Get Further’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review Interim Report, published 18th March 2025.
—
Today, we welcome the findings and recommendations put forward in the Curriculum and Assessment Review Interim Report, which reaffirm the crucial role of English and maths in unlocking opportunities for young people. Throughout the review process, we have actively engaged with policymakers and 16-19 education providers, presenting evidence and our recommendations for a GCSE “stepping stone” qualification to help shape these discussions. We are pleased to see that many of the key issues we raised have been acknowledged in the interim report.
There is clear evidence that having a standard pass (grade 4 of above) in GCSE English and maths is essential for accessing opportunities for further study, training and employment. Without these qualifications only 29 percent of 16-year-olds go on to study higher level qualifications the following year, and they are much more likely to become Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). The economic impact is also stark: missing out on a standard pass in GCSE maths by just one grade leads to an average loss of £73,062 in earnings over a person’s lifetime. For GCSE English, this is £47,355. With over half of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds leaving school without GCSE English and maths, missing these qualifications acts as a significant barrier to social mobility.
We are therefore pleased that Professor Becky Francis CBE and the Review Panel have recognised the importance of ensuring learners without a grade 4 in GCSE maths and English have the opportunity to achieve level 2 in these subjects by the end of their 16-19 study. We welcome their recommendation to maintain the expectation for continued study of English and maths for these learners.
The interim report acknowledges that there is strong evidence that a minimum of a grade 4 in English and maths should continue to be the ambition for as many learners as possible. We hope this is reflected in the recommendations put forward in their final report. Replacing GCSE retakes with non-GCSE level 2 English and maths qualifications for some 16-19-year-olds would disadvantage those who missed out on a GCSE standard pass at school by signalling to future employers that they did not initially meet the required standard. This would create a two-tier system that disproportionately hinders young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and those with identified SEN.
Instead, we must provide tailored support that enables students from all prior attainment levels and backgrounds to progress. Impact data from Get Further’s small-group tuition programmes demonstrates what could be possible with the right support in place: for students who attend a term or more of tuition, pass rates are 70% higher than the national average for GCSE maths and 77% higher for GCSE English.
We also welcome the interim report’s recognition of the need to give learners sufficient time to reinforce core knowledge and skills before sitting resit exams, and their acknowledgment of the issues with current accountability measures that encourage premature entries. We appreciate their commitment to learning from and promoting best practices within the sector to ensure the funding conditions more effectively achieve their intended purpose.
Since the condition of funding began requiring 16-19-year-olds without GCSE English and maths to continue studying these subjects, there has been a 94% increase in those achieving a standard pass in post-16 education. However, annual pass rates are still too low, and the FE sector faces many challenges in delivering these subjects. We hope that Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final recommendations will allow the FE sector to continue building on the progress already made.
To do this, Get Further has proposed a new ‘stepping stone’ qualification (a ‘GCSE step’) for English and maths – a one-year course covering approximately half of the GCSE content aimed at those students with the lowest prior attainment (grade 2 or below) that prepares them to sit the full GCSE the following year. The curriculum and assessment content of the GCSE step course should be pitched at between a level 2 (grade 4) and level 1 (grade 2) qualification. On passing this ‘GCSE step’ qualification, students should be able to demonstrate that they have the knowledge and skills equivalent to a grade 3 at GCSE, enabling teachers to deliver the remainder of the GCSE curriculum content in the subsequent year. By structuring learning in this way, we can ensure that students build confidence and foundational skills before attempting the full qualification.
Today, 84.04% of 19-year-olds hold a GCSE standard pass in English, and 80.78% have this in maths. We know from some of our international counterparts, such as the Netherlands – where fewer than 10% of 16-to-19-year-olds are without equivalent level 2 qualifications in English and maths – that pass rates by age 19 have the potential to reach at least 90%. By focusing on students with the lowest prior attainment, who are currently the least likely to achieve a standard pass in these qualifications in 16-19 education, an evidence-informed reform could make a significant impact.
Additionally, the Government must rectify disparities in disadvantage funding between the pre-16 and post-16 sectors if it is to adequately support all young people to reach their potential. Despite our compulsory education system now extending to age-18, there has never been a Pupil Premium equivalent to follow young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into post-16 education. As a result, funding for these young people nose dives by over one-third at age-16. This lack of targeted funding prevents the sector from investing in targeted, evidence-informed interventions for closing the attainment gap.
As we enter the next stage of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we look forward to further discussing and refining our GCSE step proposal with policymakers and education providers, and we remain committed to ensuring that the final recommendations support the students who need it most.