Stop the Resit Treadmill

How the new 100 hours can drive sharper teaching, not extend what failed before.

Every August the same picture appears: large post-16 cohorts retake GCSE English and

too few succeed. The new expectation of 100 hours for post-16 English gives leaders a

rare chance to redesign provision rather than extend delivery of what didn’t work at

KS4.

The first step is to stop treating “the resit group” as one cohort. It isn’t.

Route 1 - Grade 3 (conversion).

A precise, exam-aligned programme that concentrates on components with the highest

yield: purposeful reading of non-fiction, explicit sentence control, and writing to task

under time. Reduce the overuse of mock papers; increase direct teaching of components

with proven leverage.

Route 2 - Grade 2 and below (foundation).

Start with functional reading and writing: emails, forms, instructions, short persuasive

pieces, paired with direct teaching of sentence structures. This is sequencing, not

softening. It builds independence now and makes any later move to Level 2

qualifications more realistic.

What fills the allocated time is a purposeful spine that works across both

routes:

● Weekly diagnostics and retrieval so teaching responds to what students actually

know, not what schemes assume.

● Morphology-first vocabulary (roots, prefixes, suffixes) to widen usable language

quickly.

● Sentence combining as a daily instructional routine, building clarity and control.

● Short texts aligned to the route (exam-relevant for Route 1; functional genres for

Route 2).

● Oracy as rehearsal for writing, with feedback immediate and actionable at the

point of need.

Accountability should reflect this design. Alongside pass rates, leaders should track

monthly snapshots of reading-age gain, quick checks of taught morphology, a sentence-

quality rubric, and attendance/engagement data. These aren’t soft metrics; they are

leading indicators of eventual attainment.

Upstream, the most effective resit strategy is to create a system that generates fewer

resitters. Three KS3 moves would change outcomes fast. Timetable a weekly

morphology slot, build daily sentence routines, and make low-stakes retrieval habitual.

None demands a curriculum overhaul; each is a principled shift in pedagogical

emphasis, a refinement of what we prioritise and practise.

Leadership decisions for this term: name the two routes; safeguard the 100 hours;

staff with your clearest explainer-teachers; publish the spine; report progress monthly,

with data that captures both outcomes and leading indicators. Make those choices and

the annual conversation shifts, from retake statistics to the measure that matters:

students who can read, write, and move on with confidence.