GCSE job advert gaffe leaves Minister 'red faced'

The Minister of State for Skills and Apprenticeships Anne Milton has been left “red faced” after posting an advert looking to recruit an apprentice which excludes candidates with a GCSE grade four - FE Week reports.

Under the new GCSE system introduced last year, a score between eight and nine is considered equivalent to an A or A*, a score between four and six is a C or a B, while one through three represent D, E, F and G grades. ‘U’ stands for ‘unclassified’ and remains the same.

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Anything higher than a four is considered a ‘good pass’, with grades higher than a five considered to be ‘strong passes’.

However, Milton’s advert called for candidates to have “GCSE A-C (9-5) or equivalent in maths English and IT (sic)” – which goes against the Government’s own advice that a four is the same as a C.