By Dr JT Welsch, University of York

When Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, the awarding committee said it was ‘for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.’ In the official press announcement, they added: ‘He can be read and should be read, and is a great poet in the English tradition.’ It’s one thing to describe song lyrics as ‘poetic’ – a vague descriptor we apply to many creative forms. It’s another thing to call someone who is primarily a songwriter a ‘poet’ while awarding them the world’s most prestigious prize for ‘literature’.

Following the release of the government’s Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, which acknowledges the urgent need to rethink how GCSE resits can better support students, we're reflecting on the insights gathered through our Resit Rethink campaign to date.

Earlier this year, we spoke with 1000 college students and 1000 college tutors to understand what’s working - and what isn’t - in GCSE English and maths resits.

The findings are clear: resits have the potential to support progress but the current model doesn’t always students up to succeed.

When we launched our Let’s Talk English campaign earlier this year, our purpose was clear: to create an open space for the education community to explore how GCSE English teaching, learning and assessment could evolve to better serve every student. 

We didn’t start with answers or predetermined solutions; we started with questions — and an invitation for teachers, students and education leaders to share their experiences, insights and ideas about what English could become.