Correspondence

Letter to higher education admissions officers

Published 9 October 2023

Applies to England

Dear Admissions Officer,

I am writing to make sure you are fully aware of the grading arrangements for the qualifications that Ofqual regulates for the 2023 to 2024 admissions cycle. 

GCSEs, AS and A levels

The 2-year transition to pre-pandemic grading is now complete. Normal grading arrangements will continue for GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2024. As a result, Ofqual expects national results in 2024 to be broadly similar to those of the summer of 2023. 

Of course, Ofqual does not know at this point precisely what results will look like in particular subjects or specifications. Until entries are made, exams taken, and work marked, we can’t know this. Precise outcomes vary a little in any normal year, for a range of reasons such as if the cohort of students taking a qualification is stronger or weaker than in previous years. Accordingly, overall national results can fluctuate a little year on year, just as they did before the pandemic.

In terms of the predicted grades used to inform your offer-making, I have been clear to schools and colleges that the well-established pre-pandemic standard has been reinstated. This familiar standard should be used to inform predicted grades, in line with the expectations set out in UCAS guidance. In particular, I have advised school and college leaders that when considering predictions, it is best to use examination materials and evidence from summer 2023, alongside those from 2019 and pre-pandemic years. 

Vocational and technical qualifications

Grading arrangements for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) (such as Pearson’s BTEC Nationals and OCR’s Cambridge Technicals) will continue as normal with awarding organisations adopting the same approach for the academic year 2023 to 2024 as they did previously.

Technical Awards, which are taken alongside GCSEs, have been reformed. The first students to complete these new qualifications will do so in 2024. Ofqual has asked awarding organisations to take into account that teachers and students may be less familiar with the assessments when setting grade boundaries for new Technical Awards, as has happened with other new qualifications previously.

As in 2023, awarding organisations will be generous when awarding the Technical Qualifications within T Levels in the first years of awards. This is to reflect that these are new qualifications that students and teachers are less familiar with.

As you may be aware, some students were affected by late or incorrect vocational qualification results in summer 2022, and Ofqual established an action plan which resulted in the successful delivery of VTQ level 3 results this summer. Ofqual will be putting in place a similar approach for 2024. Awarding organisations will collect data about students from schools and colleges through a spring term checkpoint process, and once again release results to schools and colleges well in advance of results day. Ofqual will make clear to those awarding organisations whose qualifications are used for progression to higher education its expectation that they will issue complete and accurate results to UCAS by the deadline UCAS has set. Ofqual will announce further details in due course.

Decisions taken by regulators in other jurisdictions

Ofqual is the regulator for qualifications for England. Ofqual’s grading decisions relate only to those qualifications we regulate. Education is a devolved matter, and the regulators in other parts of the UK take separate decisions on their approach to qualifications and grading.

Other UK regulators have confirmed, nevertheless, that they are committed to a return to normal grading standards this year for GCSEs and A levels. It is worth remembering, however, that some similarly named qualifications across the devolved administrations, including GCSEs and A levels, have long-standing differences in their design and the way they are assessed. I know you will want to reflect on this so that students are treated fairly across jurisdictions. Of course, you are experienced in considering applications from students with qualifications taken across the UK and all over the world, many of which are also designed and graded in different ways.

I trust that this information has provided the clarity you need to support your admissions decisions. If you have any questions, please do contact Ofqual at strategicrelationshipsgq@ofqual.gov.uk.

Dr Jo Saxton Chief Regulator, Ofqual