Poor Mental Health Affects GCSE Results, Study Shows

Young people experiencing mental health difficulties at secondary school are three times more likely than their peers not to achieve five grades A*-C (or 9-4) at GCSE, including mathematics and English, a new study has just revealed.

Carried out by the National Centre for Social Research, the report found that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds were more likely to experience poor mental health and lower GCSE grades as a result, but mental health difficulties were found to affect young people’s grades, regardless of their background.

It was argued that focusing on mental health in young people and making improvements in this regard could narrow the achievement gap at GCSE level by boosting the performance of disadvantaged students.

Lead author of the study Dr Neil Smith commented on the findings, saying: “As the school year comes to an end, young people are facing a double hit to their educational prospects.

“First, disruption to schooling caused by the pandemic has directly impacted on learning. Second, the pandemic has adversely affected many young peoples’ mental health, and it’s likely those whose mental health was affected the most by the pandemic will face greater difficulties in making up for learning time that’s been lost.”

Recent research from King’s College London revealed that one to two secondary school students in every classroom of 30 were likely to be suffering from depression and those pupils were likely to see a drop in GCSE achievement, as a result.

Of those Year 11 students with a diagnosis of depression, fewer than half achieved five A* to C grades, including in mathematics and English – which is lower than average.

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