GCSE results show science on the rise
Hundreds of thousands of pupils are finding out their GCSE results across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, in a second year of exams disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our director of education, Sarah Robertson, said: “I would like to congratulate all students receiving these hugely important results today. We all remember the feeling of waiting to find out our own results – though none of us experienced the extra challenges these students have been through in the past two years during our own education – so it is really important that we recognise their resilience in adapting to new ways of working and learning.
“I also want to pay tribute to the hard-working, dedicated teachers and technicians who have supported them throughout their studies – they should all be proud of the way they have continued to provide a rich and rewarding learning experience that will have inspired so many students. I echo those sentiments to many members of our chemistry community, who have continued to support schools throughout the pandemic.
“I hope many of this year’s GCSE students will go on to follow rewarding careers in science, in an era where the climate emergency and a global health crisis has so starkly demonstrated its importance to our lives. From creating life-saving vaccines in record time to providing the building blocks for a clean energy revolution, we cannot underestimate the contribution of our scientific community in facing up to these unprecedented challenges.”
Crunching this year’s numbers…
It is encouraging that, overall across the UK, more students have completed science GCSEs, especially considering participation was already high in previous years.
The total number of GCSE entries increased marginally, by 0.9%. But entries to Double Award Science qualifications increased by 2.0%, and to Chemistry GCSEs by 3.9%. Biology and Physics saw similar increases: 3.3% and 4.0%, respectively.
However, this pattern is predominantly seen in England. In Wales and Northern Ireland, the largest relative increases were seen for single combined or applied science GCSEs – which no longer exist in England. Entries to Double Award and Chemistry GCSEs either held pace or reduced compared to overall GCSE uptake, though the total number of students completing science qualifications did increase.
As we saw for other qualifications earlier in the week, there has been a rise in attainment of higher grades in the sciences. However, there is a very slight reduction in attainment at grades 4/C and higher in the separate sciences compared to last year, which is in contrast to a slight rise at that level overall and in Science Double Award.
Ofqual have identified a slight widening in attainment gap across all subjects between students receiving free school meals and their peers compared to 2019. These outcomes add to our concerns about disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on the ability of all students to engage with learning, and what this may mean for inclusion in the sciences in the future.
That echoes our existing concerns, as uncovered by our Chemistry for All research. That already showed social and economic inequalities limiting the aspirations and career choices of some young people and widening the education gap. We believe that every child should have access to high quality chemistry education, and yet there are barriers preventing many from participating – this year’s exam results raise the prospect that this will have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
What should I do now?
If you are thinking about choosing chemistry for the next stage of your learning, take a look at our Future in Chemistry careers pages and find out about student membership.
The #NoWrongPath campaign is a social media movement which aims to provide inspiration and reassurance to young people receiving their exam results.
For A-level and Highers students BTEC Level 3 #NoWrongPath campaignhave an advice and information page on clearing.
The National Careers Service runs an Exam Results Helpline for students who want advice on their next steps, including appeals and autumn exams. The helpline is free and is open until 20 August 2021, from 8am to 10pm, 7 days a week on 0800 100 900.
Skills Development Scotland runs a free results helpline – 0808 100 8000 – are offering careers advice, information and guidance. Support and advice is also available on the SQA website and on BBC Bitesize. Young people can also call Childline on 0800 1111 or get advice about exam results on its website.
BBC Bitesize advice pages contain information for parents and students, as they make these important decisions.