This year’s GCSE results strike a delicate balance between hope and caution, highlighting student determination while pointing to clear structural shortcomings, and underline — again — an often-overlooked truth: languages are slipping off the map just when we need them most.
The class of 2025 faced significant disruptions during their transition from primary to secondary school. The Covid pandemic led to the cancellation their Key Stage 2 tests and resulted in a disrupted final year of primary education, followed by a secondary experience marked by online learning and intermittent in-person schooling. These challenges left uncertainties about what to expect from their academic performance. Despite these setbacks, this cohort has demonstrated resilience and determination, achieving results that not only surpassed the previous year’s outcomes, but also outperformed their 2019 peers. (The Guardian)
What’s positive
Top-grade attainment edged up to 21.9%, and the gender gap narrowed to its smallest level since 2000. Spanish has overtaken French as the most popular GCSE language — a rare bright spot. (Schools Week, TES, The Times) Moreover, as a teacher of French and German, I am glad to see that those two languages experienced the most significant increases in top GCSE grades, mirroring trends from the previous year. German saw a 6.5% rise in grades 7 to 9, French rose by 6.2%. (Schools Week) These improvements follow adjustments in grading standards aimed at addressing previous concerns over stringent assessments in these subjects.
What needs urgent reform
The overall GCSE pass rate has decreased by 0.2%, with 67.4% of students achieving a grade 4 or C and above. Core subject failure rates remain high: ~ 40% failed English and ~ 42% failed maths, partly due to soaring resit numbers that are failing the students they aim to support. Critics are calling the current policy ‘demoralising—not motivating.’ The resit system for English and maths is failing far too many. The OCR exam board has called this a bona fide ‘resit crisis’, with leaders warning that merely tinkering around the edges will not suffice. (BBC, The Guardian)
Modern foreign languages (MFL) are dwindling overall: French and German entries continue to fall, especially in less affluent schools where uptake lags by over 20 percentage points. Regrettably, one of the largest entries falls, all subjects included, is German — down ~ 7%. (BBC, Schools Week, The Independent, The Times) I find it quite disheartening to see these languages significantly in decline. We have seen this trend firsthand in schools: fewer students choosing these subjects, departments under pressure, and amazing opportunities being lost.
Spanish’s rise in popularity is encouraging, but the decline of French and German reflects wider issues: teacher shortages, policy shifts, and the perception that these subjects are ’too difficult’ or ’useless’.
Languages offer cognitive, cultural, and economic value — with German being one of the most sought after and the highest-paying in employment (HR News). Reintroducing compulsory language GCSEs, investing in specialist teachers, and making qualifications more accessible must be priorities. The recently launched faster, vocabulary-focused GCSEs aim to help — if implemented equitably — but they will only succeed with broader, targeted investment.
We need bold reform, starting with systemic rethinks of how literacy and numeracy are taught and assessed at earlier stages (Key Stage 3), plus viable alternatives to repetitive resits that too often demoralise rather than support.
What does this say about the current education system in the UK?
The 2025 GCSE results underscore both resilience and systemic challenges. Whilst top grades have risen, the persistently low pass rates in English and maths, especially among resit candidates, highlight the limitations of compulsory retakes. With only 23.1% passing English and 18.2% passing maths on resit attempts, it appears that the current policy may be doing more harm than good, trapping students in a cycle of failure and stress. This situation calls for a re-evaluation of assessment strategies, focusing on support and tailored interventions rather than punitive measures. Additionally, the narrowing gender gap and shifting regional disparities point to evolving dynamics in educational equity, suggesting that while progress is being made, significant disparities remain. Addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach that includes curriculum reform, targeted support for disadvantaged students, and a commitment to reducing regional inequalities.
Bottom Line
The data says: students are performing — let’s not let policy lag. Secure improvements must include better resit strategies, and a renewed commitment to languages as essential, not optional, learning.
