Many students will get their exam results on a phone app. This summer, the Education Record app will test with 95,000 students in Manchester and the West Midlands. It plans to go nationwide later. Ministers think it will save money for colleges. School bosses say students and schools need easy help to make sure the app works fine.
Students in the test can also go to school to get paper results and open the envelope on results day. Results will show in the app at 11:00 on August 21, but students who pick up their results can do so from 08:00.
Since 2019, students in Scotland have used an online app to get results. In Wales and Northern Ireland, schools and colleges give out results. England's GCSE exams began on May 5 and will end on June 25.
The plan brings exam results and papers into one online place. Students under 18 must stay in full-time learning, start an apprenticeship, or work while learning part-time. The government says the app will mean colleges don't need more workers to copy results or find lost papers.
Education Minister Stephen Morgan said it was time to bring exam records up to date to stop schools and colleges from having too much paperwork. Mark Giles, head of The Hathershaw College, said the app was "right and can be checked" after a test at his school.
Other school chiefs support the test. James Bowen, assistant head of the National Association of Head Teachers, said he was "happy the app is being tested." He said it matters to update how exam results are given out, and cuts to paper and cost are good. But, he said it's key the app rolls out with easy help for students and schools if things go wrong.
"When exam results are so important, it's key the government gets this totally right," he said. Pepe Di'Iasio, head of the Association of School and College Leaders, also liked the move and wants the use of tech in schools to go further.
He said, "Making exams digital too is good, as pen and paper can be a big load on schools that have to move many exam papers safely." He said growth in education tech has been slow so far, and the government should "put money into making things schools and colleges need to make this real."