Tumbling number of high performing GCSE students in East Sussex

By Andrew Dowdeswell, Data Reporter
Published 25th Aug 2023, 15:41 BST
File photo dated 02/03/2012 of a math exam in progress at Pittville High School, Cheltenham. Teenagers across the country are waking up to their GCSE results in a year when the proportion of top grades awarded is expected to fall. Issue date: Thursday August 24, 2023.File photo dated 02/03/2012 of a math exam in progress at Pittville High School, Cheltenham. Teenagers across the country are waking up to their GCSE results in a year when the proportion of top grades awarded is expected to fall. Issue date: Thursday August 24, 2023.
File photo dated 02/03/2012 of a math exam in progress at Pittville High School, Cheltenham. Teenagers across the country are waking up to their GCSE results in a year when the proportion of top grades awarded is expected to fall. Issue date: Thursday August 24, 2023.
As Ofqual reinstated standard grading for GCSE exams, the proportion of students in East Sussex achieving the highest grades has tumbled, new figures show.

As Ofqual reinstated standard grading for GCSE exams, the proportion of students in East Sussex achieving the highest grades has tumbled, new figures show.

It comes as the disparity between disadvantaged children and their fellow pupils, and the different regions across England has grown.

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With exams suspended in 2020 and 2021 and an amended grading system last year, the coronavirus pandemic saw record grade inflation for GCSE students across England.

But Ofqual reinstated a standard examination procedure in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic, with exam aids such as equation sheets provided.

It saw results drop significantly across the country, including in East Sussex, with 23.3% of the 71,985 exams taken by GCSE students resulting in a grade seven to nine, broadly equivalent to an A or A*.

This was a significant fall from 30.7% in 2021 – the highest proportion during the pandemic.