Top GCSE results in Wales see slight increase after major changes to qualifications

Top GCSE grades in Wales have risen slightly following major changes to qualifications in the country, but the overall pass rate was slightly down.

The proportion of top A* and A grades was up 0.1 percentage points to 19.6%, while 62.3% received grades at C or above, a drop of 0.2 percentage points.

The proportion of pupils who received a passing grade was 96.8%, a drop of 0.1 percentage points.

Exam bosses said before the results had been announced that they had been likely to show "stability" as the new qualifications were phased in.

Wales' main exam board, the WJEC, said ahead of the results it had done "everything that we can" to ensure results were "fair and balanced for all learners".

It comes a year into the three-year rollout of new qualifications to reflect changes under the reformed Curriculum for Wales, with the second wave of new GCSEs to be introduced in September.

Year 10 pupils received marks for eight new GCSEs being assessed for the first time this year on courses that had been criticised for placing "extreme pressure" on staff and pupils.

Pupils also received results of vocational qualifications and the Welsh Baccalaureate will be awarded for the last time at this level before being replaced with new skills courses.

Caldicot School Year 11 pupil Yaroslav, who moved to Wales from Ukraine in 2022 with his mother, received an A in English and B in Welsh language despite not speaking either fluently when he arrived at the end of the first year of high school.

"It was a hard time to keep studying with everything going home, but I've been able to go back and see my family who are in a safe place," he said.

He got A*s across the board in his other subjects, and will go on to study maths, additional maths, engineering and physics.

"I'm really happy with how I've done," said Scarlett, another Caldicot School pupil who got 10 A*s and a distinction.

"I have no-one to thank but my teachers.

"We've had days of so much revision. At first, I was a bit sceptical, but it made a massive difference.

She is going on to study chemistry, physics and religious studies.

"I want to be a vet," she said.

The school's co-head teacher, Alun Ebenezer, was dubbed the "head from hell" for a disciplinary policy that includes Saturday detentions, and he said more than one-quarter of his GCSE pupils had received A* to A grades.

"My job is to create a culture and a platform that our students and staff can thrive from and students have shown today that they can do that," he said.

The 1,300-pupil school's mainstream results had seen 97% of pupils receive A* to C grades he said.

Ebenezer added: "All the hard work, the approach and the maybe counter cultural approach has paid off today.

Year 10s studied new-look qualifications after GCSEs including maths and numeracy, English language and literature and Cymraeg [Welsh] language and literature as part of the reformed Curriculum for Wales.

Many subjects saw a shift from final exams to class-based assessment, and the first pupils to take the courses get Year 10 results on Thursday.

In July, the WJEC said there would be changes to English language and literature, Cymraeg language and literature, core Cymraeg and religious studies GCSEs to address concerns about workload.

Changes will come in for new students starting in September but will not affect current Year 10s, who are already halfway through the course.

One Caldicot pupil got several A*s, but also a U.

"I couldn't be bothered to do my English lit exam which is why I got a U," said Jack.

"But maths was easy, so I just did it.

He said he hasn't "got a clue what to do" next year, adding he will probably go on to study maths, physics and French, the subjects he got A*s in.

He added: "I'm just doing what I did well in, I guess."

Ian Morgan, chief executive of the WJEC, said he had "listened intently to comments from schools and college leaders and put some solutions in place".

He acknowledged challenges around change, but said he had felt the new qualifications helped learners "properly demonstrate what they know, what they understand and what they can do".

Morgan added: "I need to be clear that there'll be no learner that would be at a detriment as a result of this being the first iteration of those qualifications."

Overall, he said this summer's results were likely to show "stability in terms of GCSE outcomes for this academic year".

Not all students want to go on to do A-levels, with some looking for more practical, vocational options.

Lola, 16, said she wanted to do a Level 2 childcare and development course to work in a nursery or become a primary schoolteacher.

She studied media, textiles, and health and social care, and said there had been "lots of stress and meltdowns over exam period", but a "supportive community" at school and home had made it easier.

She said she had been excited about the next step, adding: "I think it is going to be really fun. I am really looking forward to it."

All GCSEs offered to 14-to-16-year-olds in Wales have been reviewed and updated, with some new subjects introduced.

Change will continue from September with the introduction of the delayed history and new double science GCSEs.

The original plan was to scrap physics, chemistry, and biology as separate courses, but that is on hold until at least 2031.

Brand-new courses include dance and digital media and film.

The Vocational Certificate of Secondary Education (VCSE) - aimed at offering more options for students - will be introduced from September 2027 for 14-to-16-year-olds.

Qualifications Wales said it hoped VCSEs would become as recognised as GCSEs and "valued in the same way".

Llinos Jones, head teacher at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin in Carmarthen, said there had been "a substantial amount of change in a relatively short period of time".

"There is particular concern about this year's Year 10 results, as this is the first cohort to sit the new qualifications, and we do not have the same level of experience or certainty about what the outcomes will look like."