In September 2024, the government introduced minimum teaching hours for learners resitting GCSE English and maths in 16 – 19 settings. This project aimed to explore whether 16 – 19 settings increasing teaching time could improve learners’ outcomes.
The scoping phase examined whether it would be possible to evaluate the impact on GCSE resit outcomes of 16 – 19 settings increasing their teaching time, in response to the new government expectations. It explored whether the effects of increased hours on GCSE outcomes could be evaluated by comparing settings that increased their teaching hours during the best-efforts introduction phase, with settings that did not.
The project also explored how GCSE resit provision works in practice and why approaches differ between settings. This involved a survey of 16 – 19 settings and interviews with six settings, covering teaching hours, staffing, curriculum choices, learner grouping and support, qualification enrolment, and the perceived costs and benefits of increasing teaching time.
Learners who do not achieve a grade 4 or above in GCSE maths and/or English must continue to study these subjects in the 16 – 19 phase. However, only a minority go on to achieve a grade 4 or higher, meaning many young people continue to face barriers to further study, employment, and wider opportunities.
At the same time, outcomes vary substantially across providers, suggesting that aspects of how resit provision is organised may influence learner attainment. One of these factors is teaching time.
Evidence from primary and secondary education suggests that increased teaching time can improve academic outcomes when used effectively. However, there is limited evidence on whether increased teaching hours improve outcomes for GCSE resit learners aged 16 – 19.
This project aimed to address that gap by examining whether increasing teaching time to above a minimum threshold improved GCSE English and maths resit attainment, while also exploring the factors that shape different approaches to GCSE resits across 16 – 19 settings.
- Only a small number of settings increased teaching hours from below the minimum teaching hours to above them. Most settings that did not increase their hours were either already meeting the minimum thresholds or planned to increase them from when compliance was compulsory. This means that it is not possible to reliably evaluate the impact of increasing GCSE resit teaching hours on learners’ outcomes.
- The research also showed that GCSE resit provision is delivered in very different ways across 16 – 19 settings. Settings vary in how they structure courses, deploy staff, group learners, choose qualifications, provide additional support, timetable lessons, and make decisions about exam entry. This suggests that teaching hours are only one part of a much broader package of decisions that shape resit provision.
- Views on increasing teaching hours were also mixed. Some providers felt additional teaching time could benefit learners when it was used effectively, while others highlighted challenges such as learner fatigue, attendance, motivation, staffing capacity, and pressures on curriculum time.
These findings provide useful insights into how settings organise GCSE resit provision and the factors that influence delivery decisions. However, the scoping phase was not designed to identify which approaches are most effective in improving learner outcomes or which factors are most important.
Approaches to resit provision varied substantially across settings:
- teaching hours were typically considered alongside a range of other delivery decisions;
- some providers viewed additional teaching time positively, particularly where it could be targeted to learner need; and
- others highlighted potential challenges relating to attendance, learner motivation, staffing capacity, timetabling, and wider curriculum pressures.