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The Education Minister tried to explain the new GCSE grades and it didn’t go well

Oonagh Keating. Updated August 23rd, 2018

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Most GCSE grades are now reported in numbers, rather than the old letter format. The grades start at 1 and go up to 9 – top result – with grades 7, 8 and 9 representing A to A*, without a clear translation to the letter system for grade 8. Some people are describing 8 as A* and 9 as A**. With me so far? Let’s see if it’s any clearer when it’s explained by the Education Secretary, Nick Gibb MP, a man who should understand this stuff completely.

Nick Ferrari: What is an A* today?

Nick Gibb: A* …will be roughly around an 8 under the new system. So, the 7 is directly linked to an A, the …

Ferrari: So, 7 equals A. A [sic] equals A*?

Gibb: Not directly. We have a very complicated formula for how you calculate what a 9 is and …

Ferrari: What is a 9? That’s an A**? That’s a new grade totally. is it?

Gibb: It’s a new grade totally, to draw …so there’s more distribution of the top grades. Which, again was something demanded by the universities.

Ferrari: Right.

Gibb: And then the 8 is the midway point between the 9 and the 7.

There you go. Clear as mud.

H/T LBC