Shrewsbury headteacher warns of 'confusion' over new GCSE grading system
The new grading system for GCSE exams could lead to "confusion" for students, parents, and employers, according to a Shropshire headteacher.
The warning comes from Melanie Hooson, the head of the newly formed Shrewsbury Academy, as students across the county receive their results today.
She said: “This year the students receive their maths, English language and English literature results based on a 1 to 9 system - with 9 representing the highest score - as opposed to the old system of A* to G.
“This system was introduced by former education secretary Michael Gove as part of a drive to raise standards after comparing results in the UK with those in other developed countries.
“Over the next couple of years in particular, while the new grading system beds in, I think we can expect a lot of confusion for a lot of people and this is a real concern.
“Many students, their parents and potential employers will be largely unaware of the system change and will come across a lot of volatility.”
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Mrs Hooson added that in the quest to raise standards, the Government should have looked at other priorities, rather than a change in the grading system.
“The best way to achieve better standards is to improve the quality of teaching – and this applies to the whole of the education across the country,” she said.
“Good quality teaching is what’s needed, not a change in the grading system. All the research suggests that changing the system like this won’t make the results any better.
“And as we are all aware, at the moment there is a huge recruitment crisis - this has to change for things to improve.” Mrs Hooson praised staff and students for “rising to the challenge” of tougher GCSE exams and new grading systems.
She said the results were still being collated but early indications revealed an improvement in GCSE results despite some radical changes across the examination system.
Mrs Hooson added it was impossible to accurately assess how the grades have differed owing to the fact they are based on an entirely new grading system for major subjects.
But she said she was confident that in English and the sciences in particular this year’s results have outperformed those of last year.
“The new system has been introduced at the same time as pupils being set tougher exam papers with new accountability measures also changed for schools.
“However, I am delighted to say that students and staff have risen to these various challenges and I am incredibly proud of how they have performed in difficult circumstances.
“We are particularly pleased with what appear to be fantastic grades in English, especially considering this is the first year the students have been unable to refer to books during the exams.”
Mrs Hooson is Shrewsbury Academy’s first head since it was formed last year following the merger of the Grange and Sundorne secondary schools.
