Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 22 August 2025

What's happened this week?

Important stories across the board:

On to GCSE, BTEC and other L2 results this week. High Five’s all round hopefully.

In other news, a new report examined some of the factors behind a worsening attainment gap in schools in England,  the ONS reported an increase in the latest quarterly NEET figures for young people, and two surveys this week looked at the real costs and benefits of student life.

Those all-important exam results first and some of the key takeaways, perhaps four at this stage.

First a recognition of the importance of these results to students, schools and families.

Many of the students receiving results this year were in Yr 6 when the pandemic struck and have had to endure a host of difficulties ever since. Yet the overall picture is of grades slightly up across the board on last year, from 21.6% at level 7 last year to 21.8% this year for instance, and of stable performance all round.

As the Education Secretary said, they’ve shown “remarkable resilience.” Ofqual talked about ‘continued stability.’

Second continuing concerns about English and maths. This includes a slight fall in standard pass rates in English and maths for 16 yr olds in England this year, down from 71.2% last year to 70.6% in English and from 72% to 71.9% in maths. Above 2019 figures but not the direction hoped for.

As for older students, typically those aged 17 and above taking English and maths GCSE resits, 17.1% of 17+ yr olds gained at least a grade 4 in maths and 20.9% in English. No great change on last year.

Ultimately a slight improvement on last year’s high numbers but still below 2019 levels especially for English.  Last year 182,000 16 yr olds needed to resit English  Language and 176,000 maths. Early figures suggest a slightly higher demand for English resits this year.

All eyes now on any changes to the resit policy emerging out of the current curriculum review as criticisms of the ‘woeful’ resit system continue.

Third, a mixed picture regionally with some hopeful straws about attainment gaps closing.

Ofqual pointed to continuing regional disparities but did add “within that wider picture, though, it is worth noting that the gap between London and the rest of the country has narrowed slightly at GCSE grade 4.”

The gap in top grades between the North East and London fell a little to 10.6% as London failed to build on last year and the East of England was one region to have fared better but of course the issue remains a concern to many and is one the Education Secretary has vowed to tackle.

Fourth, there’s been some change in entry numbers to some subjects this year with numbers taking GCSE biology, chemistry, physics and history down by around 6%, computing studies down by 5% but increases in combined science sciences and geography.

Also up were performing arts, music, stats and business studies.

Leisure, Travel and Tourism, and Health, Public Services and Care received the most entries among the vocational subjects.

There’s lots of other expert analysis available.

The Education Policy Institute, for instance, noted among other things that the gap between girls and boys performance was ‘continuing to close’ but that overall ‘headline results are similar to last year.’

As it acknowledged, the results set the scene for the ‘biggies’ this autumn of the new Ofsted framework, the curriculum review and the Child Poverty Strategy.

FFT Education Datalab examined the changes in grades across subjects as part of its analysis.

The Sutton Trust focused on the need to close regional inequalities while the British Council highlighted the fact that Spanish had now overtaken French as the most popular GCSE language subject.

And finally on the subject of this year’s exam results, we should not forget that as the NAHT pointed out the new ‘Education Record’ mobile app has been trialled in a couple of places this summer. It’ll be interesting to see if it replaces those glamorous pics in schools.

On to other education news this week starting with schools and that report on attainment gaps in schools in England from the Institute for Government (IfG.)

“Absence rates have rocketed since the pandemic, especially in secondary schools,” the Nuffield funded report explained.

It pointed to a ‘cliff-edge’ in performance for certain groups although interestingly noted that “there are places where disadvantaged pupils perform better than the average non-disadvantaged pupil nationally, suggesting that schools are better able to tailor their support for less advantaged pupils where there are more of them.”

Funding, local authority strengths, and wider social issues seemed to be factors here leading the report to call for a greater focus on ‘breaking the link between a child’s background and future success.’ Which ultimately is what the Education Secretary says she’s trying to do. “I am absolutely determined to deliver on our Plan for Change and truly break the link between background and success once and for all.”

Other headlines this week have been about the costs of school uniforms.

A sharp reminder perhaps that the school holidays are drawing to a close and that a new school year beckons but also of the extent of inequality evident, as the IfG report indicated, across schools today.

As the Education Secretary told the i-newspaper. “No family should have to choose between putting food on the table and buying a new blazer.”  

A point endorsed by ASCL’s Pepe Di’lasio who went on to explain, “we support the intention behind the government’s plans to limit the number of branded items, but have suggested that a cap on the cost of uniforms might be a better way of achieving this policy aim.”

In other news, the IPPR think tank announced the full membership of its panel set up to examine reform of the SEND system and offer options to the government.

In the words of its Chair, Geoff Barton, “this taskforce brings together people with the expertise, lived experience, and determination to imagine a system that works for everyone — and to set out a practical plan to get there.”

It’ll have to move fast with feedback set for this autumn and a long-awaited government reform plan to follow.

In FE, the Sixth Form Colleges Association warned of a competition for places for 16 year olds this year given a surge in numbers.

“We are in the middle of a demographic boom and demand for places is really high.” They went on to say, however, that students getting their results this week should be able to get places in colleges but they may not always be their first choice.

In other news this week, the Industrial Strategy has been in the news with the government bringing the UK Space Agency into the Dept for Science and manufacturers calling for better support for digital technologies.

In HE, the student cost of living has again been a big feature this week.

NatWest’s latest annual Student Living Index, based on survey evidence from 5000+ students earlier this year and published this week, found many ‘feeling the pinch.’

With a pint of beer listed at £4.82 and a takeaway at £13.20, many students appear to be eschewing the night out for ‘socialising inside.’

The general sense was of students budgeting carefully and cutting back where necessary with an average monthly spend of £83.30.

The Index showed parents, personal savings and p/t work as the top income sources for many students, Lincoln, Bolton and Cardiff as the most affordable student cities currently and the North of England as the cheapest for rents.

The picture may be familiar to many but as a second survey this week showed, there are widespread misperceptions about many aspects of university costs and returns.

“Graduates are far more positive about their experience at university than people think and feel far less burdened by the debt than many assume,” the survey report from HEPI and King’s College Policy Institute explained.

The report which sets out to tackle “negative rhetoric” about university education and its costs, throws up some startling examples. To take just one. “People guess that 40% of graduates wouldn’t go to university if they could choose again, when the actual proportion who say this is only 8%.”

And who knew that Oxford’s annual revenue in 2022/23 was nearly double that of Gregg’s bakery?

One of a number of significant reality checks in the report.

And finally, the OfS confirmed it was opening up for new applications for registration from 28 August but with a couple of new requirements around governance and consumer protection for students.

“Institutions seeking registration will be required to provide students with clear, easy to access information about what will happen if changes are made to their course, as well as fair processes for refunds and compensation and complaints,” the new guidance says on the issue of consumer protection.

Links to most of these stories below, starting with the week’s headlines.

The top headlines of the week:

• ‘Surge in Chinese acquisitions of private schools’ (Monday)
• ‘Parents in England skipping meals to afford school uniforms, survey finds’ (Tuesday)
• ‘Less than Greggs? Public have no idea of value of top universities, study finds’ (Wednesday)
• ‘GCSE results: pupils in England bounce back from pandemic as top grades rise’ (Thursday)
• ‘Endless resits of maths and English to be scrapped in GCSE reform’ (Friday)

General:

• AI exemplars. The government highlighted the potential impact that AI can make to public services including health and education as part of its AI Exemplars Programme, with teachers for instance released from time spent on lesson plans and marking.
• Pension review. The government announced an independent Call for Evidence ahead of the third review of the State Pension age with views sought on such factors as the linkage to life expectancy and future management and sustainability of the state pension.
• To boldly go. The government announced that the UK Space Agency would join the Dept for Science, Tech and Innovation from next April as part of a number of recommendations intended to cut down on red tape and waste and ensure major opportunities for the space sector.
• Top pay. The High Pay Centre called for reforms to the regulations for corporate pay-setting as its latest review of annual CEO pay revealed that the pay of a median FTSE CEO is 122 x that of a median f/t worker.

HE:

• Open for applications. The Office for Students (OfS) announced it was ready to reopen for new applications from 28 August, complete with a new ‘more efficient’ application process and new registration requirements around effective governance and consumer protection for students.
• Tackling misperceptions. HEPI and King’s College published the results of a new survey aimed at tackling some of the many misperceptions about the costs, value and experiences of higher education, showing for instance that contrary to some headlines most graduates value the experience and feel able to manage the costs.
• Loan interest rates. The Student Loans Co published the confirmed interest rates and repayment thresholds for the various undergraduate and postgraduate Loan Plans for the coming year.
• Student Living. NatWest published its latest annual Student Living Index revealing among other things that over 30% students surveyed prefer to stay inside to socialise to save money and 54% look to family for financial support as financial pressures, fear of dropping out and concerns about scams and fraud emerge as the top concerns for the Class of 2025.
• Annual Review. The HE Policy Institute published its Annual Review for 2024/25 pointing to a full year of events, research and widespread impact with the prospect of a new website in sight for the coming year.

Tweets and posts of note:

• “You are not officially a teacher until you’ve stood in front of a class in silence with your arms folded waiting for them to be quiet. And, then followed it up with, ‘I’ll be in here at break time anyway so it makes no difference whether you’re in here with me” -@secretHT1.
• “With a new class, I'd draw a little box in the corner of the blackboard (I was a teacher an age ago) and mark off the minutes. A child would eventually ask me what I was doing. 'Ticking off the minutes you'll all be staying in here during break.' Thirty seconds later, silence!” -@JulianofJulian.
• “Almost half of parents say their child has been told off at school for wearing a uniform from a supermarket rather than a specific supplier, a @Parentkind poll finds” -@tes.
• “My school has a logo on the trousers, the skirts, the tie, the pe top, pe shorts, pe leggings, blazer, etc..no logo then you get sent home to change or face detention. I think its beyond wrong. A sew on badge for a blazer should be all that’s needed” -@ftmat36.
• “The rise of AI has triggered a ‘tsunami of sameness’ as jobseekers play employers at their own game” -@Telegraph.

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

• “These young people moved from primary to secondary school right in the midst of the pandemic, showing remarkable resilience despite the disruption to those crucial years of education” – the Education Secretary heralds this summer’s L2 students. 
• “We expect inflation to ease gradually, moving closer to target levels by late 2026” – the NIESR comment on the latest inflation figures for the UK.
• “This continued rise is especially concerning on results day, when many young people are receiving their GCSE and Level 1 and 2 vocational qualifications results” – the Learning and Work Institute responds to the latest NEET figures.
• “Nights out, online shopping and meals are the main targets for budget cuts,” NatWest reports on financial pressures facing students in its latest Student Living Index.
• “Universities are big and complex organisations, with large turnovers and very thin margins, often close to break[ing] even,” -university leader Anthony Finkelstein reflects on university funding.
• “After a decade of the condition of funding policy, it is time to rethink how we support young people to build essential English and maths skills” – the AoC confronts the GCSE resit question.
• “Too many schools demand costly branded blazers, jumpers and PE kits, piling the pressure on families” – the Education Secretary calls out expensive school kits.
• “I’m going to get a kebab later to celebrate” – one happy GCSE student preparing to celebrate.

 The next Education Eye will appear in a couple of weeks' time.

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Steve Besley

Disclaimer: Education Eye is intended to help colleagues keep up to date with national developments in the education sector. Information is correct at the time of writing and is offered in good faith. No liability is accepted by Steve Besley or EdCentral for decisions made on the basis of any information provided.