Department for Education data for 2023/24 shows a striking difference between Functional Skills Level 2 achievement rates and GCSE resit pass rates for young people.
English
Functional Skills English Level 2, ages 16–18
62.6% pass rate
35,785 achievements from 57,150 entries.
GCSE English Language resits, ages 17–18
17.6% pass rate
14,620 achievements from 83,057 entries.
Young people were approximately 3.6 times more likely to pass Functional Skills English Level 2 than a GCSE English Language resit.
Maths
Functional Skills Maths Level 2, ages 16–18
54.7% pass rate
29,828 achievements from 54,542 entries.
GCSE Maths resits, ages 17–18
20% pass rate
16,736 achievements from 83,649 entries.
Young people were approximately 2.7 times more likely to pass Functional Skills Maths Level 2 than a GCSE Maths resit.
The comparison at a glance
Functional Skills English: nearly two in three passed.
GCSE English resits: fewer than one in five passed.
Functional Skills Maths: more than one in two passed.
GCSE Maths resits: one in five passed.
The age groups are slightly different, so this is not a perfect like-for-like comparison. However, the difference in outcomes is substantial.
The same young people may achieve very different results when their skills are assessed in a different way.
Why might Functional Skills work better for some learners?
Functional Skills assesses how learners apply English and maths in realistic situations.
In English, students may be asked to understand emails, articles, notices and instructions, or write for a clear audience and purpose.
In maths, they may work with money, measurements, timetables, percentages and practical problem-solving.
GCSE English and Maths assess a broader range of academic knowledge. GCSE English may require literary analysis and timed creative writing, while GCSE Maths may involve algebra, formulas, abstract notation and multi-step calculations.
These are valuable skills, and GCSE remains the right qualification for many students. But the assessment style does not suit every learner.
Functional Skills is not simply an easier GCSE. It assesses a different range of skills in a different way.
The financial cost of repeated resits
Our research shows us that compulsory GCSE English and Maths resits are estimated to cost around £338 million each year. This is a significant public investment in a system where most resit students still do not achieve a grade 4.
That money should be used to give young people the route most likely to help them progress—not automatically require them to repeat an assessment that has already failed to show what they can do.
We are spending around £338 million a year on resits, while the majority of students continue to leave without the required pass.
Why repeated GCSE resits can become a cycle
Students who do not achieve grade 4 in GCSE English or Maths at 16 are normally required to continue studying those subjects.
For some, another year leads to success. For many others, the pattern becomes:
- Fail at 16.
- Resit at 17.
- Fail again.
- Resit again.
- Leave education believing you are “bad” at English or maths.
A learner may still be able to communicate clearly, understand instructions, manage money, calculate percentages and solve everyday problems.
Repeating the same type of exam does not necessarily address the reason they struggled the first time.
Another GCSE-style question might ask:
How does the writer structure the text to interest the reader?
The student must understand not only what happens in the extract, but how the writer has deliberately organised the text.
They may need to discuss:
What Fairer Exams is asking for
Fairer Exams is calling for Functional Skills-style assessment to be built into GCSE Foundation English and maths.
For pupils working towards grades 1 to 4, there should be a practical assessment route that tests essential English and maths skills in a clear, applied and accessible way.
This should happen before pupils fail, not after.
We are not asking to remove GCSEs.
We are not asking to lower standards.
We are asking for fairer ways to prove them.
Functional Skills English is not easy.
It is fairer.
Help us campaign for fairer exams
Too many young people are being judged by an assessment format that does not allow them to show what they can really do.
Sign the Fairer Exams petition to support our call for Functional Skills-style assessment to be built into GCSE Foundation English and maths.
You can also watch the TEDx talk to hear the story behind the campaign and why change is needed.
