GCSE results will be available online this summer
GCSE students across England will be able to view their exam results on their phones for the first time in August.
An “education record” app, trialled with 95,000 students in Manchester and the West Midlands last summer, will first download results and also allow Year 11 students to keep a digital record of these results for future use when applying for jobs or further education.
But headteachers say pupils will still be encouraged to attend school on results day to get “advice or support”.
One incentive for doing this is that, although traditional brown envelopes containing the much-anticipated grades will be available for collection in person from 8am on results day, the new app won’t receive its update until 11am.
The app will also include information for schools and colleges on whether students have special educational needs and disabilities or are eligible for free school meals.
The Department for Education estimates that this could save schools and colleges up to £30 million a year in administrative costs due to the cost and time involved in sharing information that every young person can now display on request at later stages of their education.
Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith said: “No student should have to dig through drawers to find a crumpled certificate as they prepare for a job interview.”
“This app will save teachers and university staff from unnecessary paperwork while giving young people instant access to their results when they need them.”
Schools are encouraged to sign up so students can download and install the app before summer results day.
Almost all pupils at Meadow Park School in Coventry, who took part in the pilot over the summer, were still turning up to collect their brown envelopes on results day, according to headteacher Bernadette Pettman.
“The traditional brown envelope moment is still an important milestone for students – a chance to see friends, celebrate together and connect with staff,” Pettman told the BBC.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was important for young people to have an accessible record of their achievements, but stressed that students should still collect their exam results in person.
“This face-to-face contact allows them to not only celebrate with their peers and teachers, but also get any advice or support they may need regarding next steps.”
“We are sure that school and college leaders will also welcome the administrative savings possible as a result of this change, but this will only be a drop in the ocean compared to the funding pressures they are under,” he added.
Students in Scotland, where a different set of exams are administered for 16-year-old students. they were able to achieve their results Via an online application since 2019.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, where students sit GCSEs but the education system is politically devolved, no changes to the results procedure have been announced.
Exams continue to improve. Last month UK exams watchdog Ofqual announced that around eight GCSE and A-level exams could switch from traditional pen and paper to on-screen assessments from 2030.
Teachers, exam boards and parents are being asked for their views on the proposal.
Sir Ian Bauckham, Ofqual’s chief regulator, says any changes to exams must be fair, fully tested and of the highest quality.
Additional reporting by Rahib Khan
