GCSEs changes confirmed by Ofqual mean that pupils will take exams in a new format in 2017. It is those students turning 13 in this academic year who will face the new tests first. The changes will occur in stages and will begin with the core subjects of English language, English literature and maths from Autumn 2015.

England is the only country in the UK to adopt this new structure. Wales is planning its own changes, Scotland already has a separate exam system and Northern Ireland will remaining the same.

Pupils in England will be graded on a number scale from 1 to 9, with 9 being the highest. All exams will be taken at the end of the two years of study rather than in current modular structure. This is rotating back to the prior O-Levels structure which ended nearly 25 years ago.

 The Head of exam regulator Ofqual, Glenys Stacey described these changes as “fundamental” and to be “the biggest change in a generation.”

Stacey believes the numerical system will highlight the highest performing candidates, however the move away from traditional grading may cause confusion. Changes within the course content have also been confirmed in all three core subjects.

In English literature students will “study whole texts in details, covering a range of literature including Shakespeare, 19th Century novels…” The new maths exams will keep the present arrangement of higher- or lower-tier papers however further details will be released at a later date.

 The government support the changes as they said the previous exams let down pupils with limited attention paid to grammar, spelling and punctuation. School Minister Elizabeth Truss believes these changes will improve students’ “core students.”

 However, a “cautious welcome” was given by Headteachers’ representative of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL). Dismay surrounding these changes was voiced by Secondary school teacher, Jovan Trkuljia; “setting the top of the mountain as the baseline means someone has to fall behind, and I fell for the sense of failure for the less able.”

Labour MP Kevin Brennan said he had “reservations” as everything is “staked on one final exam.”