An influential Conservative MP has said that resiting your GCSE exams again and again was detrimental to learner confidence and mental wellbeing. 

Neil O’Brien, the MP for Harborough in Leicestershire, has spoken out against the GCSE resit policy, throwing his weight behind the #FullyFunctional campaign. 

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The campaign, launched by awarding body NCFE earlier this year, calls for students who achieved grade 3 in English and maths GCSE to be given the opportunity to take functional skills, instead of having to resit their GCSE. 

At the moment, only those who achieve a grade 2 and below in GCSE English or maths have the option of taking a functional skills qualification. But as Mr O’Brien points out, just 21 per cent of students achieved a grade 4 in both GCSEs after the age of 16 in 2018. 

‘This cannot continue’

Mr O’Brien wrote: “Most people in their lives will use functional mathematics: they will need to work out the interest on a loan or understand a pension or even use it for DIY.  Relatively few will use what they learn in GCSE maths.

“Through #FullyFunctional, we want to see further parity of esteem in the funding system … by doing this [offering functional skills to those who achieve grade 3], we are enabling learners to make the right choice for them individually and achieve successful outcomes for all.

“Without this funding in place, learners are potentially exposed to a negative cycle of examinations that are detrimental to their confidence and mental wellbeing. In some cases, we’ve seen learners taking the exam up to nine times in order to pass. This cannot continue.”

He said that offering functional skills qualifications would help students who struggle in class and provide an alternative style of learning which suited different people.  

Mr O’Brien previously served as special adviser on the economy and industrial strategy to Theresa May when she was prime minister, and as a special adviser to George Osborne when he was chancellor between 2012-2016. 

He was also name-checked in chancellor Sajid Javid’s spending review speech in September. When revealing an extra £400m for FE colleges, Mr Javid thanked Mr O’Brien for lobbying on behalf of the sector.