Number of children achieving top GCSE grades expected to halve under new reforms

 The number of children receiving the top GCSE mark is expected to be cut in half under new reforms.

Students will receive their results for the first time under a system which uses grades nine to one, rather than from A* to G.

But grade nine is reserved for pupils who demonstrated “exceptional performance”, with only a few hundred students expected to achieve the coveted clean sweep of straight nines.

The new grades were part of a package of reforms by former education secretary Michael Gove, designed to toughen up syllabuses and to cut down on the number of students getting A*s by splitting it between the two highest grades, eight and nine.

Pupils will be marked under the new system for English Literature, English Language and Maths, while the rest of their subjects will be marked under the old A* to G grades.

Ofqual, the exam regulator, said that just two per cent of students – roughly 16,000 - will be awarded grade nine for English Language this year, compared to four per cent who got A* last year.

Meanwhile they predict that three per cent of students - almost 11,000 - will get a nine in maths, compared to seven per cent who last year were awarded an A*.

Sally Collier, chief regulator of Ofqual, predicted that this year a “few hundred” children will receive straight 9s this year. Several of the top independent schools opt for the iGCSE in English and Maths, meaning that students who will achieve the coveted straight 9s in all three subjects are likely to be concentrated at the top grammar schools.

The Daily Telegraph understands that 12 students at Colchester County High School for Girls, a leading grammar school, will achieve straight nines, which is 10 per cent of the year group.

Ten pupils at Queen Elizabeth’s School, a boys’ grammar school in north London, will get straight nines, and around half a dozen at Tonbridge School.

Seven pupils at Reading School and  eight pupils at The Judd School are also set to receive a clean sweep of nines.

Helen Pike, headmistress of Magdalen College School

Dr Tim Leunig, the Department for Education’s (DfE) chief analyst, predicted that just two pupils would get straight nines when the new grading system was rolled out across more subject.

The headmistress of a leading independent school warned that the new grading system will leave even the brightest children feeling disappointed that they have missed out on the top grade.

Helen Pike, headmistress of Magdalen College School in Oxford, told The Daily Telegraph: “I have been preparing parents for this all year, saying we don’t want pupils to feel like a ‘failure’ if they get an eight rather than a nine.

“I do welcome exams which are challenging but I don’t want to see children feeling like a failure and for success to become more elusive.”

Magdalen School pupils take the iGCSE for Maths, but Ms Pike said that 15 per cent of the year group had achieved grade 9 in English Literature and Language.

Teaching unions warned that the reforms have left the exam system in “turmoil”.  Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said that the "calamitous, rushed through reforms" have put "extreme pressure" on pupils.

"We can only hope pupils aren’t put at a disadvantage after being used as guinea pigs," she added.

“A lack of information about the new nine to one grade boundaries has left pupils, parents and employers confused about what now constitutes a pass at GCSE.”

 A DfE spokesperson said:  “Over the last six years we have incorporated the best features of successful curricula and qualifications from the around the world into our education system and signalled our intent to continue raising standards with the introduction of a standard and strong pass at GCSE. Those students achieving a Grade 9 should be pleased with their performance."

Changes to GCSEs: What you need to know