UK education ministers are considering a policy that would require a pass in GCSE English for students in England to access government-backed tuition and maintenance loans. Under the proposal, a GCSE English pass would become the national eligibility threshold administered through the Student Loans Company, a change campaigners warn could in effect bar thousands from starting university. Critics and disability charities say the rule would hit disadvantaged, mature and neurodivergent applicants hardest and urge development of an adult-focused English qualification and accessible testing before any change is implemented.
