Correspondence

Letter to higher education admissions officers 2024

Published 3 October 2024

Applies to England

Dear admissions officer

I am writing to make sure you are aware of the grading arrangements for Ofqual regulated qualifications for the 2024 to 2025 admissions cycle.

GCSE, AS and A levels

Standards will be maintained from 2024. This means we will regulate exam boards so that they ensure that the standard of work to achieve a particular grade remains comparable to that expected in summer 2024.

As a result, Ofqual expects national results in 2025 to be broadly similar to those in summer 2024. Of course, it is not possible to know in advance precisely what results will look like overall or in particular subjects. We cannot know this until entries are made, exams are taken, and work is marked. 

It is normal for national results – and results for individual subjects – to vary a little each year.  This is because there are often changes in cohorts of students taking different qualifications and differences in the performance of students in their assessments.  However, the standard of performance required remains consistent. 

I am aware that predicted grades are generally used to inform your offer-making. I have also written to schools and colleges to reiterate that standards will be maintained from 2024, and that this familiar standard should be used to inform predicted grades, in line with the expectations set out in UCAS guidance.

It may be helpful to be aware when making admissions decisions that many students applying to higher education this year will have taken GCSEs and level 2 vocational and technical qualifications in 2023, when grading had returned to the well-established pre-pandemic standard. The fact that these students’ grades reflect the longstanding and well understood standard in these qualifications should help you in making admissions decisions.

Vocational and technical qualifications

Well established grading arrangements for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs), such as Pearson’s BTEC Nationals and OCR’s Cambridge Technicals, will continue, with awarding organisations adopting the same approach for the academic year 2024 to 2025 as they did previously. 

As in 2024, 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.

RAAC disruption

RAAC and other similar building issues have created challenges for the delivery of teaching in some schools and colleges across the country since September 2023. The extent of this disruption varies considerably, both between and within affected school and colleges.

Whilst support is in place for schools, it is important to acknowledge that this has been a challenging time for those impacted by RAAC disruption. I wanted to make sure you are aware of the disruption experienced by students and would ask you to consider this when making admissions decisions. 

We understand that UCAS has outlined that the extent of any impact from RAAC can be included in the undergraduate reference at the point of application. You can see a list of schools and colleges which have been affected by RAAC on gov.uk.

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 returned to normal grading standards in 2024 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

Sir Ian Bauckham CBE, Chief Regulator