental to pupils' progress. Continuing professional development (CPD) should be relevant to teachers' specific needs and capabilities, but it must also ensure that they understand the rationale for what they are being asked to learn.

Leadership

Leadership of English begins with primary school headteachers making sure that the youngest pupils grasp the basic knowledge and skills of reading. This will include a complete programme for, and resources to support, the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics.

Senior leaders cannot, of course, be expert in every aspect of curriculum.[footnote 279] Middle leaders - subject leads in primary schools and heads of department in secondary schools - therefore play an important role in ensuring positive outcomes for pupils and developing the knowledge and practice of other teachers.[footnote 280] However, their effectiveness depends on their knowledge of the subject and of effective pedagogy, and the extent to which they have autonomy and control over the curriculum, drawing on their subject expertise.[footnote 281] Senior leaders need to give them this autonomy as part of the school's shared vision and accountability framework for English.[footnote 282]

Continuing professional development

A study by Coe and others reviewed existing research and identified 4 'dimensions' that teachers need in order to understand the content of a subject and how it is learned:[footnote 283]

deep and fluent knowledge and flexible understanding of the content you are teaching

knowing the requirements of curriculum sequencing and dependencies in relation to the content and ideas you are teaching

knowing the relevant curriculum tasks, assessments and activities

knowing pupils' misconceptions and sticking points

Teachers' professional learning is most effective when the content and the activities are directed towards the needs and existing capabilities of teachers.[footnote 284]

There is some evidence that a fortnightly to monthly rhythm of CPD sessions and/or support may be most effective in improving teachers' knowledge.[footnote 285]

Based on the above, high-quality English may have the following features:

In the early years and key stage 1, leaders prioritise the expert teaching of systematic synthetic phonics.

Regular, subject-specific CPD focuses on improving disciplinary and pedagogical content knowledge.

Conclusion

This review shows how curriculum content and sequencing, as well as subject-specific pedagogy, best enable pupils to achieve the national curriculum aims for English. Our review has identified some themes that relate to an effective English curriculum.

Strong foundational knowledge for reading, writing and spoken language are essential aspects of the early years curriculum

Automaticity in the basics of reading and writing early on enables pupils to rise to the challenges of an ambitious curriculum. It is critical that young children achieve both accuracy and speed in reading. Effective communication through writing depends on younger pupils developing foundational transcription skills (spelling and handwriting). Alongside this, they should develop knowledge of the world around them from stories and talking with adults. For both reading and writing, repeated practice is key to gaining proficiency.

Vocabulary is fundamental to pupils' progress

Vocabulary is the foundational knowledge for reading, speech and writing. Narrowing the word gap between pupils who are word-rich and word-poor is vital. Vocabulary development and wider language development feed into reading and writing. Adults' engagement in dialogue with young children supports their language development. Sharing books and stories introduces not only a wider, deeper range of vocabulary than is found in speech, but also shows how the meaning of words is context-dependent.

An effective reading curriculum ensures that pupils read large amounts of text and it focuses on providing pupils with the knowledge they need for comprehension

Once pupils have secured the basics of reading, they can develop skilled reading through a curriculum that includes exposure to large amounts of text and progressively more complex text. Teachers explicitly introduce the specific knowledge to pupils needed for comprehension. Over-simplistic approaches to reading (such as comprehension skills like summarising, drawing inferences or making predictions) do not work in isolation.

There can be unhelpful confusion about the term 'background knowledge'. It is often used quite narrowly and excludes vital syntactical lexical and literary knowledge. Research suggests that 'explicitly teaching background knowledge should be considered foundational to increasing competency in reading'.[footnote 286] Pupils benefit from exposure to background knowledge in a specific and sequenced way.

A reading curriculum is supported by the careful choice of increasingly challenging texts

The focus on literature-rich texts in the curriculum starts with sharing stories and rhymes at home before children start school. Throughout the curriculum, the choice of texts studied is critically important. An effective English curriculum will feature increasingly challenging texts at each stage. Different factors contribute to the challenge of a text. A clear understanding of this enables the construction of a curriculum that builds readiness for future reading. Pupils are likely to benefit from opportunities to read whole texts.

Carefully selected knowledge of literary studies is needed for pupils to make meaningful interpretations in keeping with the disciplinary tradition of literature. In a strong literature curriculum, this knowledge will be skilfully combined with aesthetic, epistemic and contextual knowledge.

The English curriculum for novices is structured differently in many aspects from the curriculum for experts

Different approaches to teaching may be more or less appropriate depending on pupils' level of expertise. Novices are likely to learn more effectively through direct instruction where they are 'explicitly shown what to do and how to do it'. Once they have gained this knowledge, they can apply it to future tasks.

Finally, teachers should be aware that novices may be less able to successfully produce their own meaningful responses without guidance. Securing foundational knowledge is a prerequisite. Once secure, teachers should carefully design more complex tasks so that pupils can attempt these successfully and without developing misconceptions. There is strong evidence for the value of using worked examples with novice learners. The idea of scaffolding has also been proven to guide instruction and reduce cognitive load.

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More than any other subject, English - and especially reading - gives pupils access to the rest of the curriculum and is fundamental to their educational success. This is why the introduction to the national curriculum says: 'Fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects'.

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Gill Jones (Ofsted): Supporting secondary school pupils who are behind with reading

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Gill Jones (Ofsted): Supporting secondary school pupils who are behind with reading

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Published: 28 April 2022

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Gill Jones, our Deputy Director, Schools and Early Education, on reading in secondary schools and supporting weaker readers.
Since we have been back to inspecting, many of you have asked us about how we're inspecting reading in secondary schools. You are concerned that more pupils are behind with reading on entry to secondary school. In this blog post, I explain how inspectors evaluate support for weaker readers. Although it relates to pupils in secondary schools who have fallen behind with reading, it is also relevant for pupils of any age who need to catch up with reading.
The impact of COVID-19 on pupils' reading
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to more pupils not reading well enough for their age. Our autumn 2021 education recovery in schools report told us that many secondary schools are having to focus more on helping pupils to catch up in reading. For example, some were targeting key stage 3 pupils who had been identified as needing additional phonics work. Others had introduced new reading programmes for whole cohorts, such as Year 7.
Why reading is so important for schools to prioritise
Reading is the gateway to learning. It is the key to pupils' future academic achievement and well-being. Pupils who struggle to read words accurately quickly fall behind their peers. They read less and do not accumulate the necessary background knowledge and vocabulary from reading. To fulfil the demands of the secondary school curriculum, pupils need to be able to read age-appropriate texts fluently. Pupils who cannot read well are not able to access the curriculum and are disadvantaged for life.

It is therefore essential that reading is a priority to prevent pupils from falling any further behind with their education.
Additional support for weaker readers
Pupils who are struggling with reading need help. Comprehension suffers when pupils cannot read words accurately and fluently. Pupils who are struggling to read the words on a page find that their working memory is overloaded. They can't make sense of what they read, can't recall previous content, and so fall behind in any subject that requires reading.

So, it's important that assessment checks exactly which aspect(s) of reading that pupils are struggling with - whether weaker readers are having difficulty reading words accurately and/or automatically. This makes sure that you can target extra support effectively. For example, pupils who can't read unfamiliar words accurately will need phonics teaching. Regardless of age, special educational need or background, the same knowledge of the alphabetic code and phonics skills underpins all reading. Intensive practice should soon make sure that pupils can read age-appropriate texts accurately and automatically.

Pupils' understanding of language can still be developed while they get extra help with phonics. Age-appropriate texts should be read to them so that they can benefit from discussions and broaden their understanding of the vocabulary and concepts that the texts contain. This way, when their word reading catches up, they will have the understanding of language needed to comprehend what they read. It is also why it is so important to get phonics sorted quickly - so that pupils can read and gain knowledge for themselves.
How leaders can prioritise reading without narrowing the curriculum
Having additional support may well mean that pupils need to miss some other lessons for a short period of time so that you can address their reading difficulties swiftly. Leaders have told us about ways they have managed this, for example by rotating the subject missed, using registration time or using a slot before the start of school.

We recognise that there are difficult timetabling decisions for leaders to make but teaching pupils to read fluently is in their best long-term interests. Reading is the gateway to the curriculum.
How we look at what support you're giving struggling readers on inspection
Our focus on early reading in secondary schools is not new. This approach has always been in our school inspection handbook.

We will look at how well reading is prioritised to allow pupils to access the full curriculum.

'If pupils are not able to read to an age-appropriate level and fluency, they will be incapable of accessing the rest of the curriculum, and they will rapidly fall behind their peers' (school inspection handbook evaluation criteria, paragraph 221. See paragraphs 348 to 350 for further information on early reading).

We will use a range of evidence from various inspection activities, as follows:

pre-inspection phone call - we want to understand the impact of COVID-19 on whether pupils are learning to read with fluency and understanding as soon as they should. We will ask how you identify pupils who are behind with reading and what support they receive. We will be interested to hear who is responsible for checking the impact of pupils' reading support so that we speak to the right people during inspection.

evaluating reading support - we will talk to the person responsible for the support for weaker readers to find out more about your approach. We are keen to hear how you build staff expertise and how you check how well your approach is working. This discussion may happen as part of other meetings, for example when speaking to the special educational needs coordinator or English leader. Further activities might include lesson visits to see the support in action and discussions with staff who deliver support and the pupils who receive it.

subject deep dives - in all subject deep dives, we will be alert to pupils' reading and the impact it has on them being able to access the subject curriculum. We may well follow this up in our discussions with staff and pupils.

Where can I find out more information?
We have created a SlideShare pack with some points that leaders may want to consider regarding assessment, curriculum and pedagogy for weaker readers. These messages are based on what research and inspection practice tell us about indicators of quality.

The Department for Education's reading framework also has a useful section (section 4) on older pupils who need to catch up with reading.

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Gill Jones, Deputy Director, Schools and Early Education

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Supporting secondary school pupils who are behind with reading

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Gill Jones, our Deputy Director, Schools and Early Education, on reading in secondary schools and supporting weaker readers. Since we have been back to inspecting, many of you have asked us about how we're inspecting reading in secondary schools. You ...

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JCQ: An introduction to becoming an examiner or marker

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JCQ: An introduction to becoming an examiner or marker

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Exam boards are offering an opportunity to join examiner teams in several subjects for this summer’s exam season. Examining gives you a chance to network with other subject experts, gain insight into the latest approaches to how your subject is assessed and earn extra income for approximately three weeks of work.

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Join all the other teachers who help students receive recognition for their learning, and also enable them to progress to the next stage of their development, by becoming an examiner. You'll gain a better understanding of the subject specification and how the examination system works.

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Published: 9th May 2022

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JCQ: Guidance for centres managing exams - June 2022 Series

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JCQ: Guidance for centres managing exams - June 2022 Series

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Published: 29th April 2022

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EMC: Teaching Writing for KS3 – Inspiring Strategies

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EMC: Teaching Writing for KS3 – Inspiring Strategies

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16:15-17:45

18th, 19th & 24th May

Online

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English & Media Centre | EMC CPD Online: Teaching Writing for KS3 - Inspiring Strategies (3-linked twilights online 18.5, 19. | Courses at EMC | CPD & Consultancy

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English and Media Centre (EMC) is an educational charity providing CPD and innovative & award-winning teaching materials to secondary English & Media teachers

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Ofqual: Advance Information for November 2022 examinations

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Ofqual: Advance Information for November 2022 examinations

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Published: 25 April 2022

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Acknowledge by 3 May 2022

Dear Responsible Officer,

I am writing to confirm the date on which you should publish your advance information for the November 2022 exams for GCSE English language and GCSE mathematics.

Requirement to provide advance information

As you are aware, DfE decided, as a matter of policy, that advance information about the focus of the content of exams should be provided for summer 2022 exams for all subjects at GCSE, AS and A level except GCSE English literature, history, ancient history and geography and GCSE, AS and A level art and design. This policy also applies to GCSE English language and GCSE mathematics exams to be taken in November 2022.

In accordance with GCSE 4.4(a)(i), you must publish information in relation to the content that will be assessed in the November 2022 exams for GCSE English language and GCSE mathematics on 27 June 2022.

Yours sincerely,

Julie Swan
Deputy Chief Regulator

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Advance Information for November 2022 examinations

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30th June -10th July 2022

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1-10 JULY 2022

1-10 JULY 2022

Welcome to the Young Norfolk Arts Festival 2022!

With 10 days of performance, theatre, writing, dance, visual arts and creative workshops, by and for young people across Norfolk.

FESTIVAL CALENDAR

THUR 30 JUNE

YNAF 2022 LAUNCH

6-7pm

Norwich Arts Centre

Join us live as we launch this year’s Festival! With music, poetry and dance, curated by our YNA Collective.

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FRI 1 JULY

PRIMARY POETRY SLAM

11am-12.30pm

Norwich Arts Centre

Budding young poets from 4 Norfolk schools will compete to be crowned the best.

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SAT 2 JULY

LOST RIVER STAGE

12.30-3pm & 4.30-6.30pm

Westlegate, Norwich

Showcasing up and coming musicians, bands, dancers, poets and performers from across Norfolk. Part of the Lord Mayor’s Celebration.

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THE DANCE WE MADE

All day

Norwich City Centre Help the TWDM dancers create some new moves and watch the performance come together before your very eyes…

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SUN 3 JULY

NATURE IS OUR HOME WORKSHOP

11.30am-1pm

Sainsbury Centre

Join the YNA Collective for a family friendly workshop inspired by nature and home.

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YOUNG NORFOLK WRITING COMPETITION SHOWCASE

5-6pm

National Centre for Writing

We’ll be announcing the winners of this year’s competition in this very special showcase.

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TUE 5 JULY

FLINT

2.30pm & 7.30pm

The Garage, Norwich

The Garage Theatre Company presents a new play about fifteen year old Lydia who has become obsessed with the work of fellow fifteen year old Greta Thunberg. Leaving her home in a trek spanning nations, Lydia attempts to put right what other generations have done wrong.

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SONGWRITING WORKSHOP WITH JESS MORGAN

4-5pm

Norwich Arts Centre

Develop new song ideas through writing exercises and experiment with the ways that music can support and complement lyrics.

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THUR 7 JULY

SONGWRITING WORKSHOP WITH JESS MORGAN

4-5pm

Norwich Arts Centre

Develop new song ideas through writing exercises and experiment with the ways that music can support and complement lyrics.

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FRI 8 JULY

SONGWRITING WORKSHOP WITH JESS MORGAN

4-5pm

Norwich Arts Centre

Develop new song ideas through writing exercises and experiment with the ways that music can support and complement lyrics.

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SAT 9 JULY

YOUNG VISIONARIES SHOWCASE

3-6pm

Norwich Arts Centre

A showcase of music, art, poetry and spoken word curated and performed by members of Young Visionaries.

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NATURE. CRISIS. DRAMA SYMPOSIUM

10am-7pm

UEA Enterprise Centre

Song of the Reeds: Re-wilding Drama

Part of a two-day symposium exploring the role of the arts in addressing conservation and the climate crisis. Featuring creative contributions from our YNA Collective

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SUN 10 JULY

NATURE. CRISIS. DRAMA SYMPOSIUM

10am-5pm

Norwich Arts Centre

DODO, PHOENIX, BUTTERFLY: Dramatising the Climate Crisis

Part of a two-day symposium exploring the role of the arts in addressing conservation and the climate crisis.

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THE FLOWIN AND GLOWIN FESTIVAL

10.30am-4pm

The Garage, Norwich

The Taverham Community Ambassadors in partnership with The Garage presents a day of celebration to support refugees living with period poverty. Including yoga, comedy, music, refreshments and more!

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THROUGHOUT THE FESTIVAL

POSTCARD POEMS

Launches Fri 1 July across Norwich and online

School students across Norfolk and Norwich have been invited to celebrate Norwich using bite size poetry. You will be able to find the poems exhibited in windows across the city. Coordinated by the Norwich 2040 Local Cultural Education Partnership.

Find out more

YNA COLLECTIVE NEST PODCAST

Launching online from 26 June

What does it take to pursue a creative path? The Young Norfolk Arts Collective Nest is a mini-series podcast hosted by Collective member Amelia Long, her creative (and curious…) chats will capture the lives of each guest and how they got to where they are now.

Find out more

GROWTH

Screening as part of Nature. Crisis. Drama and online

Growth is an experimental dance film exploring the cycles nature goes through and how they intertwine with rural and urban environments. Involving choreography and editing from the collective, with sound design and conceptual art from local young creatives, the piece aims to take a fresh look on nature and how we experience it in our everyday lives.

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FESTIVAL MAP

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

FESTIVAL FRINGE

Supported by

SUPPORT US

Young Norfolk Arts Trust is a charity which uses all its income to provide life changing opportunities for young people across Norfolk. Every project and activity is offered to children and young people for free, including our yearly festival programme. Support us by donating what you can…

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Growth is an experimental dance film exploring the cycles nature goes through and how they intertwine with rural and urban environments. Involving choreography and editing from the collective, with sound design and conceptual art from local young creatives, the piece aims to take a fresh look on nature and how we experience it in our everyday lives.

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DfE: Review of post-16 qualifications at level 2 and below in England Consultation

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DfE: Review of post-16 qualifications at level 2 and below in England Consultation

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Deadline: 27 April 2022

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Overview

We're seeking views on proposals to reform technical and academic qualifications at level 2 and below, exclusing GCSEs, Functional Skills Qualifications and Essential Digital Skills Qualifications.

Why your views matter

This consultation follows the call for evidence on level 2 and below study and qualifications published on 10 November 2020.

The post-16 review aims to create a streamlined qualifications landscape with clear choices for young people and adults, and to ensure that every qualification approved for public funding has a distinct purpose, is high quality, and supports students to progress to positive outcomes.

This consultation seeks views on the proposed groups of qualifications that should receive public funding at level 2 and below.

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Review of post-16 qualifications at level 2 and below in England

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We're seeking views on proposals to reform technical and academic qualifications at level 2 and below, exclusing GCSEs, Functional Skills Qualifications and Essential Digital Skills Qualifications. This consultation follows the call for evidence on level 2 and below study and qualifications published on 10 November 2020.

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Ofqual: Updated with additional information for teachers on collecting evidence for use in contingency arrangements

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Ofqual: Updated with additional information for teachers on collecting evidence for use in contingency arrangements

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Updated: 25th March 2022

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Recent updates regarding regulated qualifications.

Delivery of vocational and technical qualification results for 2024 and beyond

Ofqual has announced arrangements to ensure the timely delivery of results for students taking vocational and technical qualifications in 2024 and beyond.

Dr Jo Saxton, Chief Regulator, has also written to all schools and colleges in England to explain the arrangements in more detail, and how they differ from those implemented in 2023.

GCSE, Level 1, Level 1/2 and Level 2 vocational and technical qualifications results, summer 2023

Ofqual has published 2 guides to today's (24 August 2023) exam results:

These guides summarise the headline figures across England and reflect Ofqual's decision to return to pre-pandemic grading this summer.

You can explore the results in more depth - including breakdowns by centre type, subject and region - using Ofqual's interactive visualisations.

Ofqual has also summarised the key data in infographics for GCSE and Level 1, Level 1/2 and Level 2 VTQ.

AS, A level and Level 3 vocational and technical qualifications results, summer 2023

Ofqual has published 2 guides to today's (17 August 2023) exam results:

These guides summarise the headline figures across England and reflect Ofqual's decision to return to pre-pandemic grading this summer.

You can explore the results in more depth - including breakdowns by centre type, subject and region - using Ofqual's interactive visualisations.

Ofqual has also summarised the key data in infographics for AS and A level and Level 3 VTQ.

Industrial action

The Department for Education has issued guidance that recommends that schools should prioritise the running of examinations and assessments on any strike days, and should review their contingency plans to enable this to happen.

Schools, colleges and other exam centres should speak to the relevant awarding organisations if they are expecting any disruption that might affect the sitting of exams and assessments.

Replacement certificates

Ofqual does not hold copies of your certificates - we can't tell you your grade or provide replacements. Certificates are held by the exam board you sat your qualification with. If you don't know which exam board you took your qualification with, ask your school. If your school don't know you will need to ask each exam board to do a search for you - they will charge you for this.

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EEF: Teaching Reading Developing Fluency - Podcast

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EEF: Teaching Reading Developing Fluency - Podcast

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Published: 23rd February 2022

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New episode of ‘Evidence into Action’ – “Teaching reading: Developing…

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The EEF’s podcast, Evidence into Action, returns with a brand new episode.

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Oxford Smart Curriculum Service for Y7-11

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Oxford Smart Curriculum Service for Y7-11

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Oxford Smart brings together curriculum, resources, assessment, next steps and CPD.

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When everything connects, anything is possible

The Oxford Smart Curriculum Service brings coherence across the entire secondary curriculum, using data, evidence and insight to empower students and help them achieve their full potential.

What makes Oxford Smart different?

Oxford Smart brings together curriculum, resources, assessment, next steps and CPD. It uses a powerful flow of information and intelligent insight to keep evolving and learn more about what works and what could work better - getting even Smarter.

What effect does this have?

This frees up your time to focus on what matters: inspiring your students to develop a love of learning, sparking awe and wonder in the classroom and ensuring that all your learners receive a personalised education.

For senior leaders: A complete and coherent curriculum service which uses the most up-to-date evidence and data to monitor your school's performance. It gives you the insights you need to help guide you on driving motivation and success in your school.

For teachers: A time-saving solution, giving you everything you need in one place, and empowering you to plan, teach, assess and monitor the progress of all your students effectively.

For students: An intelligent and insightful resource which motivates your students and makes them feel empowered, by helping them to understand how they are performing and what they need to do next in order to progress.

Search results

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Oxford Smart Curriculum Service | Oxford University Press

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A uniquely coherent and responsive Curriculum Service that uses real-time data, Oxford Smart empowers students to achieve their full potential.

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Updated: February 2022

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16 to 18 accountability headline measures

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Guide for schools, colleges and local authorities on how the 16 to 18 performance measures are calculated.

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Secondary accountability measures Guidance 2022

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Secondary accountability measures Guidance 2022

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Updated: February 2022

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Information for schools about secondary school accountability measures, including Progress 8 and Attainment 8.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This document explains how secondary accountability measures are calculated. It also gives more information about announced policies that apply to accountability measures for the 2022 to 2023 academic year.

This information is for:

senior leaders working in secondary schools and trusts, including maintained schools, academies, alternative provision, free schools and special schools

independent schools or colleges with 14 to 16 provision seeking information on secondary accountability measures

governors and trustees

local authorities

It applies to:

local-authority-maintained schools

academies

free schools

further education colleges with 14 to 16 provision

Find school and college performance data.

KS4 qualifications, discount codes and point scores for the school performance measures.

A short video explaining Progress 8 is also available:
Progress 8 video

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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Secondary accountability measures (including Progress 8 and Attainment 8)

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Information for schools about secondary school accountability measures, including Progress 8 and Attainment 8.

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AQA: GCSE English Curriculum Conversations and Diversity Part 1 - Finding an inclusive pathway to "A Christmas Carol"

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AQA: GCSE English Curriculum Conversations and Diversity Part 1 - Finding an inclusive pathway to "A Christmas Carol"

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16:00-17:30
15th or 24th or 30th March 2022
Online

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Building foundational knowledge at KS3 doesn’t and ought not be restricted to the usual tropes about Victorian literature or potted Jacobean history.

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AQA: Online On-screen GCSE English pilot

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AQA: Online On-screen GCSE English pilot

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Published: 4th Jan 2022

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Up to 2,500 students from 100 schools and colleges will take part in the trials including pilots in GCSE English, maths and science. The trial will also include adaptive - or 'smart' - assessments that adjust in difficulty as students progress through the test.

The online GCSE trials won't replace the actual GCSE (and A-level) exams that students will take this year, which they will sit in the current pen and paper format.

We're also carrying out a full programme of research on our trials to inform the regulator and the wider industry and help make digital assessment a reality.

Colin Hughes, AQA's CEO, said:

"Digital assessment is only a matter of time, and, as the largest exam board, we at AQA are determined to play a key role in making it a success. We strongly believe there are real benefits, for learners and teachers.

"Teachers and students are emerging from the pandemic having learnt a huge amount about online learning, and how it can be best delivered. They are now wondering when digital assessment will follow: heads are asking us not whether it's going to happen, but when. Digital assessment can help better prepare students for future learning and work settings, and deliver a more personalised experience. It can even enable improved fairness, along with richer data on learning and achievement, and potentially faster accurate marking.

"Moreover, the pandemic has highlighted the need for resilience in the system which digital can also help provide."

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AQA to launch major on-screen assessment pilot

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Up to 2,500 students from 100 schools and colleges will take part in the trials including pilots in GCSE English, maths and science. The trial will also include adaptive - or 'smart' - assessments that adjust in difficulty as students progress through the test.

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AQA Update - Using November Papers as Mocks

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AQA Update - Using November Papers as Mocks

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Ofqual: Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

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Ofqual: Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

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Published: 7th February 2022

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Overview of the support being provided for each qualification for students taking GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

Applies to England

Additional support this year

A package of support has been put in place for students taking GCSE, AS and A level qualifications in summer 2022. It is intended to make sure that we are being as fair as possible to students given the disruption they have experienced, and many continue to face, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Part of the changes includes more generous grading this year to provide a safety net for students who may have been impacted by the pandemic.

Advance information might look different for different subjects because of how they are structured and assessed, but as far as possible the exam boards have made sure the approaches within a subject are the same.

These changes apply in England and to Ofqual regulated qualifications taken elsewhere.

Exam boards have published specific information about the changes for each qualification they offer, you should check their websites for more information:

GCSEs

Where we list changes for subjects in 2022, we only list what has changed, not what is remaining the same.

Ancient history, GCSE

Art and design, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Astronomy, GCSE

Biblical Hebrew, GCSE

Biology, GCSE

Business, GCSE

Chemistry, GCSE

Citizenship studies, GCSE

Classical civilisation, GCSE

Classical Greek, GCSE

Combined science, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. A revised equation sheet has been provided for teaching and learning.

3. A clean copy of the equation sheet will be provided for students in the exams.

4. Teachers can deliver practical work by demonstration.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Computer science, GCSE

Dance, GCSE

Design and technology, GCSE

Drama, GCSE

Economics, GCSE

Electronics, GCSE

Engineering, GCSE

English language, GCSE

English literature, GCSE

Film studies, GCSE

Food preparation and nutrition, GCSE

Geography, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Exams will cover less content than usual.

2. In the exams there will be a choice of content on which students must answer questions.

3. There will be no questions on the student's fieldwork experience.

4. Fieldwork requirements have been relaxed.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Geology, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

History, GCSE

Latin, GCSE

Maths, GCSE

Modern foreign languages, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Music, GCSE

Physical education, GCSE

Physical education (short course), GCSE

Physics, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. A revised equation sheet has been provided for teaching and learning.

3. A clean copy of the equation sheet will be provided for students in the exams.

4. Teachers can deliver practical work by demonstration.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Psychology, GCSE

Religious studies, GCSE

Religious studies (short course), GCSE

Sociology, GCSE

Statistics, GCSE

AS and A levels

Accounting, AS and A level

Ancient history, AS and A level

Art and design, AS and A level

Biblical Hebrew, A level

Biology, AS

Biology, A level

Business, AS and A level

Chemistry, AS

Chemistry, A level

Classical civilisation, AS and A level

Classical Greek, AS and A level

Computer science, AS and A level

Dance, A level

Design and technology, AS and A level

Drama and theatre, AS and A level

Economics, AS and A level

Electronics, AS and A level

English language, AS and A level

English language and literature, AS and A level

English literature, AS and A level

Environmental science, A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Film studies, AS and A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Further maths, AS and A level

Geography, AS

Geography, A level

Geology, AS

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Geology, A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

History, AS and A level

History of art, AS and A level

Latin, AS and A level

Law, AS and A level

Maths, AS and A level

Modern foreign languages, AS and A level

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

AQA - Bengali (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - French, A level

AQA - French, AS

AQA - German, A level

AQA - German, AS

AQA - Modern Hebrew (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Panjabi (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Polish (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Spanish, A level

AQA - Spanish, AS

Pearson Edexcel - Arabic (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Chinese (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - French (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - German (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Greek (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Gujarati (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Italian (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Japanese (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Persian (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Portuguese (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Russian (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Spanish (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Turkish (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Urdu (2018), A level

WJEC Eduqas - French, AS and A level

WJEC Eduqas - German, AS and A level

WJEC Eduqas - Spanish, AS and A level

Music, AS and A level

Music technology, AS and A level

Philosophy, AS and A level

Physical education, AS and A level

Physics, AS

Physics, A level

Politics, AS and A level

Psychology, AS and A level

Religious studies, AS and A level

Sociology, AS and A level

Statistics, AS and A level

Background to these changes

Full details of the changes we have made to our rules can be found in the decisions for the consultations ' Proposed changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022' and ' Arrangements for non-exam assessment for qualifications in 2022 '.

Vocational and technical qualifications

Where needed, [awarding organisations are allowed to make adaptations to assessments and qualifications due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Schools and colleges have already been told what these changes will be, and you should speak to your school or college for further details about your specific qualification.

Accessible version of diagram

Generous grading

Exams will be graded more generously this year providing a safety net for students.

Changes to coursework

Non-exam assessment and fieldwork requirements adjusted, with flexibility in some subjects.

Optional content

There will be less content or fewer topics for students to learn in some GCSEs.

Support materials

Students will get formulae and equation sheets in some exams and won't have to memorise as much.

Advance information

Exam boards will give information on the focus of exams for most subjects to help students revise.

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Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

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Overview of the support being provided for each qualification for students taking GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

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JCQ:  Summer 2022 Exams and Advance Information 

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JCQ:  Summer 2022 Exams and Advance Information 

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Updated: 7th February 2022

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Changes to 2022 Examinations English GCSE and A_Levels

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Changes to 2022 Examinations English GCSE and A_Levels

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Changes to 2022 Examinations English GCSE and A_Levels

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JCQ:  List of schools, colleges and other exam centres that will accept private candidate entries

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JCQ:  List of schools, colleges and other exam centres that will accept private candidate entries

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Published: 19th January 2022

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This list has been updated to show centres who are willing to accept entries for the Summer 2022 examination series

Simply enter your postcode, select the type of qualification and the exam board you wish to enter with, and click Submit. You can then filter your results by specific subject or by type of qualification using the drop-down and clicking Submit again. Results will be listed by proximity to the postcode you enter. You can then click on a centre for further information, the deadline for applications and contact details.

This list has been updated to show centres who are willing to accept entries for the Summer 2022 examination series.

Please be aware that centres may still accept private candidates even if they are not listed on the JCQ website. Appearing on the list is not a prerequisite for supporting private candidates.

Enter your postcode, select your filters and click submit to see centres near you

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Private Candidates - JCQ Joint Council for Qualifications

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This list has been updated to show centres who are willing to accept entries for the Summer 2022 examination series Simply enter your postcode, select the type of qualification and the exam board you wish to enter with, and click Submit. You can then filter your results by specific subject or by type of qualification ...

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NCC: ROAD SAFETY - KS3 Sessions Available

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NCC: ROAD SAFETY - KS3 Sessions Available

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The sessions link to Key Stage 3 Drama and the English National Curriculum

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Ofqual Dr Jo Saxton: Speech at Sixth Form Colleges Association Conference

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Ofqual Dr Jo Saxton: Speech at Sixth Form Colleges Association Conference

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19th January 2022
Sets out the support for students taking exams and assessments this year, including advance information and a fair approach to grading

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Good morning, everyone. Bill: thank you so much for inviting me. I'm thrilled to be with you, in spirit if not in person.

I first met Bill in something like 2008. I went to see him in his office somewhere high up in Millbank tower. It had the most stunning view across south Westminster. Bill deployed me as a literacy consultant, and not long after, I found myself in a particularly tough new academy in the East Midlands. At that time, challenging educational circumstances on the ground did not include providing and complying with public health measures, and it did not include devising and determining high stakes assessments on top of everything else. Your response to the scale and pace of the change required by the pandemic in the last 2 years is simply breath-taking-more so than any view.

Let me give a sense of scale. Thanks to your commitment and efforts, and those of many thousands of other sector colleagues, despite exams being cancelled, last year 1.2 million students received grades for GCSE, AS and A levels. You, and staff at schools and exam centres, submitted 5.7 million Teacher Assessed Grades for students in England last summer. That includes over 750,000 A level TAGs.

And, in the spring and summer of 2021 alone, thanks again to your efforts, awarding organisations were able to issue over 1 million qualification results to students taking Functional Skills qualifications, Core Maths, International Baccalaureate diplomas, Cambridge Pre-Us, Applied Generals, Tech Levels and others.

2022 is still very young, yet as at today, over 500 regulated assessments and exams have taken place, that's 480,000 entries, or 89% of the January series will have been undertaken, which is extraordinary, given the pressures of the Omicron variant. Once again, in very large part because you have adapted staffing, prioritisation and invigilation, and many of you will have even reorganised your facilities to enable COVID-safe exam sittings to go ahead.

None of us would have chosen this turn of events, and whilst media commentators are right that it has shown the extraordinary purpose, commitment, drive and dedication of those who work in colleges, sixth forms and schools - for which I, and Ofqual of course applaud you - I think there is a bigger point here, and it is about adaptation.

As Darwin and Wallace posited in the 1890s, it is the ability of a species to adapt to its environment that determines its success. The versatility you have all shown over the past 2 years - and the scale of change to qualification and assessment policy and practice that you have realised - must surely exceed that of any generation of educators, certainly in recent history.

And as you know, there are more novel and important adaptations to come, in the form of advance information next month, together with a measured approach to ensure fair grading in the summer. I want to talk to you now about both of these; how they were conceived; why I believe they will help your students, and why they will mark an important staging post in our move back towards normality.

Advance Information

The first point I want to make about advance information is that it's not something we would have contemplated in 'normal times'. In fact, we have gone to great lengths - the whole qualification system has gone to great lengths traditionally - through Ofqual's regulations to reduce the risk of any student or teacher knowing in advance the focus of any exam paper. But we wanted a way to make the exam experience less daunting for students, while also preserving the integrity of the content coverage, as well as preserving the integrity of the assessments themselves.

The whole point is to provide as universal as possible a revision aid for students. And this, combined with the anticipation of a difficult winter, is how policymakers arrived at the 7 February publication date. Any earlier, and content coverage would have been affected; any later and it comes too late in the day for revision to be effective, too late to allow you to recap and review where necessary.

Obviously this is the first time this innovative approach has been taken, and 2022 exam papers were not designed with the publication of advance information in mind. I've no doubt that some people will feel we haven't gone far enough, and others will feel we have gone too far. But the people who matter to me the most are the students - and my sincere hope is that - with guidance from you - they will be able to benefit from the information being shared.

Advance Information is novel for everyone in the exam system. Exam boards have developed it for almost every subject. They've worked at pace to do so in the interests of students. They have done their absolute level best to deliver focused aids, without revealing the questions, and you can imagine that's definitely an art rather than a science. If they'd gone too close to revealing the questions it would have undermined exams and turned them into short-term memory tests rather than true measures of what students have learned, know, understand and can do.

There has been some commentary already about whether advance information will mainly benefit more able students because it might support them to revise for the higher tariff questions.

Of course, much of the advance information gives a steer on how to revise for higher tariff questions, although not all of it.

Bluntly, to focus advance information on low tariff questions would be nonsensical. It would be silly to publish a document that says something like; you will be asked to identify the year in which the Versailles Treaty was signed, or the year in which Magna Carta was signed. Clearly, at that point, the exam would stop being an exam.

But supporting students to revise for higher tariff questions does not mean that advance information will only support the most able students. Higher tariff doesn't necessarily mean harder content. We know that candidates from across all abilities and demographics gain marks across an exam paper and not only in the low tariff questions. And we hope that the benefit of advance information will mean that students who suffered the most disruption, or those who are less able, may gain confidence to tackle elements of a paper that they might previously not have felt confident to try.

And just as much as advance information is a new phenomenon for the boards and for colleges and schools, so is it new for us at Ofqual. It presents us, as the regulator, with a novel and interesting challenge. We have created a regulatory framework for exceptional measures that would, quite simply, have been unthinkable in a normal exam context. The pandemic has required a range of regulatory reprioritisation and adaptation in the same way that you have had to reprioritise and adapt your normal practice. I am clear that our regulations must align to the interests of students - given the impact on their education experience these past 2 years. So, what does this novel situation look like from the regulator's point of view?

First, the tenet must hold true that Ofqual does not see exams before they are sat. That doesn't change this year. Each year the number of people that know the content of live papers before they are sat is very tightly controlled by exam boards, and that's right. That's key to fairness for students, and important to minimise the risk of any leaks. The exam boards are accountable to Ofqual for the quality and security of their papers. And this year they are also accountable to us for the accurate and careful introduction of advance information.

So, our approach has been about putting in place principles to ensure that advance information secures the interests of students and we've set the right regulations to enable that.

In practical terms, that means that we have worked with subject specialists and our assessment design team, and the boards to agree over 300 specifications how the advance information will work. You get a sense of what a dramatic innovation that is for us to have adapted our rules to allow this is, if you recall the outrage some years ago when a broadsheet newspaper sent a journalist to attend an exam board event, at which hints about the focus of certain questions were allegedly provided in this meeting. The scale of that shock really puts this year's innovation into perspective.

I see it as a really exciting adaptation. We will, of course, be monitoring its effect closely. Shortly after publication, we will be reaching out to hear your - and your students' - views on how it delivers the intentions. We will do so again once exams have been sat. There is much to learn from what will happen in the coming months and so we will expand a wide-ranging research programme to evaluate the impact of advance information to inform thinking for future years. But I ask that when you receive the advance information, please do remember the positive intentions behind it - it represents a unique coming together of everybody across the qualification system to act in the interests of students, to provide them with support whilst also enabling the re-instatement of the tried, tested - and trusted - approaches to the awarding of qualifications.

Grading

Our approach to advance information was informed and driven by the views of you and of your students - we heard from teachers who were anxious about their students' ability to cover the full range of subject content. We heard from students about their varied experiences of the pandemic.

This same listening approach was applied to how we've tackled grading too.

It was clear talking to students and their parents, that they wanted to get back to normal, but not to do so in one single leap.

At the end of September, we announced our resulting approach to grading next summer, one intended to be as fair as possible to 2022 students. Fair, because it will provide a safety net to students who have been so affected by the pandemic. Fair, because it will iron out some of the anomalies that have come into play through the non-examined years. Fair because it will secure consistency between subjects and between exam boards. Let's remember too that this year marks the return to exams - the way the qualifications have been designed - with all students assessed in the same way, marked, and graded consistently and externally to the same standard. That, along with advance information which itself provides unprecedented support, represents an unprecedented package of aid.

So, 2022 is a transition year to reflect the realities of the pandemic and that students' education does continue to be disrupted. Remember the package as a whole - it works together as a complete aid and support. You need to not try to pick apart individual elements of it.

The results in 2020 and 2021, when exams were cancelled, were clearly out of line with the results of previous exam years. As we ourselves learn to adapt to living with COVID-19, it is right that we take steps to resume arrangements that are coherent with those from pre-pandemic years. We must do it gradually; and this underpins our so-called midpoint approach.

Let me be clear, there is no single statistical midpoint. There will be no standardisation model to determine students' grades. Grade boundaries for each specification will be set by senior examiners, critically, only after they have reviewed the work produced by students. As a check and balance, of course exam boards will use other evidence, including statistical evidence of how students were graded when exams were last taken, so that grade boundaries do, indeed, deliver this generous midpoint approach. That means you can assure your students and their families that, as regulator, we are doing everything we can to secure approaches to standards which are fair, whichever exam board a student is working with, whichever subject. As regulator, one of the key things that we do is review the results. I started to experience this process for the autumn series. Results across every subject in every board are reviewed in great detail and Ofqual checks the appropriate processes have been followed; considers anomalies with exam boards, before results are issued.

Because the process of determining grade boundaries must follow the act of script marking, which of course follows candidates sitting papers, what we can't tell you is precisely what these arrangements mean for results. But I can assure you that our grading requirements will provide a safety-net for this cohort and it is likely to mean that results overall are higher than in normal years.

Talking to UCAS, and to employers, they wanted to see grades that were closer to the currency they were used to. They also recognised it was not right to implement this in one go. We've heard concerns that repeating 2021 outcomes would likely lead to universities devising alternative entry arrangements and raising the grades on which offers are based. Contributing to a system where that might happen would not actually increase opportunity for students in practice.

Vocational and Technical Qualifications grading

Coherence, parity if you will, between vocational and technical qualifications and general qualifications is really important - and something that the regulatory framework devised during the pandemic better supports than pre-pandemic arrangements.

Ofqual's specific regulatory framework for awarding vocational qualifications in the pandemic requires awarding organisations to secure, as far as possible, that VTQ students are neither disadvantaged nor advantaged compared with their GCSE and A level peers. That principle has not existed in legal regulatory terms before.

Boards will take account, therefore, of the approach for GCSEs and A levels when setting standards in their own vocational and technical qualifications. We, as regulator, will closely monitor the arrangements and look at what awarding organisations are putting in place for their qualifications to ensure they are delivered fairly and are appropriately adapted in the interests of students.

Contingencies

I am really aware that some of you, and your students, would dearly like us to switch off contingencies given the government's confidence and commitment to exams going ahead. But I'm afraid that the need to collect evidence of student performance in case exams don't take place is important. It won't surprise you that I can't agree to turn off those arrangements. Not, of course, that it's entirely in my gift.

As well as showing us your incredible resilience and ability to adapt, the pandemic has also been unpredictable. That's the one predictable thing about the pandemic; it's continually surprised us and caught us off guard. It wouldn't be doing justice to you and your students to stand down contingencies at this time.

I am, nonetheless, hugely sympathetic to how challenging operationally and emotionally for you and your students it is to ride both these horses, but there are no plans to turn off Plan B.

Ofqual: expert and human, regulating in the interests of students

I promised Bill to leave time to take your questions, but before doing that, please allow me to share a little bit about myself, given this is my first chance to speak to you.

I am here today as Chief Regulator, but I am above everything else, like you, an educator.

I thrive in challenging environments - and actually anyone who knows me will tell you that I actively seek them out. Whether that is leading schools in disadvantaged communities, working in central government in the eye of a pandemic, or coming to Ofqual as we move further through the demands and opportunities the pandemic has forced.

For me, there is nothing more important in education than young people getting the qualifications they need to unlock their future. This is something I live and breathe.

I live and breathe it because that was precisely my own experience.

My qualifications opened all sorts of doors for me - including studying and working in six different countries around the world, and I want everyone to have those same opportunities - but especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

That's why I am here. Every day I think about those students - those with caring responsibilities at home; those who have a fractured or chaotic home life; those whose families are working second, or even third jobs, to keep their homes warm and food on the table - I want qualifications to work for them in the best way possible, to open doors for them.

These are the students who I've started to talk about as being my compass. Their interests are my true north. And this true north breathes life into Ofqual's statutory objectives.

What flows from that, is an Ofqual which is expert, absolutely, but an Ofqual that must also be human. That means listening - to students of all ages, but also to you, those who teach and lead them. You who make the longlist of qualification choices for them, you who support them as they work towards securing qualifications that have the potential to change their lives.

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be spending time with colleges, sixth forms, schools, different education and training providers in every region of England, so that I can listen to you, to students, to governors and to parents. I want to hear directly about the challenges faced in the qualification system. It's only by hearing and responding to these challenges that I and we at Ofqual can improve how assessment and qualifications work. Some of these things that we'll hear about, Ofqual can do something about. There are others that won't be in our gift, but we can do our best to play our active part in the system which we regulate on behalf of students.

I've so far been lucky enough to visit some colleges in the West Midlands and some schools in the south west. Some of this listening work will happen virtually so that the pandemic doesn't slow us down, nor interrupt your day too much.

What's important is that the insights we gain from you, your students and their families, inform our decisions. To those who think accessible qualifications are dumbing down, I say there is no better illustration of the importance of the power of the functional skills curriculum and those qualifications that enable entry into employment, than what I saw at Hereward College. There I met Sophie and Akram who were developing and practising functional skills in the college's hospitality training centre. Graduates of the college dramatically exceed national averages of employability for those with SEND, and those 2 were well on their way to being able to be employed by a national hotel chain. I am proud that one of the first decisions taken during my tenure as Chief Regulator was to publish a consultation on improving the accessibility of assessments, and another decision on the regulation of reformed digital functional skills. These are live examples of acting in the interest of students.

From visiting Walsall College, I gained real insight into how working with a range of awarding organisations can really meet a college's needs. The Walsall team shared how, while the larger AOs (awarding organisations) have the breadth and can deliver at scale, it is often the smaller ones - many of whom offer the end-point assessments for apprentices - who offer a personal and flexible approach to assessment bookings, which is really useful to help provide confidence and support, and take an element of stress out of the system as apprentices get closer to being ready to take their end point assessment. Accordingly, we will continue to be nuanced in our consideration of applications by organisations seeking entry to this sector and to our recognition. Assessment and organisational capacity must be balanced with a student-centric culture.

Conclusion

Listening to and acting in the interests of students is the true north for everything I will do as Chief Regulator. The context we must navigate together is one of adaptation and innovation, crystalised by the pandemic. But it also a time of reform, already in train pre-pandemic - T Levels, apprenticeship expansion, among others.

I have not even touched on the possibilities afforded by technology and other innovations. I am convinced of the opportunities they present to improve assessments for students and apprentices - to make them more accessible, more valid, more reliable. We will work together on these in the coming years. We need to ensure that both what we assess and how we assess it stays relevant to needs of employers and society at large.

We share, I have no doubt, a commitment to ensuring that qualification evolution is squarely in the interests of students and apprentices. I am hugely grateful to teachers in colleges, schools and training providers across the country, for the vital part they will play as we navigate the way forward together.

Thank you.

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Dr Jo Saxton at Sixth Form Colleges Association conference

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The Chief Regulator sets out the support for students taking exams and assessments this year, including advance information and a fair approach to grading.

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NCW: Young Norfolk Writing Competition 2022

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NCW: Young Norfolk Writing Competition 2022

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Years 7-13
Deadline: 22nd April 2022

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Love writing? Aged 11-18? We're looking for the freshest, boldest words in Norfolk.

Send us stories, lyrics, narrative for games, graphic stories, poems, spoken word, scripts, podcasts, plays, articles, journalism or essays!

You can enter up to six pieces of writing, and audio entries are also welcome across all entries (except graphic novels).

Are you a teacher? Tips for involving the YNWC in the classroom and your work with young people

Individual prizes

Mentoring opportunities

The chance to have your work performed and published

Word limits

The word limits are as follows:

Stories, lyrics, narrative for games, poems, spoken word, scripts, podcasts, plays, articles, journalism, essays - one side of A4 or up to 40 lines

Graphic stories - up to four sides of A4

Audio entries can be up to five minutes in length.

How to enter

To enter, you must be aged 11 to 18 and be living and/or studying in Norfolk, or your school or home address has an NR postcode.

You can enter up to six pieces of writing, and audio entries are also welcome across all entries (except graphic novels).
Entries for the 2021 competition are now closed.
Got a question? Please email becky@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk
Young Norfolk Writing Competition is a partnership between Arts Council England, Norfolk County Council, Norwich UNESCO City of Literature, Young Norfolk Arts and the National Centre for Writing.

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Love writing? Aged 11-18? We're looking for the freshest, boldest words in Norfolk. Send us stories, lyrics, narrative for games, graphic stories, poems, spoken word, scripts, podcasts, plays, articles, journalism or essays! You can enter up to six pieces of writing, and audio entries are also welcome across all entries (except graphic novels).

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EEF: Training teachers to deliver a knowledge-rich Key Stage 3 English curriculum

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EEF: Training teachers to deliver a knowledge-rich Key Stage 3 English curriculum

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Evaluation report published: Spring 2022.

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Training teachers to deliver a knowledge-rich Key Stage 3 English curriculum

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NCW: Writing interesting characters - Year 9-12

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NCW: Writing interesting characters - Year 9-12

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E-leanring

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Cara Marks is a writer, editor and educator. She earned her MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, and is currently studying at Queen's University Belfast for her creative-critical PhD on Food, Literature and Empathy. Her fiction has been long-listed for the 2019 Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Competition, the 2017 Australian Book Review's Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, and the 2016 Mogford Food and Drink Writing Prize. Her work has also appeared in the Commonwealth Writers' literary journal adda, and elsewhere. She teaches creative writing workshops, lessons and courses for adults and young people.

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Writing interesting characters for 13-17 year olds

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Cara Marks is a writer, editor and educator. She earned her MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, and is currently studying at Queen's University Belfast for her creative-critical PhD on Food, Literature and Empathy. Her fiction has been long-listed for the 2019 Carter V.

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Year 9-12
E-learning

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I am a graduate of the MFA in Creative Writing at UEA. I am a short story writer from Barnsley and love what language and words can do! My stories have been published in the UK and abroad: I was shortlisted for The Commonwealth Short Story Prize and The UEA New Forms Award; won the award for best new writer with US journal Glimmertrain; and I have been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize and once for the Best of the Net award. I live in Norwich and love making things, exploring new places, and teaching creative writing!

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I am a graduate of the MFA in Creative Writing at UEA. I am a short story writer from Barnsley and love what language and words can do!

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NLT: National Reading Champions Quiz 2022

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NLT: National Reading Champions Quiz 2022

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Years 7-9
Deadline: 31st January 2022

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The NRCQ, generously supported by ALCS, provides a fantastic opportunity for students to enjoy a book quiz with their peers and compete with other schools in their region. The heats will run online throughout March with the winning teams from 20 regions going forward to a star-studded, national final on 25 May in London where one team will be crowned National Reading Champions 2022.

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National Reading Champions Quiz | National Literacy Trust

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The NRCQ, generously supported by ALCS, provides a fantastic opportunity for students to enjoy a book quiz with their peers and compete with other schools in their region. The heats will run online throughout March with the winning teams from 20 regions going forward to a star-studded, national final on 25 May in London where one team will be crowned National Reading Champions 2022.

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Ofqual: Letter to schools - Advance information

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Ofqual: Letter to schools - Advance information

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Published: 9th December 2021

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I write to update you about the nature of the advance information, on the content of some GCSE, AS and A level exams, which the exam boards will be publishing by 7 February 2022.

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Ofqual: The National Reference Test Results in 2021

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Ofqual: The National Reference Test Results in 2021

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Published: 9th December 2021

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Documents relating to the 2021 National Reference Test.

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JCQ: Advance Information for Qualifications in 2022

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JCQ: Advance Information for Qualifications in 2022

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East Norfolk College - English Language Conference - Online

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East Norfolk College - English Language Conference - Online

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Year 10&11
14:00-15:30
24th November 2021

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Future and Form: Where do stories come from?  Competition

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Future and Form: Where do stories come from?  Competition

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Deadline: 22nd November 2021

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7th October 2021

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Poetry Live - Join one of our team for live workshops, beamed straight to the classroom! (Streamed Workshop)

These workshops last up to an hour at a time - and, as they can lead to poems on any subject of your choice, they provide a fantastic way of linking poetry to other areas of the curriculum! After being introduced to one of our favourite poems and the subject of theirs, pupils will be guided through a drama activity designed to support them in developing their ideas. Experimenting with rhyme, rhythm and pace, they'll then get the opportunity to choose how to populate their own verses, writing and performing them.

"I wanted to email to thank you for today's inspiring (streamed) workshops. The pupils were all fully engaged through your scientific knowledge and your inclusive poetry collaboration which was both fun and successful. This term I run a poetry club for Year 5 and in today's session we used a random object generator to choose a subject about which to write a clerihew to follow up from your workshop." Clifton High School

"I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Jo for delivering such fantastic, fun and engaging (Poetry) sessions with our children. Jo, you have such a warm, positive manner with the children and they were all engaged and inspired! What a lovely way to end the term and this time learning remotely." Beechwood Prep

If you are interested in booking a workshop day for your school please read our Covid-19 Health and Safety and Booking with Confidence Policy here.
Start your poetry day with a poetry assembly beamed straight to your hall or classroom! Our assemblies can be tailored to meet the theme of your day - please contact us for details.

A Celebration in Rhyme (available in-person)
Working with up to 420 children to create and perform a School Poem in just one day!
A celebration in Rhyme has been developed to help celebrate the stories your pupils love in verse - by writing and performing a collaborative School Poem in just a single day! After a quick assembly sharing our love of poetry and issuing the overall challenge, children will participate in collaborative writing workshops, usually for a year group at a time. Using our unique "RunAround" methodology, KS2 classes will choose the themes and content, creating the lines as they go - with EYFS and KS1 providing the chorus. And the outcome? A beautifully crafted poem extolling the wonder of stories that's unique to your school - and that will get its very first performance at a second, celebratory assembly at the end of the day!

"Thank you so much - it was lovely to work with you. The children all had a wonderful day. According to one of mine it was the BEST day EVER!" Braywood CE First School (Virtual Poetry workshops)

Those pupils who claim they don't like poetry will be writing furiously at the end of this magical poetry workshop. Realising the power of "sound", they'll design and perform two contrasting soundscapes, working to topics/themes of your choice, and making their own compositional choices. We'll then guide them through a structure supporting them in crafting richly descriptive poems that tell both individual and collective stories in which the writers' choices are central.

Duration: Soundscape Poetry is suitable for up to 30 students at a time and requires a minimum of 60 minutes (although we always prefer longer!).

"Each class thoroughly enjoyed the poetry workshops and enjoyed taking an active role in order to create their ideas. Using drama to create an orchestra of sounds for our soundscape poems was fantastic to see and I know that we plan to use this strategy with the children again! Thank you for inspiring the children, so they could create such wonderful ideas!" (Amy Wynn, Windsor CP School)

"The immersion aspect was particularly effective in engaging the pupils and this led to high standards of written poetry. All teachers were full of praise for the workshops and were delighted with the pupil outcomes and engagement. We would love to arrange another visit for next year!" (Head of English, Immanuel and St Andrews School)

What if an old oak tree had the power to make impossible choices? What would it see? Where would it go? What would it choose to be? What if your school gates could share with us the dreams and aspirations they have that could never possibly come true? And what about that well-thumbed book on the library shelf? This highly imaginative and interactive workshop allows students to harvest the fruits of both their own and their classmates' imaginations as they explore notions of empathy to construct some uniquely moving poetry.

Suitable for: EYFS - KS4 / P1 - S5

"The boys all stayed engaged and doing their actions. I did tell Jo at the end how impressed I was since it was virtual and I thought might be more limited. And the boys seem to have really taken to the story. Thanks thanks for giving our WBD a much needed lift!" The Hall School

Every tree starts as a seed - a seed that germinates and flourishes. And every poem starts with an idea - an idea that becomes visible to all as it finds its form in words. In both cases, the journey to fruition is one of organic change. And while neither topiarist nor poet can know what the final outcome will be until it's there in all its glory, they both shape and prune their creations carefully. This enchanting workshop supports children and young people in appreciating how a poem evolves from the pen of its writer - and offers them scaffolds allowing ideas and words to take root and grow. We'll provide them with stimuli to start the process off, enable them to think structurally as they begin to piece their poems together - and emphasise the role that "choice" plays in poetry as they select the words, phrases, similes, metaphors and personifications that best suit their needs

Suitable for: KS1 - KS3 / P2 - S3

Duration: 60minutes - half a day

Exploring (according to age): descriptive writing, connection-making, simile, metaphor, poetic structure.

"The poems look amazing and I am really excited to send these home with the children who took part in the workshop. The day was a huge success and all of the pupils have commented how fantastic it was. Similarly, the teachers really enjoyed the CPD. Thank you again for such a wonderful experience." (Mapledene School)

Just as in real life, it's the choices that Shakespeare's characters make that define their outcomes - for good or for ill. If Macbeth hadn't chosen to listen to the Weird Sisters' prophesies, he may well have won the Scottish throne in his own right - and gone on to rival Duncan as a wise and revered king. If Romeo had resisted the urge to return to the scene of Mercutio's death, he and Juliet may have enjoyed a long and happy marriage, uniting their warring families. And if Prospero hadn't chosen to visit magic in the first place, he and Miranda may never have met Ariel or Caliban - not leaving Milan until the wedding in Carthage! This experiential workshop uses drama techniques to introduce students to characters from a play of your choice and explore both their real story and an alternative narrative - then supports them in crafting Clerihews- four-line, descriptive, rhyming poems, packed with descriptive language.

Suitable for: KS2 - KS4 / P4 - S5

Duration: 60minutes - half a day

Exploring (according to age): Shakespeare's plays, characters and characterisation, poetic structure.

"I'd like to say a huge thank you to Jackson for his delivery of our Shakespeare poetry workshop...the students have really enjoyed learning about Shakespeare in a very active way. All members of staff were very impressed with Jackson and have all commented on how they cannot wait to use some of the techniques to inform their future practice. I'm sure we will be looking to work with you again in the future." (Creative Curriculum Leader, Guardian Angels Catholic Primary School)

Progress towards equality in a diverse world has been made possible by people who made choices that, while sometimes causing personal difficulties, led brighter futures for the rest of us. People like the Bristol Bus Strikers (1963), Tommie Smith (the 1968 Mexico Olympics) and Doreen Lawrence (1993 onwards). The often difficult choices taken by such people changed and shaped the world - and this inspiring workshop celebrates their deeds and legacies through poetry. After engaging pupils in a range of drama-based activities to explore the people and events in question, we'll introduce them to poetic structures including clerihews and cinquains in which to commemorate their feats.

Suitable for: KS2 - KS4 / P4 - S5

Duration: Standing up for Freedom is suitable for up to 30 students at a time and requires a minimum of 60 minutes (although we always prefer longer!).

"Thank you so much for the fabulous workshop this morning. The children really engaged with it and seemed keen to share their ideas with you. It's given us all lots of food for thought!" Clifton High School

A magical route to seeing how poems can be changed and transformed through choral speaking
Some of the best poems written have quite simple messages at their heart - while the power of those messages can be dramatically magnified when they are delivered chorally. This highly engaging workshop sees a group of disparate pupils magically transformed into a chorus, speaking and performing an age-appropriate verse.

Suitable for: EYFS - KS1 / P3 - S3

Exploring: rhyme, rhythm, tone, pace, performance skills

What do we know about Neptune? What's the science of Saturn? And how is our understanding of Uranus? After a warm-up activity exploring some of the characteristics of a range of inhabitants of the universe (including stars and comets as well as planets and black holes), and armed with our FactFiles, pupils will mix metaphors, similes and astronomy as they create - and perform - their own Cosmic Clerihews! These are fun but descriptive four-line poems - and so perfectly suited for the descriptive rigour demanded by science.

Suitable For: KS1 - KS4 / P1 - P7.

Exploring: characteristics of planets, stars, comets and black holes; authorial voice, rhythm, tone and pace.

Duration: Suitable for up to 30 pupils at a time, Messages from Space lasts from 1 to 2 hours, depending on how many classes we're working with.

Seeing at first hand how poems change at the hands of their poets Poetry is all about making choices - about words, about rhymes, about metres. This exciting workshop allows a whole class of EYFS or KS1 pupils to make choices together as they create and perform a collaborative class poem on a theme of your (or their) choice.

Suitable for: EYFS - KS1 / P1 - P3

Exploring: rhyme, rhythm, tone, pace, performance skills
Find out more about National Poetry Day here
A decision to proclaim 21 March as World Poetry Day was adopted during UNESCO's 30th session held in Paris in 1999. In celebrating World Poetry Day, March 21, UNESCO recognizes the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind. Find out more about World Poetry Day here

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Poetry Workshops, Visits and Assemblies for Schools - National Poetry Day 2021

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Poetry Live - Join one of our team for live workshops, beamed straight to the classroom! (Streamed Workshop) These workshops last up to an hour at a time - and, as they can lead to poems on any subject of your choice, they provide a fantastic way of linking poetry to other areas of the curriculum!

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A-level English Literature B: Mark scheme guidance and application

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A-level English Literature B: Mark scheme guidance and application

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E-learning
25 November 2021 to 31 March 2022

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A-level English Literature B: Mark scheme guidance and application

Course summary

This AQA on-demand course will give expert instruction from a senior AQA examiner in how to apply mark schemes to key question types as well as providing the opportunity to take part in marking activities.

As part of our AQA support offer to teachers, you can access the module as many times as you wish until 31 March 2022.

Please note that this course does not contain any information about assessment for Summer 2022.
Your centre number is required to access all AQA courses.
Course reference

LITAOE2 - use this in communications with us.

Course description

Improve your confidence in awarding marks accurately.

Gain a better understanding of mark scheme application.

Identify typical features and characteristics of responses.

Practise and receive feedback on student response examples.

Suitable for

All teachers who need additional guidance in marking A-level English Literature Specification B.

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This AQA on-demand course will give expert instruction from a senior AQA examiner in how to apply mark schemes to key question types as well as providing the opportunity to take part in marking activities. As part of our AQA support offer to teachers, you can access the module as many times as you wish until 31 March 2022.

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A-level English Literature A: Mark scheme guidance and application

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A-level English Literature A: Mark scheme guidance and application

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E-learning
25 November 2021 to 31 March 2022

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A-level English Literature A: Mark scheme guidance and application

Course summary

This AQA on-demand course will give expert instruction from a senior AQA examiner in how to apply mark schemes to key question types as well as providing the opportunity to take part in marking activities.

As part of our AQA support offer to teachers, you can access the module as many times as you wish until 31 March 2022.

Please note that this course does not contain any information about assessment for Summer 2022.
Your centre number is required to access all AQA courses.
Course reference

LITAOE1 - use this in communications with us.

Course description

Improve your confidence in awarding marks accurately.

Gain a better understanding of mark scheme application.

Identify typical features and characteristics of responses.

Practise and receive feedback on student response examples.

Suitable for

All teachers who need additional guidance in marking A-level English Literature Specification A.

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This AQA on-demand course will give expert instruction from a senior AQA examiner in how to apply mark schemes to key question types as well as providing the opportunity to take part in marking activities. As part of our AQA support offer to teachers, you can access the module as many times as you wish until 31 March 2022.

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January-April 2022
Norwich

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Eventbrite - Norwich Research School presents Improving Secondary Literacy - Thursday, 13 January 2022 | Wednesday, 27 April 2022 - Find event and ticket information.

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Blackpool Research School: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools - Online

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Blackpool Research School: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools - Online

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6th December 2021

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twilight event: improving literacy in secondary schools

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twilight event: improving literacy in secondary schools tickets

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TWILIGHT EVENT: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools

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Eventbrite - Blackpool Research School presents TWILIGHT EVENT: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools - Monday, 6 December 2021 - Find event and ticket information.

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AQA: A-LEVEL English Lang & Lit changes for 2022

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AQA: A-LEVEL English Lang & Lit changes for 2022

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Because of the ongoing impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there are some changes to how AS and A-level English Language and Literature will be assessed in 2022.

These changes are for 2022 only.

Advance information on exams will be available

To help students focus their exam preparation, there will be advance information on what exams will cover.

This advance information will be available by 7 February 2022, or sooner if the pandemic worsens.

In the meantime, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) has published guidance for teachers and students on the use of advance information for 2022.

Help and support

For further help and support, please contact us.

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Because of the ongoing impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there are some changes to how AS and A-level English Language and Literature will be assessed in 2022. These changes are for 2022 only. To help students focus their exam preparation, there will be advance information on what exams will cover.

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WJEC: GCSE English Literature changes for 2022

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WJEC: GCSE English Literature changes for 2022

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WJEC: GCSE English Language changes for 2022

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WJEC: GCSE English Language changes for 2022

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Shared: GCSE English Literature Revision Quiz

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Shared: GCSE English Literature Revision Quiz

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Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily. Never email yourself a file again!

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AQA: GCSE English Literature changes for 2022

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AQA: GCSE English Literature changes for 2022

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AQA: GCSE English Language NEA changes for 2022

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AQA: GCSE English Language NEA changes for 2022

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Ofqual has published the arrangements for non-exam assessment (NEA) and fieldwork for students entering for exams in 2022. Here are the changes to GCSE English Language you need to know about for summer 2022:

there's no requirement for teachers to submit a sample of audio-visual recordings of Spoken Language assessments

the Spoken Language assessment can take place in front of a single teacher who can represent an 'audience'

the Spoken Language assessment can be conducted by the teacher at any time during the course and by virtual means

you'll still need to submit a centre declaration sheet as normal.

Ofqual is planning a consultation on summer 2022 towards the end of this term. We'll provide further updates and guidance about the summer 2022 exams as soon as we are able to.

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GCSE English Language: NEA changes for 2022 exams

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Ofqual has published the arrangements for non-exam assessment (NEA) and fieldwork for students entering for exams in 2022.

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Edexcel: GCSE English Literature - NEW Summer 2022 exam series weightings

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Edexcel: GCSE English Literature - NEW Summer 2022 exam series weightings

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Published: 6th October 2021

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AQA: Improving Post-16 GCSE English - Case Studies 

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AQA: Improving Post-16 GCSE English - Case Studies 

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Learn more about changes to exams and assessment in 2021. Discover Get ready for grading - our support programme for teachers - and more

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Year 13

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You will not only study English Literature over the past 1000 years, going right back to Beowulf, but you will also be introduced to the English language, its structure and workings. An important aspect of this degree is the emphasis it places on your development as a creative writer, offering modules in writing poetry, for example, or speculative fiction. This course has a strong practical element, with modules preparing you for a career in teaching English in different settings. A standalone Careers With English module in your final year involves 35 hours of work experience in settings that you choose. A Level 5 Research Methods module prepares you for action research in a range of educational or professional settings. In your final year you have the choice of producing an independent Undergraduate Major Project, typically of up to 10,000 words in length, in English Literature or English Language or Creative Writing.

Overall, we hope that this course inspires your enthusiasm for English and your appreciation of its past and continuing social, cultural, political and economic importance. We think it will provide you with an intellectually stimulating experience of learning and studying and promote your understanding of verbal creativity and aesthetic features of literary and non-literary texts. The creative writing modules in particular will help you recognise and utilise the expressive resources of language whilst the design of the assessments encourage you to reflect critically upon the acts of reading and writing and on the history of text production and reception by readers and other audiences.

This BA provides the basis for further study in English or related subjects and for the teaching of English at all levels. It is as much about knowledge as it is about developing important advanced graduate skills and competencies. Our goal is to help you become an independent, critically alert, competent thinker and a confident, stylish writer and speaker.

You will learn primarily through a combination of lectures, seminars and group work. You are welcome to approach your module lecturer with questions but are also allocated an academic personal tutor to provide guidance on general study issues. You are supported through assignment workshops and personal development plans, which help you reflect on your studies and plan for future progress.

As a BA Hons English Studies student, you will be able to present independent opinions in arguments, support them effectively by relevant evidence and learn to organise and express these well in writing. Your vocabulary will be sophisticated and your thoughts well-judged. You will have shown the ability to plan and carry out individual and group presentations to deadlines and to handle word-processing and presentation packages. Your IT skills will further involve the ability to extract information from and effectively evaluate electronic resources such as academic online databases, blogs, or wikis. Your research skills will involve the ability to collect and select judiciously from a wide range of written material and evaluate its significance.

A substantial proportion of our graduates have gone on to postgraduate study, mainly postgraduate certificates in education. Graduates seeking a career in primary and secondary school teaching have very quickly been offered full-time jobs with on-the-job teacher training in English. Our graduates are now in leadership positions in their respective schools and colleges and join us at our annual Humanities conferences to pass on their insights, knowledge and experiences from their chosen careers. Others have progressed from teaching into education management and special needs support. Graduates also seek careers in journalism, publishing, marketing and PR, in public administration, social work, the caring professions, and in library or museum work.

Modules
Year 1 Year 2

Reading Beyond Britain

15

Writing World War One: Trauma, Memory & Resistance

15

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages: Teaching the Language System

15

Modernism and the City

15

Victorian Literature and Culture

15

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages: Teaching Language Skills

15

Research Methods for English Language, Linguistics & TESOL

15

Year 3
Your undergraduate major project could be in English, Project Writing or English Language & Linguistics.

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You will not only study English Literature over the past 1000 years, going right back to Beowulf, but you will also be introduced to the English language, its structure and workings. An important aspect of this degree is the emphasis it places on your development as a creative writer, offering modules in writing poetry, for example, or speculative fiction.

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Ofqual: Consultation Outcome for Changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022

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Ofqual: Consultation Outcome for Changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022

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Published: 30th September 2021

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This consultation has concluded

Download the full outcome

Detail of outcome

In summary, these decisions mean that for summer 2022:

1. There will be optional topics and content in GCSE English literature, history, ancient history and geography. Ofqual will require exam boards to change how they assess these subjects to reflect the expected changes to the way the subject content is assessed, as proposed in the consultation.

2. Centres will be allowed to deliver practical work in GCSE biology, chemistry, physics, combined science, geology and astronomy, AS level biology, chemistry, physics and geology, and AS and A level environmental science by demonstration. We would encourage centres to continue to make available hands-on practical activities for their students wherever possible. This does not require changes to the assessment arrangements that the exam boards have in place for each of these specifications.

3. Centres will be allowed to assess the Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC) across the minimum number of practical activities required to enable students to demonstrate their competence in A level biology, chemistry, physics and geology.

4. Exam boards can carry out remote monitoring of centres' application of the CPAC.

5. Students taking GCSE, AS and A level art and design will be assessed on their portfolio only.

6. Exam boards will provide advance information about the focus of the content of the exams for all GCSE, AS and A level subjects (except GCSE English literature, history, ancient history and geography) for the summer 2022 exams. The advance information will meet the principles set out in the consultation document.

7. The policy intention of providing advance information is that it will support students' revision. Therefore, the DfE has confirmed that advance information will be provided by 7 February 2022 at the latest. This will enable teachers to plan to adapt their teaching in the second half of the spring term if necessary. DfE has also decided to retain the flexibility for advance information to be deployed at other points ahead of 7 February 2022 if circumstances require. At least a week's notice will be given if it is decided that advance information will be released earlier than 7 February 2022.

8. Students will be given a formulae sheet for GCSE mathematics in summer 2022. Exam boards will provide copies of the formulae sheet for use in teaching and to ensure that students are familiar with it prior to the exams. Clean copies of the formulae sheet will be provided in the exams.

9. Students will be given a revised equation sheet for GCSE physics and combined science in summer 2022, covering all the equations required in the subject content. Exam boards will provide copies of the equation sheet for use in teaching and to ensure that students are familiar with it prior to the exams. Clean copies of the equation sheet will be provided in the exams.

Feedback received

Detail of feedback received

The consultation was available online for 21 days and received 6,725 responses. It gathered views on the following proposals:

choice of topics in GCSE English literature, history, ancient history and choice of content in GCSE geography

changes to the requirements for the delivery of practical activities in science subjects, and assessment in art and design

the provision of advance information on the focus of the content of exams, in the majority of subjects at GCSE, AS and A level

the provision of support materials in GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science exams

Several themes were suggested by respondents across multiple questions. To avoid duplicating analysis, these themes are summarised below.

First, many respondents emphasised that proposed changes to summer 2022 exams and assessments needed to be announced as soon as possible to provide staff sufficient time to plan (adjusting curriculums and mock exam materials and so on). Reasons provided by respondents included the fact that last-minute announcements would increase workloads and place additional pressure on students and teachers. In addition, respondents mentioned that earlier announcements would allow students more time to familiarise themselves with additional materials (such as revised equation sheets).

Second, some respondents noted the variation in students' experiences regarding remote learning over the past two years, with some schools and colleges facing more frequent lockdowns and self-isolation events than others, and that this should be taken into account in any proposed change. Similarly, respondents brought up the concept of a "level playing field" for students and expressed concerns over proposals where, in their opinion, some students or schools and colleges may be disadvantaged relative to others.

Third, respondents suggested several modifications for exams, including lengthening the time students had to complete the exam, dividing exams into shorter papers, allowing students to choose topics to respond to on the day of the exam or reducing the number of exam papers students had to complete. In particular, some respondents stated they had faced difficulties in covering the specification during remote learning, and reducing the number of exam papers or allowing students to choose topics would reduce pressure on students caused by missed learning time. Respondents also mentioned that the subject content across many GCSE, AS and A level subjects should be reduced.

Fourth, some respondents expressed concern that the DfE and Ofqual's proposed changes were limited to a specific set of qualifications, in particular the absence of modifications to A Level subjects compared to equivalent GCSE subjects.

Fifth, many respondents generally agreed with proposals to carry over changes proposed in previous consultations in 2020 and 2021, as consistency would reduce the amount of time teachers and other staff would need to prepare for the upcoming year.

Sixth, a number of respondents who disagreed with proposals on choice of topic/content or advance information believed that these proposals would lead to grade inflation for certain students. Because these proposals would narrow the focus of exams (compared to the full specification), in their view the proposals would advantage students with resources for external tutors. As a result, proposals to provide choice of topic/content or advance information would make it difficult to differentiate between "good" and "excellent" students.

Finally, a small proportion of respondents across all respondent types called for exams to be cancelled and students to be assigned teacher assessed grades (as in summer 2021). Alternatively, respondents proposed that no modifications be made to exams and assessments in summer 2022 (compared to before the pandemic) and instead grade boundaries should be adjusted to account for varying difficulties of exams due to lost learning time.

Original consultation

Summary

A joint consultation published by Ofqual and the Department for Education on proposed changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

This consultation ran from

Consultation description

This joint consultation by the Department for Education and Ofqual invites your views on proposed adaptations to the assessment of GCSEs and GCE AS and A levels for students in England taking exams in summer 2022. A separate but related consultation on proposed changes to assessments for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) in the 2021 to 2022 academic year is taking place.

These proposals are made in the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has disrupted education during the current (2020 to 2021) and previous (2019 to 2020) academic years. This consultation covers the arrangements for exams and assessments to be taken in summer 2022 in light of this disruption and uncertainty about the continuing impact of the pandemic over the coming academic year.

The proposals take account of the responses Ofqual received to its consultations on qualifications in July and December 2020, as well as more recent discussions with stakeholders. The proposals are in addition to the changes to non-exam assessment (NEA) and fieldwork requirements for summer 2022 which were confirmed by Ofqual on 16 June following consultation.

This consultation proposes a package of measures to help mitigate the impact of disruption to students' education, and seeks views on proposals on the following areas:

choice of topics in GCSE English literature, history, ancient history and choice of content in GCSE geography

changes to the requirements for the delivery of practical activities in science subjects, and assessment in art and design

the provision of advance information on the focus of the content of exams, in the majority of subjects at GCSE, AS and A level

the provision of support materials in GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science exams

Documents

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Proposed changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022

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A joint consultation published by Ofqual and the Department for Education on proposed changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

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Ofqual: National Reference Test 2022 Information

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Ofqual: National Reference Test 2022 Information

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Published: 21st September 2021