Record number of appeals over GCSE and A-level results But the rise also follows concerns over the quality of exam marking in light of a grading fiasco that hit GCSE English tests in 2012. Earlier this year, a report from Ofqual found that a "significant and growing minority of teachers... do not believe that marking has been good enough in recent years, especially at GCSE." According to the latest figures, 329,900 qualification results were challenged by schools in 2013 - a 13 per cent increase in a year. Of those, 54,400 grades - one-in-six - were changed. The vast majority were marked up. This constituted an 18 per cent rise on 2012 and an 88 per cent increase since 2009. For the first time, Ofqual broke the appeal data down by the grade originally achieved by pupils before the complaint was lodged. It emerged that 38 per cent of all appeals surrounded papers that had been graded a D, while just five per cent were for E grades, 20 per cent for Bs and 13 per cent for As. Currently, schools in England are ranked by the proportion of pupils who gain five or more C grade GCSEs, with threats that schools can be closed or turned into academies for dropping below official benchmarks. Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's chief regulator, insisted that the number of appeals represented a small proportion of overall exams sat, but added: "The upward trend of grade changes does concern us." She said: "We are evaluating the reasons behind the increase in appeals and grade changes, and for the first time this year we show the number of enquiries at each grade. For GCSEs we found that the focus is at the C/D borderline. This shows us that external pressures, such as accountability measures, are influencing decisions to appeal. We are now looking in depth at the appeal process itself. In the summer, Ofqual published the interim findings of a report into exam marking. It was launched in light of the year-on-year rise in the number of appeals. The report said: "Confidence in marking fell noticeably last year because of concerns about GCSE English, but, even recognising the unusual circumstances, the recent trends are troubling."