{"id":229389,"date":"2025-05-07T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T23:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=229389"},"modified":"2025-05-06T20:12:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T19:12:46","slug":"ministers-hope-new-gcse-results-app-will-save-30m-a-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/ministers-hope-new-gcse-results-app-will-save-30m-a-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Ministers hope new GCSE results app will save \u00a330m a year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nearly 100,000 year 11 pupils will receive their GCSE results<\/a> through a government app this year as part of a trial that ministers claim could save schools and colleges \u00a330 million in annual admin costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pupils in the Greater Manchester and the West Midlands combined authority areas will be the first to trial the app, called Education Record<\/a>, which automatically collates their key information and exam results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside receiving their GCSE results through the app in August, pupils can enrol for a college course or an apprenticeship with an employer without needing to bring physical copies of their qualifications or ID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stephen
Stephen Morgan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Education minister Stephen Morgan told Schools Week <\/em>the move will reduce burdens on school and college staff and was \u201cjust common sense\u201d for learners moving to further education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFar too often you hear about documents being saved in dusty old cabinets,\u201d Morgan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt just makes sense to have all that information in an app to make that transition to your next step. Hopefully, it will make a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using the app, pupils can share their information with a sixth form, college or training provider. This will then automatically share their unique learner number, date of birth, sex, address, GCSE results, school information, financial and learning support needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Department for Education press release claimed the digital record app could collectively save schools and colleges up to \u00a330 million per year in admin costs if fully rolled out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘More efficient’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Year 11 pupils at Hathershaw College school in Oldham have had access to the app since spring 2024. One pupil, who is hoping to progress to an engineering T-level at a local college this September, told Schools Week<\/em> the app was \u201ca lot more efficient\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow you get your results on GCSE day, and you have to keep your certificates safe for weeks and weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhereas if it\u2019s all on your phone, you know it\u2019s going to be with the younger generation all the time anyway. So when you go to college, everything they ask for is on your phone already.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In total, 487 schools, as well as colleges, in the Greater Manchester and West Midlands combined authorities have been invited to take part in the pilot, which runs until September. A decision about next steps will be made in the autumn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morgan was cautious not to fully commit to a future rollout of the app while the pilot was underway, but said he was \u201creally keen to learn lessons and think about how we can use AI and technology more broadly in the education system\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pepe Di\u2019Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the app was a \u201cpositive step forward\u201d, but that he wanted a \u201cmuch more strategic vision\u201d for education technology, including exams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA digital exam system would improve matters for everyone involved and we urge the government to invest in creating the infrastructure schools and colleges need to make this a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Almost 100,000 year 11s will receive grades via a government app this year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311150,"featured_media":229359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[73,155],"post-theme":[2345],"class_list":["post-229389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-a-level","tag-gcses","post-theme-assessment"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t