Every year, around one in three young people leave school without passing both GCSE English and maths. These pupils are not random. They are more likely to have SEND, dyslexia, autism, ADHD, anxiety, slower processing speeds, persistent absence, or to come from lower-income families.

The current system too often treats this as failure by the child. Fairer Exams believes it is also a failure of assessment design. Many young people can use English and maths in real life, but struggle to prove it in a high-pressure GCSE exam format.

Functional Skills already offers a practical way to assess English and maths competence. But it is often offered too late, after GCSE failure has already damaged confidence, and it is not understood or valued equally. In our Fairer Exams survey, around 85% of employers said they had either never heard of Functional Skills or did not know what it meant.

That is why Functional Skills cannot simply remain a separate, lower-status route. Practical assessment needs to be brought into the mainstream, given equal recognition, and used before pupils fail, not after.

These reforms are connected. If Functional Skills is offered but not valued in accountability measures, schools may still avoid it. If it is valued but remains poorly understood by employers, pupils may still face stigma. If resits become optional but no practical alternative is available, young people may still be stuck.

Fairer Exams is calling for joined-up reform because the problem is joined up. Standards and fairness can go together. Young people should still have to prove essential English and maths skills. But they should not be forced to prove them through one narrow format that does not work for everyone.

Fairer exams. Fairer futures.

We are not asking to lower standards.

We are asking for young people to be given a fair chance to show the English and maths skills they already have.
Every year, around one in three young people leave school without passing both GCSE English and maths. For some, this is treated as an individual failure.

They did not work hard enough. They did not revise enough. They did not try hard enough.

But when the same pattern happens year after year, and when the young people most likely to fail are those with special educational needs and disabilities, those from lower-income families, those eligible for Free School Meals, and those who have been persistently absent, often because of anxiety, mental health difficulties or unmet needs, we have to ask a different question.

What if the problem is not just the pupils?

What if the system itself is failing to recognise what many young people can actually do?

Fairer Exams exists because too many children are being left behind by an assessment system that gives them only one narrow route to prove their ability. For many pupils, especially those with dyslexia, autism, ADHD, anxiety, processing-speed difficulties, working-memory difficulties or other SEND needs, the issue is not always the skill itself. It is the way they are being tested.
A young person may be able to use English and maths in everyday life. They may be able to understand money, read information, write clearly, measure, calculate, compare, explain and solve practical problems. But in a high-pressure GCSE exam, with long questions, abstract wording, time pressure, memory demands and unfamiliar contexts, they may not be able to show it.

That matters because GCSE English and maths are not ordinary exams. They have become gateways.

Without a grade 4, young people can be blocked from college courses, apprenticeships, jobs, training routes and future opportunities. A narrow miss can shape a whole life.

This manifesto sets out a practical way forward.

The solution already exists. Functional Skills English and maths are practical qualifications that assess whether a young person can use essential English and maths in real-world situations. They are already used by many learners who struggle to show what they know through GCSE alone.

But Functional Skills are not understood or valued equally. They are often offered too late, after GCSE failure has already caused damage. They sit outside the GCSE system, which means they can carry stigma. In our own Fairer Exams survey, around 85% of employers said they had either never heard of Functional Skills or did not know what they meant.

That is why simply saying “offer Functional Skills” is not enough.
We need a system that brings practical assessment into the mainstream.
We need Functional Skills-style assessment built into GCSE Foundation English and maths, so young people can demonstrate essential competence before they fail, not after.

We need accountability measures that reward schools for helping pupils achieve real English and maths competence, rather than pushing every child through the same route whether or not it works for them.

We need colleges and providers to be able to use professional judgement when a pupil narrowly misses grade 4 but is ready for Level 3 study.

We need to end forced repeated resits for grade 3 pupils and offer a genuine alternative.

We need SEND expertise in exam design.

And we need every learner who has proved Level 2 English or maths competence to have that achievement properly recognised.

This is not about making exams easier. It is about making them fairer.

The current system does not affect all children equally.

The pupils most likely to miss GCSE English and maths are often the pupils already facing the greatest barriers. Children with SEND. Children living in poverty. Children who have missed school because of anxiety, mental health difficulties, illness, bullying, unmet needs or family stress. Children who may have worked incredibly hard, but who cannot show their knowledge in the format they are given.

When a child fails GCSE English or maths, the impact is not just academic.

It can affect confidence. It can affect mental health. It can affect family life. It can affect whether a young person sees themselves as capable, intelligent and employable.

For some young people, the first failure is painful. The second failure is crushing. The third failure can become part of their identity.

They begin to say, “I am bad at maths.” “I am stupid.” “I cannot do exams.” “There is no point trying.”

Repeated failure does not build resilience when the route itself is wrong.
The Mental Health Policy Group has argued that mental health should be considered across government policy, not only inside the health system.

Education policy is part of that. If the way we assess children is repeatedly damaging confidence, increasing stress and blocking progression, then exam reform is not only an education issue. It is also a mental health issue.

Young people need qualifications that open doors. They need assessment that recognises what they can do. They need a system that asks not only, “Can this pupil perform under this particular exam format?” but also, “Can this pupil use English and maths in real life?”

Fairer Exams began with one family’s experience, but it quickly became clear that this was not one family’s problem.
My son is dyslexic. Like thousands of young people, he struggled with GCSE English and maths. He was not lazy. He was not incapable. He worked hard. He kept trying. He came painfully close.

But the exam system did not give him a fair way to show what he could do.

He missed GCSE maths by one mark. He missed GCSE English by two marks.

hose tiny margins had enormous consequences.

Eventually, he took Functional Skills. In that format, he was able to show the skills that GCSE had failed to recognise.
That raised a simple question.

If Functional Skills can allow a young person to demonstrate English and maths competence after GCSE failure, why are we waiting until after the damage is done?

Why do pupils have to fail first before they are offered a practical route?

Why is a qualification that can work better for some learners kept separate from GCSE, given less status, and often poorly understood by employers and parents?

Why are we using one narrow assessment route as the gatekeeper to so many futures?

Those questions became Fairer Exams.
This campaign is not anti-GCSE. It is not anti-standards. It is not asking for children to be passed without proving the skills they need.

It is asking for a fairer way to prove them.

Ofqual says GCSEs are not marked to a fixed quota. There is no rule that one third of pupils must fail.

But in practice, around one in three young people still leave school without passing both GCSE English and maths.
That outcome matters because GCSE English and maths have become high-stakes gateway qualifications. A grade 4 can determine whether a young person can move onto a course, apprenticeship or job. A grade 3, even when it is a narrow miss, can hold them back.

The current system creates several connected problems.

First, the GCSE format does not work fairly for every learner. Some pupils can use English and maths in real life but struggle with long written questions, abstract wording, time pressure, working-memory load or anxiety.

Second, Functional Skills is offered too late. Too many pupils only discover it after GCSE failure, when confidence has already been damaged.

Third, Functional Skills is not equally understood. If employers, parents and even some schools do not know what it is, it cannot act as a truly equal pathway.
Fourth, school accountability measures create pressure. GCSE grades feed into performance measures such as Attainment 8 and Progress 8. English and maths are particularly important in those measures. Functional Skills does not produce the same 9 to 1 graded score, so schools may feel pushed towards GCSE even when a practical route may be better for a pupil.

Fifth, compulsory resits keep many young people trapped. Grade 3 pupils are often required to resit GCSE English or maths, even when the same exam format has already failed them.

Sixth, Level 3 progression can be blocked. A young person may be ready for a college course, T Level, BTEC, A level route or apprenticeship, but still be held back because they narrowly missed GCSE English or maths.

Finally, exam design does not always reflect the full range of learners. SEND pupils need exam questions that test subject knowledge without adding unnecessary barriers through wording, layout, cognitive load, visual presentation or processing demands.
Each of these problems reinforces the others. That is why Fairer Exams is not calling for one small adjustment. We are calling for a connected set of reforms that work together.

1. Make Functional Skills available from Year 10

Functional Skills English and maths should be available as a clear pathway from Year 10, alongside GCSEs.

Pupils should not have to fail GCSE first before being offered a practical route to prove their skills.

At the moment, many families only discover Functional Skills after their child has missed a GCSE grade 4, sometimes after several failed attempts. By then, the young person may already feel ashamed, defeated or disengaged.
This is the wrong way round.

If a school knows that a pupil struggles with the GCSE format, but can demonstrate English and maths in practical contexts, that pupil should be able to access Functional Skills earlier.
This does not mean giving up on ambition. It means matching the route to the learner.

For some pupils, GCSE will remain the right route. For others, a practical Level 2 pathway may be more appropriate. For some, both routes could sit alongside each other.

The key principle is simple: offer the practical route before failure, not after.
This would give pupils a chance to build confidence, achieve a meaningful qualification and continue progressing. It would also reduce the cliff edge at the end of Year 11, where one exam result can suddenly decide whether a young person feels they have a future.

2. Give Functional Skills equal weight in school measures

Functional Skills Level 2 should count equally with GCSE English and maths in league tables and school accountability measures.

At the moment, schools are judged heavily on GCSE outcomes. GCSE grades feed into performance measures, and English and maths carry particular weight.

Functional Skills does not create the same type of 9 to 1 GCSE score. It is usually a pass/fail qualification. That means it does not sit easily inside the current system of school performance tables.

This creates a problem.

Even when Functional Skills may be the better route for a pupil, schools may have little incentive to offer it. In some cases, they may feel penalised for doing the right thing for the learner.

This is not fair on schools, and it is not fair on pupils.

If the government wants every young person to achieve English and maths competence, then schools should be recognised for helping pupils achieve that competence, whichever valid route works.

Functional Skills Level 2 should not be treated as a second-best outcome.

It should be recognised properly in accountability measures.

Without this change, any reform will struggle. Schools will remain under pressure to prioritise GCSE grades over practical competence, even when the GCSE route is not working for a particular child.

3. Let grade 3 pupils move forward

A pupil who narrowly misses a grade 4 should still be able to progress onto a suitable Level 3 course, while continuing to study English and maths where needed.

Level 3 qualifications include A levels, T Levels, BTECs and some advanced apprenticeships. For many young people, Level 3 is the bridge to university, higher-level training or skilled employment.

But GCSE English and maths can become a gatekeeper.

A pupil may be ready for Level 3 study in the subject they want to pursue, yet still be blocked because they missed GCSE English or maths by a narrow margin.

This can be especially damaging for pupils with SEND, dyslexia, anxiety or processing difficulties. Their grade may not reflect their ability to succeed on a course. It may reflect difficulty with one exam format.

Fairer Exams believes providers should be trusted to use professional judgement.

If a college or training provider believes a pupil is ready for a Level 3 course, a grade 3 in English or maths should not automatically block progression. Instead, English and maths support should run alongside the course.

This would protect standards while removing unnecessary barriers.

Young people should not be held back from the course that motivates them because they narrowly missed a GCSE threshold.

Progression matters. Hope matters. A pupil who is allowed to move forward is more likely to stay engaged, continue learning and keep working towards English and maths.

4. End compulsory GCSE resits for grade 3 pupils

For pupils who achieve grade 3, GCSE resits should be optional, not compulsory.

Functional Skills should be offered alongside GCSE resits as an alternative route to Level 2 English and maths.

The current resit system does help some young people. Some pupils narrowly miss a grade 4, resit, and pass.

But for many others, repeated resits do not solve the problem.

They repeat the same exam. They experience the same stress. They face the same format. And they fail again.
This is particularly harmful when the issue is not effort, but accessibility.
If a pupil has already shown that the GCSE format does not work well for them, it makes little sense to force them through the same route again and again without offering a practical alternative.
Repeated failure carries a cost.

There is a financial cost to the system.

Fairer Exams estimates that teaching and exam costs for English and maths GCSE resits by grade 3 pupils are around £338 million. Even a modest reduction in repeated resits could save tens of millions each year.

There is also a human cost.

Young people carry these results with them. They may start college already feeling like failures. They may disengage from education. They may avoid careers that require confidence with English and maths. They may stop believing they are capable.

This does not mean resits should disappear.

Some pupils should absolutely be able to resit GCSE if that is the right route for them.

But resits should not be compulsory for every grade 3 pupil.

The question should be: which route gives this young person the best chance to demonstrate real English or maths competence?

For some, the answer will be GCSE. For others, it will be Functional Skills. Both routes should be respected.

5. Build Functional Skills into GCSE long term

The long-term aim should be to integrate Functional Skills-style assessment into GCSE English and maths.

This is the heart of the Fairer Exams campaign.

Functional Skills should not remain separate, misunderstood and lower status. Practical English and maths assessment should be built into GCSE Foundation itself.

For pupils working towards grades 1 to 4, GCSE English and maths should include a practical, applied assessment route. This route should test whether pupils can use English and maths in real-life situations, such as reading information, writing clearly, understanding money, using measurements, interpreting data, comparing options and solving everyday problems.

If a pupil can show the essential English or maths skills needed for life, work and further study, they should be able to achieve a recognised pass within the GCSE system.

For pupils working towards grades 5 to 9, the current national GCSE approach can stay in place.

This protects the value of higher GCSE grades.

But for pupils trying to reach the grade 4 gateway, the assessment should be fairer, more practical and more valid.
Maths already has a foundation tier. English should have a foundation route too, with parents and pupils clearly told what it means and what grade range it can lead to.

Fairer Exams proposes that grades 5 to 9 can continue to be awarded through the current standards-based national system. But where a pupil is sitting at grade 3, their work should also be checked against a clear grade 4 standard. If they have genuinely demonstrated the essential skills required, they should pass.

This would not lower standards. It would make the standard clearer.

It would recognise competence that the current format may miss.

It would also reduce stigma. Once Functional Skills-style assessment is part of GCSE Foundation, pupils would no longer be pushed onto a separate route that many people do not understand.

They would be able to say they passed GCSE English or GCSE maths.

Same skills. Different format. Better outcomes.

6. Put SEND expertise into exam design

Every exam board should employ SEND specialists across the full spectrum of need.

This should include expertise in dyslexia, ADHD, autism, dyspraxia, speech and language needs, processing difficulties, working-memory difficulties and mental health-related needs.

The purpose is not to make exams easier.

The purpose is to make sure questions are fairly asked.

An exam should test the subject. It should not add unnecessary barriers through confusing wording, poor layout, excessive cognitive load, inaccessible diagrams, ambiguous instructions or formats that disadvantage particular groups of learners.

Access arrangements are important, but they are not enough.

Extra time can help some pupils. Rest breaks can help some pupils. A reader, scribe, laptop or smaller room can make exams more accessible.

But access arrangements do not fix the design of the paper itself.

A poorly designed question remains a poorly designed question, even with extra time.

SEND expertise should be built into the exam design process from the beginning, not added as an afterthought.
Exam boards should be able to show how they have considered accessibility for a wide range of learners before a paper reaches pupils.

This would benefit SEND pupils, but not only SEND pupils.

Clearer questions, better layout and reduced unnecessary cognitive load help everyone.

Fairness in assessment means asking the question in a way that allows pupils to show the skill being tested.

7. Let every learner call it GCSE English and maths

Once Functional Skills-style assessment is integrated into GCSE, students should be able to call the qualification GCSE English or GCSE maths, regardless of which route helped them show the required skills.

This matters because names carry status.

Functional Skills may be a valid and useful qualification, but many employers, parents and pupils do not understand it. Some assume it is lower value. Some do not know it exists. Some do not recognise that it can show Level 2 competence.

That stigma follows young people.
A young person should not have to explain, apologise for or defend the route that allowed them to demonstrate essential skills.

If the standard has been met, the achievement should be recognised clearly.

For previous students, the government should issue a clear certificate or official statement confirming that Functional Skills Level 2 is equivalent to GCSE English or maths at grade 4 for relevant progression purposes.

This would support employment, college applications and apprenticeships.
It would also help adults who passed Functional Skills but still feel they do not have a “proper” English or maths qualification.

Equal recognition matters.

The aim is not to hide difference.
The aim is to stop difference being treated as lesser.

These reforms work together.

Offering Functional Skills from Year 10 helps pupils before they fail.

Giving Functional Skills equal weight in school measures gives schools permission to offer the right route.

Allowing grade 3 pupils to progress to Level 3 prevents a narrow GCSE miss from blocking their future.

Ending compulsory resits stops young people being trapped in repeated failure.
Building Functional Skills-style assessment into GCSE Foundation removes stigma and creates a fairer mainstream route.

Putting SEND expertise into exam design improves the fairness of the papers themselves.

Giving equal recognition to every learner protects the value of the achievement and makes it easier for employers, colleges and families to understand.
One reform alone will not be enough.
If Functional Skills is offered but not valued in league tables, schools may still avoid it.

If Functional Skills is valued but still poorly understood by employers, pupils may still face stigma.

If resits become optional but no practical alternative is available, young people may still be stuck.

If GCSE Foundation includes applied assessment but exam papers remain inaccessible, SEND pupils may still be disadvantaged.

The system has to change as a system.
Fairer Exams is calling for joined-up reform because the problem is joined up.

One of the most common objections to exam reform is that it might lower standards.

That is not what Fairer Exams is asking for.

We believe English and maths matter deeply. Young people need these skills for life, work, training, parenting, money, health, communication and independence.

But if English and maths matter that much, we should care even more about whether we are assessing them fairly.
A system that repeatedly fails a third of young people is not protecting standards. It is failing to secure them.
A fairer system would still require pupils to demonstrate essential competence.
It would still protect higher GCSE grades.

It would still allow pupils aiming for academic routes to take the current GCSE pathway.

But it would stop pretending that one exam format is the only valid way to prove English and maths ability.

The question is not: should we make it easier to pass?

The question is: are we currently measuring the right skills in the right way for every learner?

For too many young people, the answer is no.

Exam reform is often discussed in terms of standards, accountability and progression.

Those things matter.

But we also need to talk about mental health.

For young people who struggle with GCSE English and maths, the pressure can be immense. These subjects are tied to identity. Passing them is treated as proof of basic ability. Failing them can feel like public evidence of being stupid, even when that is completely untrue.
The emotional impact of repeated failure can last for years.

It can damage self-esteem. It can increase anxiety. It can make young people avoid education. It can affect family relationships. It can make parents feel powerless as they watch their child lose confidence.

A mentally healthier education system would not remove challenge.

But it would reduce unnecessary harm.
It would build routes that allow young people to succeed before they become demoralised.

It would treat prevention as better than repair.

It would ask whether policy choices are supporting young people’s wellbeing as well as measuring their performance.
That is why Fairer Exams supports the principle that mental health should be considered across education policy.
If a policy repeatedly exposes young people to failure without offering a better route, the mental health impact should be part of the evidence.

Fairer Exams is asking government, Ofqual, exam boards and education leaders to act.

The current system does not need to wait for an entirely new qualification to be invented. Functional Skills already exists. It is practical, recognised and already used by many learners.

The task now is to bring that practical route into the mainstream, give it equal status, and use it earlier.

We are calling for:
• Functional Skills English and maths to be available from Year 10 alongside GCSEs.
• Functional Skills Level 2 to count equally with GCSE English and maths in school accountability measures.
• Grade 3 pupils to be allowed to progress onto suitable Level 3 courses while continuing English and maths support.
• GCSE resits for grade 3 pupils to become optional, with Functional Skills offered as an alternative Level 2 route.
• Functional Skills-style assessment to be built into GCSE Foundation English and maths long term.
• SEND specialists to be involved in exam design across every exam board.
• Equal recognition for learners who demonstrate Level 2 English and maths competence, including clearer certification for previous Functional Skills students.

These are practical reforms. They build on what already exists. They protect standards while widening the way pupils can prove them.

We want a system where no young person has to fail GCSE English or maths before being offered a fairer route.

We want parents to know all the options before results day.

We want schools to be rewarded for helping pupils demonstrate real competence, not punished for choosing the route that works.

We want colleges to be able to support progression, not block it unnecessarily.
We want employers to understand and recognise practical English and maths qualifications.

We want exam boards to design questions with SEND learners in mind from the start.

We want young people to leave education with confidence, not shame.

Above all, we want to stop confusing exam failure with lack of ability.

A fair system does not lower expectations.

It gives every learner a real chance to meet them.

Fairer exams. Fairer futures.