Almost 60 per cent of students who took autumn exams in GCSE subjects other than English and maths improved on their grades issued in the summer, according to data from the Joint Council for Qualifications.
The autumn exam series was established to offer pupils who felt their centre-assessment grades issued in the summer were unfair the opportunity to sit an actual test.
While overall entries have been small compared to a typical summer series, the autumn series has provided students with the opportunity to enter if they were disappointed with their grade in summer 2020 and wanted to improve this, or if they were unable to get a grade in summer 2020.
The majority of students entering these GCSEs (over 80%) took one subject in the autumn, suggesting that students have generally been selective about their entries.
The overall outcomes published by JCQ show relatively high achievement at the top grades – over a third of entrants achieved grade 7 and above, and just over 15% achieved grade 9. These outcomes are likely to reflect the nature of the students entering in the autumn series, and the subjects that they have entered.