Pupils 'refusing to sit GCSE exams in new tougher format'

Leading teaching unions warn changes have left students stressed and demoralised. Pupils have been so demoralised by the new, tougher GCSE format in England that some refused to sit the exams this year, while others display raised levels of stress, according to leading teaching unions. The reports from the National Education Union (NEU) and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), which represents many secondary school heads, come as more than 600,000 16-year-olds are waiting to rec