Ministers urged to act over numbers failing English and maths GCSEs

Teenagers who fail GCSE maths and English tend to face worse health outcomes and are more likely to be engaged in criminal behaviour, the Exeter University study shows. Photograph: David Davies/PA

The government has been urged to reassess what a social mobility expert has called the “national scandal” of teenagers leaving school without GCSE passes in English and maths despite multiple retakes.

Ahead of this summer’s GCSE results being published on Thursday, Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said his research suggested too many young people lacking the qualifications had lower chances of future success and increased reports of poor mental and physical health.