GCSE Citizenship Studies results 2024 - empowering Citizenship education for every student
GCSE Results Day 2024 - celebrating students receiving their GCSE results today, and the exceptional teachers who helped them.
GCSE Citizenship Studies: an invaluable subject for students nationwide
Citizenship teachers across the country continue to work exceptionally hard to provide engaging, high-quality teaching and excellent support for students leading up to their GCSE Citizenship Studies exams. With practitioners often working alone or in small teams to deliver the subject to students, the passion and determination they show to ensure quality learning, and encourage their students to be active and informed citizens is exceptional.
We want to give a huge congratulations to students and their teachers who received their GCSE results today for their outstanding hard work.
This year students taking GCSE Citizenship Studies have overcome some of the most profound challenges to achieve the qualification. Inspirational Citizenship Teachers work tirelessly to ensure their students are well prepared with knowledge, understanding and skills to attain the qualification which addresses topics that are relevant to their lives and life chances. Students have taken extraordinary steps through their active citizenship projects to make meaningful and positive contributions to their communities and society. It's time that we prioritise Citizenship in the curriculum so that every student benefits from this subject.
Liz Moorse
ACT Chief Executive
Make Space for Citizenship
In 2024, 20,743 pupils sat GCSE Citizenship Studies, 1,023 less than in 2023. During the last Conservative government, the number of pupils who took GCSE Citizenship Studies fell to around 20,000. Under the last Labour administration, the numbers of students achieving GCSE Citizenship Studies rose to over 90,000.
Citizenship is a vital subject that is statutory for all key stage 4 students and contributes significantly to preparing students for life and work. Yet too often it is marginalised in the curriculum.
Providing time and space to learn how politics, justice and human rights operate and to develop critical thinking about complex concepts and issues from climate change, to racial equality, and the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories, is key to making sense of the world around us. Teaching these topics and skills underscore the ongoing relevance and importance of Citizenship education for every student. The focus on active citizenship within the GCSE develops practical democratic skills, provides experiences of team work and enables students to foster positive societal change.
Over 600 schools and colleges offer GCSE Citizenship Studies, but overall candidate numbers have fallen this year. Many more could include this valuable qualification subject if the Ebacc measure was removed from performance tables and there is a real commitment from the new government to increasing the breadth of subjects studied by students. Schools need greater freedom to provide that curriculum breadth and this will increase if some of the barriers to it were removed from the system.
Currently all schools have a responsibility for providing statutory Citizenship teaching to students in key stage 4 where the subject remains part of the national curriculum. Schools choose whether or not to offer the GCSE qualification. ACT is committed to advocating for the advancement and sustainability of Citizenship education, collaborating with schools, education leaders and other organisations to ensure high-quality Citizenship education is available to every student.
The true power of Citizenship education shines through long before results day. From Year 7 to Year 11, our students embrace the responsibility of shaping our school community — whether it's through culture days, parallel elections, or other impactful projects. My proudest moments are seeing them debate passionately about issues that really matter. Citizenship isn't just about grades; it's about fostering active, engaged citizens who leave a lasting impact on our school and beyond.
Nahyan Islam
Head of Citizenship at Highlands School and Sixth Form
Our commitment to supporting high-quality Citizenship provision for all
ACT is running a series of ongoing professional development (CPD) sessions for specialist and non-specialist teachers to enhance the quality of Citizenship teaching across the country. Our live online sessions provide excellent networking opportunities with experts and teachers, to share best practice and discuss challenges. You can find all of our upcoming events listed on our events page.
Teachers and school leaders who are not already ACT School and College members, can also download our membership taster pack, which provides examples of our teaching resources and lesson plans.
