THE National Association of Head Teachers has warned that GCSE reform means people can't comparing this year’s results to those from last year.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, congratulates students and staff, but said: “Unfortunately, every year, these achievements can be overshadowed by comparisons between one year’s results and the next. These comparisons never fully take account of the hard work that goes on or all the different ways in which a school contributes to the progress individual pupils can make. In a year which marks the start of unprecedented changes to GCSEs, these kinds of comparisons are particularly unjust and unreliable.

“School leaders have worked hard to help students and their families to understand the change from A-G to 9-1 grades. But there’s still plenty of uncertainty about what the results really show. Until all of the reformed GCSE’s are fully implemented and we’ve seen a few more years of the 9-1 system, those who seek to hold schools to account should refrain from comparing this year’s results to last. They are far from a like for like comparison and for any drop in results, support rather than sanction is the appropriate path to take.

“Further information about entries demonstrates the popularity of subjects and shows that the EBacc requirement is definitely narrowing the choices available to young people. It’s clear that the EBacc is compromising schools’ efforts to make sure each student can study the subjects that are most appropriate to them. NAHT would like to see the EBacc requirement abandoned altogether. It’s an unnecessary straight-jacket that doesn’t help students or their schools."