Surrey nurse's 'sock-cessful' idea to prevent falls praised
"Sometimes, just very simple ideas can make all the difference," he added.The concept is now being piloted with frailty ward patients at Royal Surrey after being approved, according to the trust.
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Telegraph
10 minutes ago
- Telegraph
What sharing a bottle of wine with your spouse every night really means for your health
Since they first met in 2009, Sarah Wellband and her partner James have settled into a nightly routine which involves, at the minimum, sharing the best part of a bottle of wine together. 'We have a gin and tonic, followed by two or three glasses of wine with dinner and watching TV,' says Wellband, a 62-year-old remedial hypnotherapist. Such a routine, seven nights a week, would probably amount to somewhere between 46 and 62 units of alcohol per week, depending on whether that third glass of wine was consumed – far more than the NHS recommended guidelines of 14 units. However, Wellband says that the drinking habits of her and her 70-year-old partner are far from an issue. Instead, she insists that they form an important part of their general wellbeing. '7pm is news and a drink time,' she says. 'It signals the end of the day and time to wind down and catch up with each other. The routine is more important than the alcohol, but it helps. We are well aware of our limits and will leave a glass rather than finish it for the sake of it, but we just find it a nice way to end the day.' Recently however, the potentially long-term harm from excessive daily drinking has been brought once more to the spotlight. Earlier this year, a study found that consuming more than eight alcoholic drinks a week increases your risk of incurring the brain degeneration commonly linked with dementia, while former TV executive Martin Frizell recently gave an interview about his wife Fiona Phillips's battle with early-onset Alzheimer's, and openly mused as to whether their habit of drinking a bottle of wine a night in their younger years had been a contributing factor. Yet the link between alcohol and chronic diseases is a little more nuanced than often portrayed. While excessive drinking has been identified as a direct cause of at least seven types of cancer and a known risk factor for dementia, the exact risk varies considerably from person to person. As Debbie Shawcross, professor of hepatology and chronic liver failure at King's College London, explains, women have far lower levels of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol compared with men, which makes them more susceptible, and studies have even shown that women are more likely to display signs of 'leaky gut' – a term which characterises greater intestinal permeability, meaning that toxins are more likely to leak out into the bloodstream – following a binge than men. An alcohol 'binge' is characterised as more than six units (a standard-sized glass of wine contains 2.1 units) in a single session for women and eight units for men. Some people do also carry gene variants that improve alcohol metabolism, allowing them to knock back the booze with no apparent ill effects – and Wellband says that she and her partner never get drunk on their nightly routine – while your diet can also be a contributing factor. 'Environmental, social and lifestyle factors also play a role,' says Shawcross. 'For example, being overweight or having an unhealthy diet rich in ultra-processed foods can increase the risk of alcohol harm on the body.' On average though, sharing a bottle of wine every night with your spouse isn't the greatest thing for your long-term health. Here's the very latest on how this amount of daily booze can affect your body, and what some of the UK's leading experts advise in terms of how to still enjoy alcohol in a safer way. What are the effects on the brain? As Anya Topiwala, a senior clinical researcher at the University of Oxford, points out, half a bottle of wine a night works out at a minimum of 35 units per week for white wine and 42 units if you're only drinking red wine, which generally contains more alcohol per volume. 'If sustained, I would say there is a high likelihood of this negatively impacting your brain and memory,' she says. This comes from studies she's conducted which have found that people drinking more than 14 units per week, or seven medium-sized glasses of wine, have small total brain volumes, greater age-related shrinkage of the hippocampus – the brain's memory hub and one of the areas particularly impacted by Alzheimer's – and faster cognitive decline. 'Alcohol is a neurotoxin,' says Topiwala. 'Put simply, it kills brain cells. Additionally, heavy drinking often leads to a deficiency in vitamin B1 which can also damage the brain.' But it's not all doom and gloom. By reducing the amount you drink, even by a glass or two per week, it's possible to mitigate and even reverse some of these issues, something which Topiwala has witnessed first-hand in her practice as an old-age psychiatrist, with various patients seeing their short-term memory and recall improving after reducing their alcohol intake. 'I can think of many patients who have experienced a cognitive benefit from cutting down,' she says. What are the effects on the liver? Between 90 and 98 per cent of the alcohol you consume is broken down by your liver, making it one of the organs most acutely impacted by booze. Based on her own clinical and research knowledge, Shawcross says that people consuming half a bottle of wine per night will be particularly at risk of developing fatty liver – a condition where the liver becomes progressively clogged up with harmful visceral fat. Over time, this makes you more prone to cirrhosis or scarring and liver cancer. But she says that cutting down, even slightly, would undoubtedly help. 'There is no safe level of drinking, but if you didn't drink at all for two to three nights per week, there would be even more benefits,' says Shawcross. 'For example, you'd see a reduction in the amount of liver fat, as measured on a scan.' Shawcross is keen to point out that if you are not getting drunk, as noted by Wellband and her partner, it is not necessarily a sign that you have a protective gene variant which allows you to metabolise alcohol more quickly, limiting its damaging effects on the body. She explains that people can develop a tolerance to higher amounts of alcohol because the liver has a different group of enzymes which kick into action when there are consistently large amounts of alcohol in the bloodstream. This isn't a good thing, as harmful fat and other forms of damage will still be accruing, but it makes you less aware of alcohol's effects. 'When this different set of enzymes is consistently activated, it means you need to drink more alcohol to feel its effects,' she says. What is the effect on the heart? Consuming more than 7.5 units of alcohol a day – or most of a bottle of wine by yourself – is thought to increase risk of hypertension, where the pressure on your blood vessels is too high. Over time, this may lead to other issues such as arrhythmia or abnormal heart rhythms. 'Alcohol increases blood pressure and if this is untreated, it puts strain on the heart,' says Shawcross. Studies have indicated that hypertension risk seems to increase proportionally with the amount you drink. So a glass of wine per day will still make you more susceptible than not drinking at all, but is certainly less problematic than two or three glasses. What are the effects on the muscles and bones? As John Kiely, a researcher at the University of Limerick, puts it, alcohol accelerates many of the ravages of ageing, from loss of muscle to reduced coordination and increased vulnerability to twinges, strains and other injuries. In particular, if you've consumed half a bottle of wine one night, it probably isn't a wise idea to hit the gym or do some vigorous gardening the next day as the alcohol will impair your immune system's ability to reach and repair any damaged muscles or tendons, leaving you feeling all the more tender and sore. If you are drinking half a bottle of wine on a regular basis, Kiely suggests that you will be much more likely to get injured. There's also the matter of the progressive muscle and bone loss which most of us experience as part of ageing. Studies have long shown that regular, heavy drinking in middle age accelerates bone weakness and interrupts normal cycles of muscle repair, making it harder to hold onto the strength we have, as we age. 'An otherwise healthy diet and lifestyle will reduce these risks but persistent heavy drinking drives progressively accumulating issues that a healthy lifestyle alone can't fully counteract,' says Kiely. 'For example, alcohol lowers levels of key hormones [for muscle growth] like testosterone and growth hormone, while cortisol, a key stress hormone that drives muscle breakdown, rises. And because alcohol also reduces the absorption of calcium and suppresses the activity of bone-building cells, you're likely to have a faster decline in bone density, making your bones more fragile.' The good news is that such effects do not seem to be as pronounced with moderate drinking. 'A single glass of wine a night for women, or two for men, is unlikely to cause measurable harm to muscle health and little risk for bone health,' says Kiely. 'This is particularly the case for people who stay active and eat well.' What is the effect on how quickly you age? Drinking too much has long been associated with faster signs of visible ageing, such as more wrinkles, saggy skin and a duller complexion, but we now know that consuming half a bottle of wine each night actually ages you at the DNA level. In 2022, Topiwala carried out a study showing that consuming more than 17 units of alcohol per week – or around eight standard glasses of wine – causes damage to the tips of chromosomes, known as telomeres, which play an important role in keeping your DNA stable. 'Alcohol directly damages DNA, causing breaks and mutations,' says Topiwala. 'This is thought to explain why alcohol increases cancer risk.' What you can do to limit the risks While all of this may seem like something of a downer, all these risks are most apparent when it comes to heavy drinking. Research has also repeatedly shown that we can still enjoy alcohol throughout mid and later life and minimise the negative impacts on our health through having a few non-drinking days each week, eating well and exercising, and, particularly, consuming alcohol with a meal wherever possible. For example, one study of more than 300,000 people in the UK found that people who predominantly drank alcohol with meals had a 12 per cent lower risk of premature death from cardiovascular diseases and cancer, compared with those who mainly consumed their alcohol on its own. But for Wellband, like many others, the idea of changing the nightly drinking routine is not something that she and her partner are willing to contemplate, at least for now. 'We have no intention of changing our ways,' she says. 'Although I was adopted I have since discovered my birth mother is 82 and still drinks two or three glasses of wine every night so I'm following her lead. My partner and I have gradually reduced the amount we drink – on the rare occasion we go out for lunch we'll now have a glass of wine each rather than a bottle. Living on a farm with horses and other animals means that we have to be fit and active, but equally we enjoy our evening drinks and would be loath to give them up.' How can you adjust your drinking habit? For anyone looking to try to switch to drinking less, Dr Richard Piper, chief executive at Alcohol Change UK, offers the following guide: Try to spread your week's alcohol across more days Our bodies and our minds are grateful for any breaks we can give them. Pepper your week with several alcohol-free days. Aiming for fewer than five units in a single day will mean your overall weekly consumption should drop. Replace with lower-strength or alcohol-free alternatives There is a wonderful range and availability of alcohol-free alternatives in shops, pubs and bars now, which are improving year on year. Our taste testers particularly recommend the Mash Gang ranges of alcohol-free beers (Journey Juice and Lesser Evil were given a 5/5 rating), while Nozeco Spritz is an alcohol-free cocktail which stands out from others on the market. For wine, our tasters suggested Lindeman's Cabernet Sauvignon as a reliable alcohol-free red to go with a steak dinner. Download the free Try Dry app Developed by experts using behaviour-change science, this app allows you to track your consumption, take a health quiz to see what your current relationship with alcohol looks like and access tips and ideas on cutting back. Try having some alcohol-free weeks Not every week needs to have alcohol in it. In fact, if this idea feels alien to you, that is a sure sign you might have a stubborn drinking habit. Having one or two whole weeks off alcohol every month is a great way to cut back. Sarah Wellband's hypnotherapy clinic, Out of Chaos Therapy, advises on how to change problematic behaviours from disordered eating to phobias
The Guardian
10 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Michael Göpfert obituary
My husband, Michael Göpfert, who has died of cancer aged 77, was a consultant psychotherapist and child psychiatrist in Merseyside. In 1985 he set up a new psychotherapy service at the Royal Liverpool hospital, with integration at its heart, ensuring that therapists from different disciplines each had some training in another therapeutic method. Michael saw that separating adult and child services when a parent had a severe mental illness meant that the effect on the children was often missed. He was an early proponent of this neglected area and edited the book Parental Psychiatric Disorder (1996). He worked closely with Barnardo's Young Carers and its Keeping the Family in Mind service in Liverpool, now well established but innovative when it began. Michael also trained medical students in communication skills, supervised many psychiatric trainees and brought cognitive analytic therapy training to Merseyside. He was always prepared to take on difficult issues that others avoided. Michael was born in Munich in the postwar years, the youngest of the four sons of Herbert Göpfert, a publisher, and his wife, Hildegard (nee Klaiber). As a teenager, he lived in the Bavarian Alps where he felt at home, climbing, walking, swimming, and playing the piano and the harpsichord. He wanted to be a pianist, but when he was 20, his mother died suddenly and he lost direction. He went on to study nursing, then medicine, and became part of the political youth movement confronting the legacy of nazism. Alienated by the oppressive culture in Germany and attracted by the NHS and new developments in community psychiatry, in 1978 he moved to London for training. He completed child psychiatry training in Toronto, where he also discovered the Canadian wilderness, kayaking and First Nations culture. He found that most adult psychiatrists did not even know if their patients had children, a finding repeated when he returned to the UK, and this sparked his interest in parental mental illness. He took up the post in Liverpool and made Merseyside his home, while also studying for a master's in family therapy at the Tavistock Institute in London. Michael had grown up not knowing anyone Jewish and with the Holocaust never talked about. He lived with the huge guilt that many young Germans felt at that time. At the Tavistock he met me, a child of German Jewish political refugees. We both came to understand more the position of the 'other' and how victim and perpetrator roles could alternate. We married in 1989, and I moved to Merseyside to work as a child psychiatrist. There our three children were born. Michael loved music, cycling, foraging and baking – after retirement in 2010 he set up a community bakery. He restored and developed all our family homes. In recent years we lived between Liverpool and north Wales; in Wales, Michael rediscovered some of what he had missed from Bavaria, and there, as a legacy project, he planted a field of truffle trees. Michael is survived by his children, Anya, Max and Leo, his grandchildren, Aria and Luca, his brothers Dieter and Christian, and me.
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Child genius, 11, gets top marks in advanced GCSE maths after taking exams FIVE years early
A primary school pupil achieved top grades in GCSE maths after taking the exams five years early. Harry Clark, 11, took higher maths and further maths GCSEs this year - having previously gained a GCSE in foundation maths aged just nine. The schoolboy from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, gained a grade 9 in higher maths and grade 8 in further maths, both equivalent to A* grades under the pre-2017 grading structure. Speaking on results day, Harry said teachers were 'shocked' he had managed to pass his exams so early. He said: 'It was my dad who saw at the age of four or five 'he's good' and it just carried on from there. 'After the GCSEs I'm going to do A-Levels for secondary school and then after that a further maths A-Level, the two year course. 'I want to go in to something engineering type and hopefully work in F1.' Dad Richard, 46, who is a nursing lecturer at Sheffield Hallam university, said the pre-teen has always been mad about maths. He said: 'When we'd go to a bookshop he'd want a maths book, and the age of the maths book were just getting older and older until he was doing Key Stage 4 [education for students aged 14-16] stuff. 'He just said 'can I do the exam?' so I said 'why not?' 'He's just gone from strength to strength with it all.' Richard, who achieved a grade C in maths himself, pulled Harry out of his state-run primary school and put him in an independent school at age nine to help further his progress in maths. He also receives one hour of private tutoring outside of school each week to help develop his skills. Richard said: 'In September, he's going back in to a state school, he's had to move around quite a bit just so we could find a school that could accommodate him really. 'He starts A Levels on the first of September, when he's in class instead of sitting in a normal maths class he'll have his own work to do.' Outside of school, Richard says Harry is just like a regular 11-year-old - with interests including riding his bike, playing video games, and doing sport. Dad Richard added: 'He's like any other kid really, you wouldn't think it. 'Until you start talking numbers to him, you wouldn't think he's as gifted as what he is really.' Separately, a Ukrainian refugee who spent two weeks hiding in a basement with her family before fleeing from the war to the UK has scooped up seven grade 9s and one grade 8 in her GCSEs. Liza Minenko awarded a full scholarship at the prestigious £45,000-a-year Brighton College after arriving in the UK three years ago. It is an astonishing feat for the 16-year-old who was also given a special award for achieving full marks in her Art GSCE. After being awarded a full scholarship, Liza threw herself into college life while making sure the war was in the forefront of everyone's minds. She and her family are hoping recent talks of peace will come to fruition and they will be able to return to their home. Liza was one of 23 Ukrainian boys and girls given free places at Brighton College, including her siblings. I just love how much he clearly LOVES his teachers! ❤️❤️ And how much they love him!! ❤️❤️ — Katharine Birbalsingh (@Miss_Snuffy) August 21, 2025 Liza said she was delighted with her results but said the the war in Ukraine was never far from her thoughts. She said: 'You need a lot of strength to live in a country that is in a state of war. You also need a lot of strength when you have to leave behind your home country and everything and everyone you know. 'We need to keep reminding people that there is still a devastating conflict happening in our home country.' After opening her results she said: 'I was nervous, but I am happy. I have mixed feelings. I want to go back to Ukraine but we are all really scared to go back to Kyiv. I haven't seen my grandparents for years since the start of the war.' The family lived in their basement in Kyiv for two weeks at the start of the war and were traumatised. They travelled across Europe along with their dog Daisy and finally made it to the UK. Liza's mother Luda Zburzhynska said: 'The war forced our family, like so many Ukrainians, to leave our home. We came to England for our children's education. 'But at the same time, it led us to Brighton College. This amazing school has become more than just an educational institution to us – it has been a place where we felt humanity, acceptance and warmth.' Liza hopes to go on and do well in the future and will be staying at Brighton College to complete her A Levels. Head Master, Steve Marshall-Taylor said 'Among so much of which we can be proud today, this wonderful individual story shines brightly and highlights the privilege we have to play a small part in moments such as this.' Brighton College was quick to react when the war in Ukraine started, reaching out to the community to offer 23 scholarships, plus the support needed by these young refugees arriving into the UK, many of them alone. Britain's strictest head teacher is celebrating record GCSE results for her pupils in one of London 's most deprived boroughs. Katharine Birbalsingh said her outstanding results were 'social mobility at its best' as her students beat the odds. Every pupil at Michaela Community School in Wembley passed both English and maths with grade 4 and above - for the first time ever. In addition, an incredible 80 per cent of all GCSE grades at the school were 7 to 9 -equivalent to the old A-A*, and nearly 40 per cent achieved five or more grade 9s. Despite serving one of London's poorest communities, Michaela consistently beats those serving the most privileged. Last year, it had the country's top 'Progress 8' score - measuring how well pupils do compared with prior attainment. Its success has been attributed to its tough discipline, 'no excuses' approach, with all new students taking part in a behaviour 'boot camp'. Miss Birbalsingh has accused the Government of 'Marxism' this year following a move to curb the freedoms of academies like hers. Posting her maths and English results on X this morning, she said: 'GCSE results are OUT! First time we have achieved this! Congratulations to everyone! Social mobility at its best! 'Just so lovely… kids at all levels achieving well beyond what the stats say they should get! Michaela is a special place.' She later said: 'We are so happy for the children. They are delighted with their results - GCSEs open so many doors for them. This is always the most exciting time of the year for our kids. All that we stand for - working hard and persevering, even when it is difficult - pays off now.' She also posted that 99 per cent of all GCSE grades were 4 to 9, equivalent to C to A* under the old system. And 97 per cent were 5 to 9. It came as pupils across the country were celebrating another top grades bonanza as one in five GCSE entries got at least a grade 7 or A following a rise on last year. Michaela posted on its official X account a student delighted with his results However, nationwide, the GCSE pass rate for English and maths has hit a record low, amid fears that some pupils are being left behind. This morning, Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretrary, said white working class children in particular were some of the least likely to hit these targets. Key figures The proportion of entries receiving the top grades has risen from last year and remains higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 21.9% of entries were awarded grade 7/A or above, up slightly from 21.8% in 2024 and higher than 20.8% in 2019. Some 67.4% of entries received a grade 4/C or above. This is down from 67.6% last year but higher than 67.3% in 2019. The overall rate for grades 1/G or above is 97.9%, unchanged from 2024 and below 98.3% in 2019. This is the lowest 1/G figure for two decades, since 97.8% in 2005. The longstanding lead enjoyed by girls over boys for the top grades has narrowed again. The proportion of total female entries awarded grade 7/A or above was 24.5%, 5.1 percentage points higher than total male entries (19.4%). This is the narrowest lead enjoyed by girls since at least the year 2000, which is the earliest available archive data. Last year, girls led boys by 5.7 percentage points (24.7% girls, 19.0% boys). The gap at grade 4/C has also narrowed. Some 70.5% of all female entries were awarded 4/C or higher, compared with 64.3% for boys, a lead of 6.2 points. This is the narrowest lead for girls at 4/C since at least 2000. Last year the figures were 71.0% for girls and 64.2% for boys, a lead of 6.8 points. Across the regions of England, London saw the highest proportion of entries awarded grades of 7/A or higher. In London it was 28.4%, down from 28.5% in 2024, while north-east England had the lowest (17.8%, unchanged on last year). The gap between these two regions now stands at 10.6 percentage points, down slightly from 10.7 points in 2024. The distribution of top grades varied by UK nation. Some 31.6% of entries in Northern Ireland received 7/A or higher, above the equivalent figure for England (21.8%) and Wales (19.5%). The subject with the most entries this year was the science double award. This has been the case since its introduction in 2018, with a total of 989,264 entries, up 0.9% on 2024. Because this is a double award, each entry for the subject is awarded two grades. Maths remains the subject with the second largest number of entries, with 893,198 this year, up 1.7% on last year. English language ranks third, with 866,023 entries, a rise of 2.4%. Among subjects with more than 100,000 entries, Spanish had the largest percentage increase in entries this year, up 2.6% from 133,395 in 2024 to 136,871 in 2025, overtaking French for the first time. Among subjects with fewer than 100,000 entries, statistics jumped by 9.5%, from 31,844 entries in 2024 to 34,879. Overall, there were 6,160,034 GCSE entries, down by 0.4% on last year's figure of 6,186,879. She said they have been 'let down' as previous analysis shows four fifths of this demographic fall short in the two core subjects. Hundreds of thousands of pupils are travelling to schools today to collect their GCSE results. For all pupils of all demographics, the proportion getting top marks in England is the highest since 2012 outside of the abnormal pandemic years – while for the UK it is the highest in two years. It was good news for boys, who have been behind girls in getting top grades since the 1980s, but narrowed the gap this year. However, the explosion of top grades means competition will be rife for sixth form places, especially at the most selective institutions. Ofqual, the regulator for England, insisted the change was not significant and that results are 'stable'. But critics suggested the results show grade inflation may be making a come-back, following years of attempts to suppress it. Alan Smithers, professor of education at the University of Buckingham, said: 'Top grades are up again, small percentage, but an extra 6,160 on last year and nearly 70,000 more than the 2019 level, even though the education of the young people has been so disrupted. 'It has to be a shift in standards by the exam boards and regulators.' Grade 7 in England is equivalent to the old A, which is still used in other UK nations, which have different systems. Today's figures show the proportion of entries across the UK getting A/7 rose for a second year running by 0.1 percentage point from 21.8 to 21.9. This is not as high as 2023 but is higher than 2019, before the pandemic, when it was 20.8. For England only, grades also rose by 0.1 percentage point from 21.7 to 21.8. Discounting the pandemic years of 2020-2022, when grades were wildly inflated due to teachers deciding marks, this is the highest proportion since 2012. Today's figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), cover GCSE entries from students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Despite the good news for top grades, there was a decrease in those getting the more average grades. The proportion of entries getting at least a 4 or a C grade – considered a 'standard pass' – fell from 67.6 per cent in 2024 to 67.4 pe cent this year – a drop of 0.2 percentage points, but higher than 67.3 percent in 2019. And this year boys made a surprise leap forward having been consistently behind girls since 1989. They are still behind in terms of getting top grades, but the gap them and girls is at the narrowest point this century. Nearly a quarter – 24.5 per cent – of girls' GCSE entries were awarded at least a grade 7/A compared to almost a fifth of boys' entries – 19.4 per cent – a 5.1 percentage point gap. This is the narrowest lead enjoyed by girls since at least 2000, which is the earliest archive data available. Meanwhile, 70.5 per cent of girls' GCSE entries were awarded at least a grade 4/C compared to 64.3 per cent of boys' entries – a 6.2 percentage point gap. The overall rate for grades 1/G or above is 97.9 per cent, which is the same as 2024 but is down on 98.3 per cent in 2019. Tears of joy as students receive their GCSE results at Nottingham High School in Nottingham Amelia Mrozek, 15, a student at Harris Academy Merton, reacts as she collects her GCSE results Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator at Ofqual, England's exams regulator, said this year's GCSE results are 'stable' in comparison to the past two years – when grading returned to pre-pandemic levels in England. He said the differences this year are 'natural variation' that would be seen between any year. Sir Ian said: 'The standard of work required to achieve a grade seven or a grade four at GCSE is the same this year as it was last year, and what we're seeing is statistically insignificant changes at those key grades from last year to this year. 'That means basically that the underlying pattern, the underlying standard of performance amongst students from last year to this year, is stable.' On the gender gap, Sir Ian added: 'What we see today in the results is a very small apparent narrowing of the gap in performance between boys and girls. 'It's important for people to understand that there is still a gap in the performance of boys and girls, but what we can say is that it doesn't appear to be growing at the moment.' In England, Ofqual brought GCSE grading standards back in line with pre-Covid levels in 2023 and exam regulators in Wales and Northern Ireland returned to pre-pandemic grading last year. The move came after Covid-19 led to an increase in top GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams. Many of the pupils who are receiving their GCSE results this summer were in Year 6 when schools closed because of the pandemic. Education leaders have warned that these pupils, who moved from primary to secondary school in the middle of the pandemic, have faced a series of challenges – including school attendance issues and cost-of-living pressures. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said this cohort of students had shown 'remarkable resilience' despite the disruption to their education. However, today's data shows just 58.3 per cent of all pupils across the UK passed their maths GCSE this year, down from 59.5 per cent last year to reach the lowest level since 2013. Meanwhile, the pass rate for English dropped 1.7 percentage points to hit 60.2 per cent this summer, matching a previous low for the subject in 2016 and marking the worst result since 2004. Falls in both subjects were driven by a surge in the number of children retaking them and failing aged 17 or over, since pupils that fail are required to resit them if they stay on for sixth form. Mrs Phillipson warned this morning that failure to ensure children leave school with solid English and maths skills was holding Britain back. She told the Daily Telegraph: 'It's appalling, and I won't stand by and watch those numbers continue to grow. 'It's not just the life chances of those children that are being damaged – it's also the health of our society as a whole. Swathes of human capability and productivity lost. 'While this country is a good place to go to school, good isn't good enough. 'The images on television and the headline statistics we'll see this week mask the reality of a system that works for some children – even most children – but continues to let down tens of thousands more.' Grade 4 is considered a 'standard pass' and most jobs in the UK require this for both English and maths GCSE, although some require a 'strong pass' of grade 5 in the two subjects. The level of pupils failing to obtain a grade 4 in both subjects at GCSE has been steadily climbing for more than a decade, creating an explosion in the number of pupils required to resit them and a high failure rate among these children. Among the 16-year-old population in the UK as a whole, the standard pass rate for English language GCSE was 70.5 per cent this year – down from 71 per cent in 2024. Similarly, the proportion of pupils aged 16 passing their maths GCSE fell slightly to 71.1 per cent this year, down 0.1 percentage points compared to last year. But the overall rate was significantly squeezed by drastic pass rates among those retaking the subject aged 17 or over. Just 23.1 per cent of pupils who resat their English GCSE this year opened their results this morning to receive a standard pass, with the figure dropping to 18.2 per cent for maths. While the failure rates were broadly similar to 2024, there was a huge surge in the number of children retaking the subjects after failing last summer – up by nearly a fifth for English and by 10.8 per cent for maths. This meant almost 28,000 extra pupils retaking their English language GCSE this year and 21,000 for maths. The figrues will again increase pressure on the Government to re-think the resit system. Pupils at Bede Academy in Blyth receiving their GCSE results Yeva Kulikova at Solihull School in Solihull receiving her GCSE results Florence Grose at Putney High School in London receiving her GCSE results, 11 GCSEs, all at grade 9. She combined her studies with her rowing training which saw her selected in the England team for the Home International Rowing Regatta Celebrations for Claudia Parry-Jones, 15, at Putney High School in London Students receive their GCSE results at Redmaids' High School in Bristol Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'These students experienced a great deal of disruption earlier in their time at school as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Success for shepherd A young shepherd set the baa high with her GCSE results when she arrived to collect them with her sheep, Kevin. Milly Johnson, 16, who has won awards for sheep-handling, brought along the North Ronaldsay sheep to pick up her results from Tarleton Academy near Preston in Lancashire on Thursday. She said: 'He's my best friend and he comes pretty much everywhere with me.' Milly said the four-year-old rare breed acted as a 'therapy sheep' to calm her exam nerves, and even accompanied her to the school prom, wearing a halter which matched her dress. As well as achieving the grades she was expecting - including two grade 7s and two grade 6s - Milly had another reason to celebrate. She received a phone call on Wednesday night to offer her a veterinary nurse apprenticeship at a farm vets. She and Kevin are also getting ready for the Young Shepherd of the Year competition in November which Milly has qualified for. The family were planning a meal at the pub to celebrate on Thursday night, although Kevin would not be able to join them. Milly joked: 'He's not old enough to drink beer yet.' The teenager regularly shows Kevin and this year won first place in the over-11s young handler's class at the Trawden Agricultural Show. Scott Parker, headteacher at Tarleton, which is part of the Endeavour Learning Trust, said: 'Milly's dedication, both academically and beyond the classroom, is exceptional. 'Her commitment to her interests and her ability to balance them alongside her studies speaks volumes about her character, work ethic and maturity. 'She is a fantastic role model for her peers and I've no doubt at all that she has a bright future ahead.' 'Schools strained every sinew to support those who have needed additional help to catch up and to tackle the lingering impact of the pandemic on attendance rates. However, it has not been easy, and the previous government did not put enough investment or focus into educational recovery. 'Disadvantaged students were often those most severely affected by the disruption of Covid and that has made it even more difficult to close gaps in educational attainment caused by socioeconomic factors. 'Those gaps are reflected in regional disparities evident once again in this year's results. 'Once again we see that the majority of students who retake GCSE English and maths in post-16 education under a government policy of mandatory resits continue to fall short of a grade 4 standard pass. 'It is utterly demoralising for these young people and there has to be a better way of supporting literacy and numeracy.' Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said the current GCSE resit policy is 'not fit for purpose'. He added: 'NAHT has long called for reform of the current policy that forces students into repeated resits, which is demotivating and ineffective. 'What is needed are more appropriate and engaging alternatives to GCSEs in English and maths at KS4.' While traditional A*-G grades are used in Northern Ireland and Wales, in England these have been replaced with a 9-1 system, where 9 is the highest. A 4 is broadly equivalent to a C grade and a 7 is broadly equivalent to an A. In England, many students who do not secure at least a grade 4 – which is considered a 'standard pass' – in English and/or maths GCSE are required to retake the subjects during post-16 education. Overall UK entries for GCSEs have dropped slightly – down 0.4 per cent on 2024, according to JCQ data. A breakdown of the data shows that while 16-year-olds still make up the vast majority of students taking GCSEs, entries from this group are down 1.4 per cent on last year. Entries from students aged 17 and over are up 12.1 per cent to 482,402 compared with 430,377 in 2024. Education leaders have called for the Government's policy of compulsory resits in the two subjects at GCSE to be scrapped. Jill Duffy, chief executive of OCR exam board, said: 'Nearly a quarter of GCSE maths and English entries are resits. This is an all-time high. 'Less than a fifth of resitting students achieved the grade 4 they need to break out of the resit cycle. This is a resit crisis. 'Tinkering at the edges of policy won't fix this. We need fundamental reform to maths and English secondary education – especially at Key Stage 3 – to support those who fall behind in these crucial subjects.' She added of the gender gap: 'Boys are slowly catching up with girls, but the GCSE attainment gap remains significant.' More than 360,500 Level 1 and 2 vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) results have also been awarded to pupils. Students receive their GCSE results at Redmaids' High School in Bristol Pupils at Putney High School in London receiving their GCSE results Eesa Delaney, 16, a student at Harris Academy Merton, reacts as he collects his GCSE results Pupils at Solihull School in Solihull receiving their GCSE results Pupils celebrate at St Dominic's in Belfast Grade inflation was rife during the New Labour years, when officials repeatedly insisted that pupils genuinely were getting cleverer every year. Read More Governments have 'failed white working-class students' and UK is falling behind, Phillipson claims The proportion of top grades rose every single year between 2002 and 2011. However, after the Tories won the election in 2010 they instructed Ofqual to make sure the proportion getting these top grades remained roughly the same each year. This is adjusted slightly for the ability of each cohort, which is measured by sample tests earlier in the year. Roughly one in five have got A/7 grades over the last 15 years, but the pandemic frustrated the regulator's efforts because teacher assessment led to massive grade inflation. While grades have now been brought back down they are still higher than before the disruption. This morning's results also show Ireland's pupils performed better than other nations, part of a long-term trend. In terms of top grades, 31.6 per cent of students achieved at least a 7 or an A grade and above, compared to 31.0 per cent last year. Experts have previously attributed the trend to the fact that the nation has retained the grammar school system. In England, there are only 161 left, as most either turned into comprehensives or private schools over the course of successive Governments. The dismantling of England's grammar school system was due to criticism that selecting at 11 is unfair. However critics have said it has led to an erosion of standards.
