ISC Daily News Summary

BBC News reports pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving their GCSE grades today. Meanwhile, some students continue to await their BTEC results, after the exam board Pearson announced yesterday it would re-grade them to bring them in line with GCSEs and A-levels. By Hannah Richardson and Katherine Sellgren.

According to figures released by Ofqual, the proportion of top GCSE grades awarded in England this year has soared by 26 per cent, and the proportion of pupils achieving a 4 or above has risen to 79 per cent. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

Barnaby Lenon, chairman of the ISC, has warned grade inflation could mean some Year 11 pupils "will now qualify to take A-levels which they are not really suited to". By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.

The Telegraph reports some teachers are concerned that students and parents may take their frustration out on them if they are disappointed with their GCSE results. By Camilla Turner.

Tes features the reaction among several heads and teachers to this year's GCSE results. By Dave Speck. The article quotes David James, deputy head (academic) of Bryanston School.

According to new figures from UCAS, about 15,000 A-level students who were rejected by their first choice university now meet the grade requirements following the government U-turn. By Zoe Tidman, The Independent.

Schools minister Nick Gibb has said the modelling system used to generate grades was "fair" and "very popular", but has acknowledged "something went wrong" with the implementation process. By Amy Gibbons, Tes.

The Labour Party has claimed the algorithm used to calculate this year's A-level results was "unlawful", stating it was "bound to disadvantage a whole range of groups with protected characteristics, in breach of a range of anti-discrimination legislation". BBC News.

Alice Phillips, headmistress at St Catherine's School, Bramley, writes to the Financial Times arguing issues with this year's A-level results could have been avoided "had anyone talked to a group of headteachers at the chalkface".

An article in iNews explores how the disruption to grades has affected home-schooled students and those who were set to retake their A-level exams this summer. By Will Hazell.

The Times reports some universities will be offering students incentives to defer their place this year. By Nicola Woolcock.

Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, has written to the universities minister, Michelle Donelan, calling for the cap on medical school places to be lifted. By Will Hazell, iNews. A separate article in the paper reports the Government has said it will lift the cap on university places for medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses. By Will Hazell.

Professor John Atherton, co-chair of the Medical Schools Council, has expressed concerns that the switch to teacher assessed grades "could result in a higher likelihood of greater than usual failure rates" among medical students as they progress through university. By Alison Moore, The Telegraph.

An article in The Telegraph explores the impact of revised International Baccalaureate results on students' future plans. By Katie Russell.