Pupils to get their GCSE qualifications by app in future as Government pilot brings an end to the traditional exam results day scramble in schools
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Pupils will receive their GCSE results via app in future after a Government pilot this summer.
Ministers hope the app could be rolled out as early as 2026, meaning teenagers will no longer have to find out their grades in person.
However, pupils will still receive a hard copy, and most are expected to continue to go to their schools as normal on results day to meet teachers and get advice.
The app will allow the results to be kept digitally by pupils, accessible on their phones, for quick retrieval if needed for job or further education applications.
The Department for Education (DfE) said it will cut bureaucracy and save pupils ‘scrabbling around’ for paper documents.
The plan is for people to be able to access their own records via the app throughout their working lives.
This summer, the scheme will be trialled with 95,000 pupils in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, ahead of a full roll-out.
Education minister Stephen Morgan said: ‘It is high time exam records were brought into the 21st century, and this pilot will allow schools and colleges to focus on what they do best: teaching the next generation rather than being bogged down in bureaucracy.’
The ‘Education Record’ app is part of the Government’s wider pledge to harness technology to make public services more efficient.
Officials estimate the app will save schools up to £30 million a year once the full roll-out is complete.
And they say it could sit in the new ‘gov.uk wallet’ currently being designed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which can be used for official digital documents such as drivers’ licenses.
This week, Mr Morgan visited the Hathershaw College, a secondary school in Oldham, which has been trialling the app since 2024.
Mark Giles, principal, said the Education Record was ‘accurate, verifiable and could be presented to providers without delay’.
He added: ‘We believe this will reduce administrative burdens on schools, and in the future could also be utilised by parents of younger children to support transition from primary to secondary school.’
James Bowen, assistant general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: ‘It makes a lot of sense to look into modernising how exam results are handled and any moves to cut bureaucracy and costs are welcome.
‘It is vital that any changes work for schools and colleges, as well as pupils, at what is always a busy, pressurised time for school leaders and their staff.’
Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'The Education Record app represents a positive step forward in making greater use of digital technology in education and will bring benefits to students, schools and colleges.
'Up until now, the development of education technology has tended to take place in a frustratingly piecemeal fashion – essentially led by the market rather than via a cohesive national approach.
'We would like to see a much more strategic vision.
'This should extend to exams themselves which continue to be largely conducted via pen and paper, creating a massive burden in terms of secure storage and transportation of papers and scripts.
'A digital exam system would improve matters for everyone involved and we urge the government to invest in creating the infrastructure schools and colleges need to make this a reality.'
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