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What were the changes to A-levels and GCSEs?

Michael Gove announced sweeping reforms to the structure, style and content of GCSEs and A-levels when he was education secretary in 2013.

The core changes included making the exams more challenging, providing more essay style questions, making them harder to resit, and removing coursework for the majority of subjects.

He told MPs at the time: 'By making GCSEs more demanding, more fulfilling, and more stretching we can give our young people the broad, deep and balanced education which will equip them to win in the global race.'

The changes to AS and A-levels were first taught in schools from September 2015, with the first results for AS levels in 2015 and for A-levels in 2017. More subjects are being added for next year.

New style GCSEs were first taught in English language, English literature and maths from September 2015, with the first results issued in August 2017. More subjects have been added for this year and next. There is also a new GCSE grading system, with grading moving to a 9-1 scale instead of the A* to G.

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