Stepping stone or stumbling block: Rethinking level 2 English and maths pathways

Holding strong GCSE English and maths opens doors for vocational and academic training progression, better job prospects and higher earnings and life satisfaction. 

However the attainment gap between different socio-economic backgrounds at GCSE level is stark and stagnant. In 2024/25, just 44% of pupils eligible for free school meals achieved a grade 4 in both English and maths at age 16, compared with 72% of pupils not eligible for FSM.

In this think-piece, former DfE resit lead and FE English resit teacher, Andrew Otty, examines resits through his first hand experience teaching students. 

Otty brings scrutiny and asks questions about what the new stepped qualification proposed by the Curriculum and Assessment Review would look like and how it might affect the current disadvantage gap. 

Otty argues that: 

• The 16 to 19 “Condition of Funding” policy has acted as a unique and successful structural corrective in the English education system, serving as the only stage where disadvantaged learners are actively closing the attainment gap with their peers.
• The proposals of the 2025 Skills White Paper threaten to dismantle the progress made in post-16 education by replacing the GCSE pathway for lower attainers with a restrictive two-tier system. 
• Rather than structural reform, the priority should be optimisation of what is already working, with ring-fenced and sufficient funding tied to guaranteed minimum teaching hours, better-targeted investment in FE colleges and maintaining resits. 

Read the full think piece 

• Stepping stone or stumbling block: Rethinking level 2 English and maths pathways (HTML)
• Stepping stone or stumbling block: Rethinking level 2 English and maths pathways (PDF)