The department published British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE subject content in December 2023, following a public consultation last summer. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications, which must be reviewed and accredited by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) before schools and colleges are able to teach them. The department does not play a role in developing or approving exam board specifications for GCSEs.

Only ancient or modern foreign language (MFL) GCSEs count towards the languages pillar of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). The BSL GCSE does not sit in the MFL suite as it is not a foreign language but an indigenous one and does not contain the speaking and listening elements common to all MFL GCSEs. While the BSL GCSE will therefore not count towards the EBacc, it will be a rigorous qualification that is internationally recognised and accepted in school and college performance tables.

The department is considering the steps that can be taken to support the delivery of the BSL GCSE when it is introduced, such as engaging with initial teacher training providers. The department also expects stakeholder organisations and exam boards to play an important role in supporting the teaching workforce to deliver the BSL GCSE.

​​The safety of staff and pupils is paramount, and the department has been working at pace with schools to identify RAAC and support them to minimise disruption to pupils’ education.

The department is working closely with affected schools to ensure the best possible education for pupils and taking every step possible to remove any obstacles to learning through mitigations including temporary accommodation where this is needed and in some instances use of specialist facilities in off-site accommodation.

​Departmental officials have also been working hard to ensure that any school or college that is struggling to deliver particular assessments due to RAAC receives the support they need for their specific circumstances. The department has asked awarding organisations to be as flexible as possible within the confines of their processes and regulations, for example by agreeing longer extensions to coursework and non-examined assessment deadlines with affected schools and colleges.

To support all students taking GCSE exams in 2024, the department has confirmed that students will not need to memorise the usual formulae and equations for GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science, as they must in a normal year. Ofqual is holding a consultation on this proposal to provide formulae and revised equation sheets, which closes on 30 November.

For schools that are directly affected by RAAC, the department has asked Awarding Organisations (AOs) to provide as much flexibility as possible within the confines of their processes and regulations, for example by granting extensions to deadlines for coursework or non-examined assessments and sensitively considering the timing of moderation visits. The department has asked AOs to agree such arrangements in advance so schools have as much certainty as possible and can plan their timetabling and teaching accordingly. The department encourages schools that are having specific difficulties in delivering coursework or assessments to contact the relevant AO as soon as possible, if they have not already done so.

The higher pass rate of GCSEs in 2020 and 2021 led to a reduction in the proportion of young people required to re-sit English and mathematics in post-16 education in 2020/21 and 2021/22. The department recognised that this did not necessarily mean they had a reduced need for support, in fact they might require additional help in those subjects. The 16-19 Tuition Fund will have helped provide that support. It made available around £420 million additional funding between 2020/21 and 2023/24, with tutoring targeted towards students with low prior attainment and disadvantaged students.

In 2023, GCSE grading returned to pre-pandemic standards, which meant the proportion of 16-year-olds achieving a GCSE grade 4 and above in 2023 was similar to pre-pandemic levels.

The reduction in instances of low prior attainment arising from the GCSE results in 2020 and 2021 has fed into instances of funding for institutions to support low prior attaining students (Disadvantage Block 2) in 2022/23 and 2023/24. To address this issue, the department has increased the Disadvantage Block 2 rate for students with low prior attainment in mathematics or English from £480 in 2021/22, to £504 in allocations for the 2022/23 academic year and £559 for the 2023/24 academic year. This will mean that colleges have significantly more disadvantage funding to support these students than they would otherwise have received.

For the 2023/24 academic year the department has allocated a total of £592 million of disadvantage funding to eligible 16-19 institutions, to support students from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and those who have not yet attained a grade 9 to 4 GCSE or equivalent in mathematics and/or English.

In addition, for 2023/24 the department has allocated £41 million to support the delivery of mathematics and English to those students on substantial level 3 study programmes (including T Levels) who have not yet attained a grade 9 to 4 GCSE or equivalent in either or both of these subjects. In October 2023 the department announced that in future, students retaking English and mathematics GCSE while studying at level 2 or below will attract the same funding as those studying at level 3. This will significantly increase the funding available to institutions to support young people needing to continue with English and mathematics in 2024/25.

The funding to support disadvantage and English and mathematics is in addition to the January 2023 announcement that £125 million would be invested in 16-19 education for 2023/24 financial year, along with the July 2023 announcement of a further investment of £185 million in the 2023/24 financial year and £285 million in the 2024/25 financial year to drive forward skills delivery in the further education sector. These increases will help institutions to manage pressures during this year.

It is hugely disappointing that students, many of whom have already suffered during the pandemic, are facing further disruption and uncertainty. It is imperative that higher education (HE) institutions continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of their students.

While the department plays no formal role in such disputes, we are concerned about the potential impact of the marking and assessment boycott on students, particularly those who are graduating and looking to enter the jobs market or progress to further study.

The department understands that the vast majority of students will remain unaffected by the industrial action and, in most cases, will receive their full results on time and progress and/or graduate as normal.

My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education has held discussions with the Russell Group, Universities UK and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) to better understand the boycott’s impact on students and the actions institutions are taking to minimise disruption. He has also written to the Russell Group and Universities UK, encouraging them to continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of students during this phase of industrial action.

HE institutions are working on minimising the disruption to their students in a variety of ways, including reallocating marking to other staff members and hiring external markers. Many HE institutions can award degrees when they have enough evidence of a student’s prior attainment to do so. Others will be able to assign provisional grades to students to allow them to progress, and, once all papers have been marked, most institutions will award degree classifications that either remain as provisionally assigned or are uplifted to reflect the student’s achievements.

On 12 June 2023, the Office for Students (OfS) wrote to institutions affected by the boycott to reiterate its expectations in relation to its conditions of registration. The OfS will continue to monitor this ongoing situation through their normal regulatory mechanisms and have published guidance to students on their rights during industrial action. This guidance is available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-rights-and-welfare/student-guide-to-industrial-action/.

Students who have complaints about their HE experience should contact their institution in the first instance. Students in England and Wales may also raise a complaint with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), which was set up to provide an alternative to the courts and is free of charge to students. Depending on the complaint, the OIA may recommend that compensation be awarded. Whilst compensating students for disruption is the responsibility of HE institutions, the OIA expects institutions to comply with their recommendations. Further information is available at: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.

The department will continue to engage with the HE sector over the coming weeks to help better understand the boycott’s impact on students and we hope an agreement between UCEA and University and College Union can be reached that delivers good value for students, staff and universities.

The department understands that the vast majority of students will remain unaffected by the industrial action and, in most cases, will receive their full results on time and progress and/or graduate as normal. The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) has published research findings which surveyed 49% of higher education (HE) institutions in the New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff. These institutions provided updated feedback on the impact of the marking and assessment boycott on students at their institutions:

• Over 70% of HE institutions said that ‘less than 2% of students’ will be unable to graduate this summer due to the boycott.
• A further 20% were ‘unsure’ of the number.
• 4% of HE institutions said ‘between 2% and 9% of students’ would be impacted.

A link to these research findings can be found here: https://www.ucea.ac.uk/news-releases/23june23/.

On 22 June 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, met with Universities UK (UUK), the Russell Group and UCEA to better understand the impact that this boycott will have on students and the mitigating actions their members are taking to protect students’ interests.

The Minister also wrote to the Russell Group and UUK, encouraging them to continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of students during this phase of industrial action. On 27 June 2023, the Minister met with a number of HE representative groups to discuss the marking and assessment boycott, including the mitigating actions HE institutions are taking to protect their students’ interests.

HE institutions are working on minimising the disruption to their students in a variety of ways, including reallocating marking to other staff members and hiring external markers. Moreover, many HE institutions can award degrees when they have enough evidence of a student’s prior attainment to do so. Others will be able to assign provisional grades to students to allow them to progress and, once all papers have been marked, degree classifications will either remain as provisionally assigned or be uplifted to reflect the student’s achievements.

The government believes students should be at the heart of the HE system. This is why the Office for Students (OfS) has been set up, to regulate the HE sector in England, protect student rights and ensure the sector is delivering real value for money. The OfS has published guidance to students on their rights during industrial action, available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-rights-and-welfare/student-guide-to-industrial-action/.

On 12 June 2023, the OfS wrote to institutions affected by the boycott to reiterate its expectations in relation to its conditions of registration. The OfS will continue to monitor this ongoing situation through their normal regulatory mechanisms.

Students who have complaints about their HE experience should contact their provider in the first instance. Students in England and Wales may also raise a complaint with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, which was set up to provide an alternative to the courts and is free of charge to students. Further information is available at: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.

The department will continue to engage with the HE sector over the coming weeks to help better understand the boycott’s impact on students and the mitigating actions HE institutions are taking to protect their students’ interests.

Ofqual is the independent regulator of qualifications and assessments for England and is accountable to Parliament and not to Ministers. Ofqual has statutory objectives to maintain standards and promote public confidence in qualifications.

As part of this remit, we know Ofqual is working closely with awarding organisations to consider the implications of pupils’ use of artificial intelligence (AI), including the opportunities and risks it may bring. We will continue to work closely with them on this going forward.

The International Baccalaureate Organisation has confirmed it will not allow pupils to pass off AI-generated work as their own in their assessments. Ofqual’s rules, to which they are subject, require that grades must accurately reflect pupils’ attainment.

Schools and colleges have autonomy to choose what resources to use or recommend to their individual pupils. It is for schools to decide which resources to use to help deliver their teaching of the National Curriculum or to complement pupils' understanding of the curriculum outside the classroom, including in circumstances when pupils are not under a teacher’s supervision.

Oak National Academy, a non-Departmental public body, provides resources in a range of subjects, including at GCSE level. These resources are optional, adaptable, and free for schools to use and are available at Oak’s online platform: https://www.thenational.academy/.

Oak is now developing improved curriculum packages in English, mathematics, science, history, geography, and music. The first new materials in those subjects will be available from September 2023 and full packages available from September 2024.

Schools also have access to the National Tuition Programme, which makes available subsidised tutoring to boost progress and support pupils’ education. Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children has always been at the forefront of the tuition programme’s purpose and schools are advised to prioritise Pupil Premium pupils when selecting those to receive tuition.

In summer 2023, GCSE, AS and A level examinations in England are largely returning to pre-pandemic arrangements. Pupils will not be provided with advance information of exam content, as was the case for examinations in 2022. Pupils will continue to be provided with formulae and equation sheets in GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science examinations.

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Dr Jo Saxton, to write to the noble Baroness and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

​​The average GCSE points of students that took A level examinations was 6.47. For those that took applied general examinations, it was 4.90, and for those that took both A level and applied general, it was 5.42. The number of students taking A levels was 284,380, the numbers taking applied general was 119,853, and the numbers that took both A level and applied general examinations was 61,024.

​Figures are based on students at the end of 16 to 18 study in 2021/22 and derived from data underpinning the ‘A level and other 16 to 18 results’ statistical release. This statistical release is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2022-revised.

​Transparency data for T Levels was published on the first T Level results day on 18 August 2022. This is based on information reported to the Department through the manage T Level results service, but does not include data on student prior attainment at Key Stage 4. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/t-level-results-academic-year-2021-to-2022-provisional.​

​Attainment data for T Levels will be published for the 2023/24 cohort of students, the first year that T Levels will be included in school and college accountability measures.

The department is assessing the risks and opportunities of recent developments in large language models. The new technology has the potential to improve access and outcomes across the education system.

The department will continue to work with the Office for Students, the Office for AI, and Ofqual to build our understanding and inform future plans.

Schools, colleges and universities have policies in place to identify and respond to cheating in assessment. The department expects schools and colleges to ensure the integrity of their assessment processes and take action if any student is found to be cheating.

Schools, colleges and universities are best placed to decide what technology they need to meet their requirements in relation to their educational contexts.

The department will keep its programme of measures under review to ensure the best means in addressing the risks and opportunities AI presents are identified, including continuing to establish a strong evidence base for technology in education.