GCSE results: Wales' top grades drop but improvement on 2019

There are fewer top grades at GCSE in Wales compared to last year, as the first results based on summer exams since 2019 have been published.

A quarter of grades were A* and A, in a similar pattern to last week's A-level grades as exam bodies steer the system back to pre-Covid pandemic norms.

The results also showed 68.6% were A* to C grades, down from 73.6% last year when grades were decided by teachers.

There has also been a warning that some BTec results could be delayed.

In Wales, 230 pupils have been affected so far.

This follows similar problems last week involving Coleg Gwent students.

The qualifications watchdog said results were broadly midway between the results in 2019, when exams were last held, and last year's results, when teachers determined grades.

The results show:

Education Minister Jeremy Miles said students should be proud of their achievements.

"I welcome these results as we transition back to exams this year - it's great to see what our learners have achieved," he said.

Qualifications Wales chief executive Philip Blaker said: "We know that learners were anxious about the return to exams, but overall, the exam series has gone well. We would particularly like to thank all the schools and colleges for their hard work and dedication."

At Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen, Caernarfon, Sarah, 16, earned one A*, four Bs and a C. She said she was happy and did better than expected.

From September, she plans to study public services, criminology, medical science and health and social care in sixth form.

Harvey, a year 11 pupil at Penyrheol Comprehensive in Swansea was "very happy" with his A* in computer science.

"The last year has been very tough with trying to motivate yourself to do the work during the pandemic but today is like a ray of sunshine after it all.

"My plan is to go to Gower College next month and study computer science and politics."

Fellow pupil Millie added: "I'm chuffed with my numeracy because that was the hardest. I had a B in that and A*s in everything else.

"The exams were really really difficult. I think the hardest part was coming in and learning everything in a short amount of time."

Llanishen High School in Cardiff said 87 students achieved at least five GCSEs at A*/A.

Student Joe Thomas is also celebrating, progressing on to Cardiff and the Vale College to follow a vocational access course including art and cooking.

During the peak of Covid, grades were awarded more generously to reflect the disruption to pupils' learning.

Changes were made to courses so that less material had to be covered and information was given about what could come up in papers for some subjects.

In Wales, GCSEs are graded from A* to G, which is different to the 9 to 1 system used in England.

Wales at the top grades is again slightly below England - and both Wales and England remained below Northern Ireland, although all three nations showed similar patterns of results.

At the pass rate A* to G, Wales was 97.3%, with England on 98.4% and Northern Ireland on 99.4%.

Conservative education spokeswoman Laura Anne Jones MS said: "It is a terrible shame that once again Wales lags behind the rest of the UK for the top grades and more worryingly that the pass rate was considerably lower than elsewhere".

In the middle of the screeches and hugs at Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen in Caernarfon, you wouldn't have been able to guess there was anything different about this year's results.

But the system's been carefully engineered to try to manage the return of exams while being "fair" to this year's students.

When I asked the education minister whether he was relieved that, so far, it seemed to have gone OK, he laughed it off. "Delighted" about pupils' achievements rather than relieved, he said.

But Covid's impact on exams doesn't end here. He acknowledged pupils next year will have missed a lot of school too and that means a whole new equation to try to make sure there's fairness next summer.

They won't be cutting course content, like they did this year, but there will be some information given in advance about what will come up in exams.

Wales footballer Evie Norris, from Alltwen near Swansea, is celebrating 11 A*s and three As.

The 16-year-old, who scored on her debut for Wales under-17s against Scotland in July, said she was "shocked" by her results.

She wants to work in the sciences and plans to study A-level biology, chemistry and mathematics.

But Evie, who plays for Briton Ferry, also wants to "go as far as I can go" with football.

She said: "It was amazing to play for my country and celebrate with the whole team when we got that goal. I'll train hard and see where it takes me."

The Association of School and College Leaders Cymru said pupils had shown "resilience and tenacity in the most challenging of circumstances".

Director Eithne Hughes said: "This is not about a drop in students' performance but rather a policy decision to get back to outcomes in a normal exam series.

"Clearly, there will be variation across centres in Wales depending upon the local circumstances and the impact of the pandemic on schools.

"Last year saw very low pupil attendance and disruption to staffing which - despite the best efforts of schools to support pupils and plug learning gaps during this very difficult period - will inevitably be reflected in outcomes."

Debbie Scott, senior Wales officer for the National Education Union Cymru, said it was time for a radical rethink of qualifications to make sure they fit in with the ethos of the new national curriculum in Wales, which comes in from September.

"As with A-level results last week, the last couple of years has taught us that testing young people in such a high-stakes way is fraught with difficulty and not necessarily the best way to measure what someone is capable of," she said.

"That Qualifications Wales decided results would be lower than last year before anyone had sat exams, shows the system is broken."

Ian Morgan, chief executive of the Welsh exam board WJEC, said: "These results mark the beginning of their journey into a range of different paths, including further education or employment, whatever their choice, I wish them the very best in their endeavours."

On BTec delays, education minister Jeremy Miles said officials were working with Qualifications Wales and others to try to resolve the issues.

Exam board Pearson has warned that delays are likely for a further round of BTec results due on Thursday - it's likely that will also have an impact on hundreds of Welsh students.

He said that, as a UK-wide qualification, some aspects of the situation were out of the Welsh government's hands.

"I want to make sure that we can do everything that we can to make sure that as far as possible this doesn't happen again", he added.