Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking, together with the regulator Ofqual, to ensure that there is no confusion over the new numerical grading system for GCSEs in England.

The Department has been working closely with Ofqual and the awarding organisations to communicate the changes to GCSEs including the new 9-1 grading scale to key audiences. Ofqual have a communications campaign on 9-1 grading and regularly attend conferences and events across the country explaining the reforms. In 2015, Ofqual produced a set of postcards detailing the reforms and in 2016, these were supplemented by additional information. We jointly produced a slide pack that was sent to all schools in England in July 2016.

We and Ofqual are also working with partners such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), University and College Admission Service (UCAS), Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and Association of Colleges (AoC) to make sure other stakeholders, such as colleges, universities and employers, have a clear understanding of the new grading scale and what this means for them. Ofqual is measuring the effectiveness of these communications, which will increase significantly, as we get closer to the first awards of GCSEs with the new grades in August.