For many young people finishing school, GCSE results day is a cause for much celebration. But each year, around 30 per cent do not achieve the minimum “standard” (grade 4) pass. Most of these pupils will enrol into FE Colleges, although too many will end up not in any form of education, employment or training (NEET). There will always be roughly 30 per cent who don’t achieve that all important set of grade 4 passes because that’s how the exam system works: there must be “winners” and “losers”. For the hundreds of thousands of young people forced to re-sit GCSE maths and English classes, the outlook is grim. Only one in five are successful in their resits, and the results this summer are even slightly worse than that, especially for maths. Despite numerous calls for the sector to do better and intense scrutiny from Ofsted, the success rate will never be much better than one in five: If you a “loser” first time around, you’re much more likely to be a “loser” second time around when you are pitted in a system predicated on sorting the wheat from the chaff. Become a member for unlimited access to FE Week subscribe Our members enjoy early access to exclusive content and in-depth articles before anyone else. Get expert journalism on FE and skills, experience fewer ads, and unlock a growing range of member benefits.