Why do A* grades appear more difficult to achieve in RS than in other subjects?
Over recent years, teachers of A level RS have commented on the widening gap between the award of A* for Religious Studies and other subjects, most notably A level English. NATRE has raised this issue with both Ofqual and the awarding organisations, so we were keen to see if there had been any reduction in this gap in these 2024 results.
The good news is that with the exception of sociology, all the Humanities subjects in England have seen an increase in the proportion of candidates achieving both A* and either A* or A. As expected, the increase is not huge, but it is a step in the right direction at least (see table 5). At the same time, the proportion of grades for English literature awarded at A* or A* or A has decreased slightly so the gap between RS and English has marginally reduced. Sadly, the same is not true in Wales, where 2024 has seen a reduction in grade A*, grades A* A*-A and A*-C for most Humanities subjects though attainment at grades A*-E remained fairly stable.
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