Congratulations to all those students who have received their GCSE examination results today. The cohort of 2023 have been through challenges not previously seen in education and have shown great resilience to these challenges and adapting to new ways of learning and working. 

The teachers and all the other staff members who have supported the learning of the students should be praised for their hard work, providing a positive enriching and inspiring experience throughout the pandemic and its aftermath. 

Girls continue to outperform boys when it comes to top grades, though the gap is smaller this year than in 2022.   

The importance of inclusion is again highlighted by the increasing gap between disadvantaged students and their peers. The gap has widened both regionally and locally.  

The gap in top grades between the North-East and London has widened from 9.3 percentage points in 2019 to 10.8 percentage points this year. It has been widening gradually during the pandemic. 

One of the lasting impacts of Covid, though, is that the number of pupils regularly missing school in England is still higher than it was before - and they are more likely to be from lower income backgrounds. 

It's estimated that 28.3% of pupils were persistently absent this year - meaning they missed 10% or more of school. The poor attendance has a direct impact on the grades that students can expect. 

The importance of providing a learning environment that is inclusive to all is again highlighted in these GCSE results. We would like to say thank you to all the schools who participated in the Inclusion in Schools Project last year, as the work you have started will have an impact on narrowing the gaps within your schools. 

Inclusion in Science programme https://www.ase.org.uk/inclusion-in-schools-recruitment 

For A’ Level results please visit the link to the ASE website.