Schools have warned of “devastating” consequences after their students’ results plummeted in an English language IGCSE taken by almost a third of 16-year-olds in England this year. 

Headteachers told TES that they were in a state of “utter shock” at the results, published last week ahead of yesterday’s main GCSE results. They fear the outcome could unfairly threaten jobs and lead to forced takeovers of their schools. 

In some cases, the proportion of students gaining an A*-to-C grade is almost 20 percentage points below expectations. The falls have prompted calls for an investigation into the results. 

But Roderic Gillespie, assessment director at Cambridge International Examinations, said standards had been maintained year on year, adding that this year’s results were relatively stable at a national level, given the huge increase in entries. Results could fall or rise in individual schools in line with changes in cohorts, he said.

An Ofqual spokesman pointed out that the number of candidates taking the qualification had increased by 80 per cent. He said that even if overall ability was comparable to previous years, there could be variations in individual schools. 

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