A TEACHING union has said new government plans to raise the bar for GCSE grades will lead to more Bradford schools being deemed as failing.

Secretary of state for education Nicky Morgan has announced changes to the GCSE curriculum that will see results changed from a A-E grading system to grades 1-9. While the current "pass rate" is seen as a C, this will be raised to a level 5, the equivalent of a high C or low B.

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She said the changes would make the UK comparable to the standard aimed for by pupils in top-performing countries such as Finland, Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

One of the main ways schools' effectiveness is judged is by how many "pass" grades its pupils get at GCSE.

Ian Murch, Bradford spokesman for the National Union of Teachers, said: "I think this is a cynical move to force more schools to become academies. It means the next group of GCSE pupils will likely get what are seen as poorer results than the last set of pupils. It will make it much more difficult to see if schools are improving."