Thousands of students are to resit their English GCSEs next month amid claims that exams this summer were unfairly graded, it was reported Thursday.
Figures obtained by the BBC show that 45,000 pupils — roughly one in 14 of those who originally took the exam — will do resits after results published in August sparked a barrage of complaints.
It comes as a group of headteachers, pupils and unions prepare to mount a legal challenge in the High Court next week, arguing that the boundary for a “C” grade was unfairly raised between January and June.
A review by England’s exams regulator Ofqual in August acknowledged that grade boundaries were higher for English exams sat in June than for those taken in January.
Recognising the “strength of feeling ” around the issue, exam boards offered resits free of charge to students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who sat the June exams, Ofqual said.
The watchdog’s report concluded, however, that exams marked in January were “graded generously” and that grade boundaries for June assessments were “properly set, and candidates’ work properly graded”.
The AQA board, which sets around 60 percent of GCSE English exams, has also insisted it followed “correct procedures and awarded the right grades”.
An educational alliance launching a High Court challenge over the gradings says thousands of pupils who took the exam in June only got a D grade for the same standard of work as those who sat the exam in January and received C grades.
“We have now thoroughly examined the case that we have and we are convinced of the merits of our case, and the expectation that we will have a success to get the outcome we want — which is a regrade for students,” a spokesman for the alliance said.
“We will be putting our claim together and submitting it over the next week.”
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), which represents 80 percent of secondary school headteachers and is part of the alliance, argues that resits are a “completely inadequate response” and says regrading is “the only fair outcome”.
ASCL general secretary Brian Lightman said: “We are very disappointed that Ofqual and the awarding bodies have refused to take responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge that many thousands of young people’s career ambitions have been undermined by a failure to implement the new qualification properly.”
An Ofqual spokesman said the regulator would be “rigorously defending” its decisions.
Last month nearly 2,400 pupils who took English GCSEs in Wales received higher grades after the WJEC exam board regraded its English papers.
Thousands to resit English GCSE after grades fiasco
