This Thursday (23 August 2018) saw the first results of the new Food Preparation and Nutrition GCSE and things looked promising for the future of food at GCSE level. There was a marked increase in the number of students studying food with 47530 students completing the Food Preparation and Nutrition course compared to only 29760 students completing the Food Technology course in 2017.
The new course, which aims to equip students with an array of culinary techniques; as well as knowledge of nutrition, kitchen safety and the science behind food, was introduced in response to the controversial removal of the food technology A level in 2016.
In addition to being the first year of the Food Preparation and Nutrition course, this year is also the first time that all GCSEs in England have been graded on the new numbered system of 1-9. This system was implemented to create more differentiation between passing grades compared to the old lettered system.
There were positive results for many with 62% of students achieving a “passing” grade of 4 or higher. This was a slight increase on the 60% of students who received the equivalent pass grade of C or higher in 2017. 1315 students, about 3% of all candidates taking the course, received the elusive top grade of 9. In comparison about 4.5% of students received the top-grade A* in 2017 showing that the top grades have become even more difficult to achieve.
In keeping with the trend of other GCSE results, girls outperformed boys with 21% of girls achieving a “high pass” of 7-9 (equivalent to A/A*) compared to just 7% of boys receiving the same grades. The course was also more popular with female students with girls making up around 63% of all candidates.
Across the country 732 students (0.001% of all candidates) received the remarkable achievement of 9s in every subject. A fantastic achievement indeed.
Congratulations to everyone who received results on Thursday.
For more information about the Food Preparation and Nutrition GCSE as well as teaching resources and advice please visit https://www.ifst.org/lovefoodlovescience
|
|
Female |
Male |
Combined |
|
Top Grade (9/A*) |
3.9% |
0.9% |
2.8% |
|
High Pass ( 7+ /A or A* ) |
21.4% |
7.4% |
16.2% |
|
Pass (4+/C+) |
70.6% |
47.8% |
62.1% |
Source: Joint Council for Qualifications