Compulsory GCSE resits in England harm teenagers’ mental wellbeing, study finds

UCL researchers warn repeated exam attempts may dent students’ confidence and raise risk of dropping out Forcing teenagers who fail GCSEs into multiple resits has a negative impact on their mental health, according to research to be published as pupils receive their grades on Thursday. The study by academics at University College London (UCL) compared the mental wellbeing of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who failed to reach a grade 4 or equivalent in maths or English GCSEs – and found that only those in England, where resits are mandatory, showed significantly lower wellbeing. Robbie Maris, a research fellow at UCL and one of the authors, said the dent to teenagers’ self-confidence when faced with resits could be a contributing factor to the rise in young people not in education, employment or training, known as Neets. Maris said: “Some [resitting] students will not turn up for their exams, they won’t enter them or they will drop out of education – these are the kids at highest risk of dropping out of education and becoming Neets. “It could be leading to further disengagement, which is a worrying thing. People need to pay more attention to this, beca