GCSE Results Day 2023: Colleges respond

As students across the country receive GCSE exam results and some Level 2 results, the Association of Colleges, the national voice for England's colleges have released the below statement.

Catherine Sezen, Director of Education Policy, Association of Colleges said:

“We would like to offer our warmest congratulations to all those students in schools and colleges who are receiving GCSE and vocational technical results today. For those young people firming up their post 16 destinations, remember that whatever your grades your local college will have a course for you. If you have questions, drop in for information, advice and guidance.

For colleges, Level 2 results day means reflecting on student achievement in a range of vocational and technical courses and GCSE English and maths both for their own students and for those joining from school. English and maths resists present a complex picture. A larger resit cohort this year means that although overall percentage achievement has fallen, the number of students achieving a GCSE in English and maths post 16 has increased on 2022; colleges should be proud that 55,000 students have achieved a grade 4+ in English or maths as a result of post-16 study in summer 2023. However, the growth in the year 11 cohort, combined with a fall in 4+ achievement mean that we estimate there will be considerable additional demand for post 16 English and maths resits (an additional 38,000 for English and 21,000 for Maths) at a time when colleges are facing staff recruitment challenges.”