National GCSE results have fallen dramatically across the board, with the proportion who gained a C grade or above dropping by an unprecedented 2.1% compared with last year – including a sharp decline in the numbers gaining a C or above in English. The falls are due in large part to new Government policies that force 17-year-olds who got a D or lower in English or maths last year to resit those exams, meaning more students overall were sitting the tests. But some of the fall is unexplained. Of pupils taking their exams in year 11, the normal GCSE year, the proportion gaining A*-C grades was down by 1.3%. The female dominance in the exams continued with the gender gap increasing slightly (by 0.5%) this summer, with 71.3% of girls awarded at least a C grade, compared with 62.4% of boys.