Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 61 of the Social Mobility Commission's report, Time for Change: an assessment of government policies on social mobility 1997-2017, published on 28 June 2017, what assessment she has made of the effect on the confidence of young people leaving compulsory education of a failure rate for English and mathematics GCSE resits higher than 75 per cent.

Securing good levels of English and mathematics increases a student’s chances of improving their future earnings and progressing in either employment or further study. This is why we want to give students the opportunity to continue to study English and mathematics if they do not achieve a standard pass at age 16. This summer many tens of thousands of students aged 17 and over successfully re-sat their English and mathematics GCSEs thanks to the efforts of colleges and schools in England.

We recognise that not all students are ready to resit their GCSEs. This is why schools and colleges have the freedom to determine if or when a student is ready to enter an examination. We will ensure that students are able to study for a range of English and mathematics courses, rather than just GCSEs, to help them make progress in these subjects. We will continue to work with post-16 providers to improve the delivery of post-16 English and mathematics to ensure that all young people are equipped with the knowledge required to succeed in employment.