Over half of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds do not achieve a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths at age 16. This makes the final two years of compulsory education critical for helping them secure these essential gateway qualifications, which open doors to higher-level education, training, and employment opportunities. Literacy and numeracy skills are also powerful predictors of life satisfaction, financial security, physical and mental health, and civic engagement.
Each year, the further education (FE) sector offers thousands of young people a second chance to build their confidence, develop their skills, and gain these valuable qualifications. Since the condition of funding was introduced in 2014, there has been a 94% increase in those achieving a standard pass in post-16 education. Yet currently, this vital work is done without dedicated funding to boost attainment among students from disadvantaged backgrounds, as the Pupil Premium ends at age 16.
Today’s report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) highlights the urgent need to address this funding gap. The new research shows that students from disadvantaged backgrounds are, on average, one-fifth of a grade behind their more advantaged peers in English and one-eighth of a grade behind in maths when resitting GCSEs.
We strongly echo the EPI’s recommendation that the government introduce a 16–19 Student Premium to help close the post-16 attainment gap and enable the sector to build on the progress already made in post-16 resit pass rates. Evidence from our small-group tuition programmes shows what’s possible when students receive tailored, sustained support. Among those 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. Our programmes narrow the attainment gap in pass rates for students from disadvantaged backgrounds: they achieve pass rates just 2.5 percentage points below their peers in maths and outperform their peers by 1.6 percentage points in English.
The EPI report also offers valuable insights and recommendations for FE providers, contributing to a growing but still limited evidence base on “what works” in supporting GCSE resit students. We’re proud to be contributing to this knowledge through the independent evaluation of our GCSE Resit Tuition Programme with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) next year. We hope this evidence will further strengthen the case to government for targeted investment in the FE sector and help unlock the full potential of the young people it serves.
Read the full EPI report: English and Maths Resits: Drivers of Success
Find out more about our upcoming EEF trial: GCSE Resit Tuition Programme Evaluation
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3rd July 2025, 10:18