GCSE results day 2019: Top grades rise for second year in a row after exam shake-up

More than one in five (20.8 per cent) UK GCSE entries scored one of the three top grades this year The proportion receiving the top grades - at least a 7 or an A grade - is the highest since 2015 Read our live updates here
Stephanie Cockroft22 August 2019

The proportion of GCSEs awarded top grades has risen for the second year in a row after the biggest exam shake-up for a generation.

More than one in five (20.8 per cent) UK GCSE entries scored one of the three top grades this year, up from 20.5 per cent last summer.

The proportion receiving the top grades - at least a 7 or an A grade - is the highest since 2015 and marks the second year-on-year rise in a row.

The proportion of entries getting at least a 4 or a C grade is also the highest since 2015.

A total of 67.3 per cent of UK entries scored a C/4 or above, up from 66.9 per cent last year, according to data published by the Joint Council for Qualifications.

GCSE Results 2019-In Pictures

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The lead enjoyed by girls over boys at A/7 is unchanged from last year (6.5 percentage points), while the gap at C/4 has narrowed slightly from 9.1 points to 8.8.

The number of UK entries getting C/4 or above in English and maths has increased slightly since last year.

A total of 62 per cent of UK entries scored C/4 or above in English, up from 61.8 per cent, while 59.6 per cent of entries scored C/4 in maths, up from 59.4 per cent.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson wished students 'all the very best'
PA

Prime Minister Boris Johnson wished students luck and said: "Nothing beats hard work and effort - and the greatest reward is knowing that you've done your best."

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson wished students "all the very best", saying results day "marks the culmination of years of hard work".

Under England's exams overhaul, GCSEs have been toughened up, with less coursework, and exams at the end of the two-year courses rather than throughout.

Traditional A*-G grades have been scrapped and replaced with a 9-1 system, with 9 the highest result.

The traditional A*-C grading system has been replaced with a numbered system.
Getty

A 4 is broadly equivalent to a C grade, and a 7 broadly equivalent to an A.

Most students receiving GCSE results this summer will have been awarded numerical grades for all their subjects as almost all courses have moved to the new system.

A total of 25 subjects were awarded new grades for the first time this year.

GCSE courses are also taken by students in Wales and Northern Ireland, where there have been separate exam reforms.

Mr Williamson said: "Today is a proud day for students, teachers and parents up and down the country, and I wish them all the very best for their results.

Pass master: Grace Murray celebrates with her GCSE results at Norwich School in Norwich
PA

"It should also be an exciting day. It's a day that marks the culmination of years of hard work and opens doors that can create life-changing opportunities."

Ahead of results day, school leaders raised concerns that the new GCSE courses are "demoralising" for lower-achieving students.

A poll by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) of 554 members in England found that eight in 10 believe the reformed courses are having a detrimental effect on struggling students.

Geoff Barton, ASCL general secretary, said: "The findings of this survey reflect widespread concern that reformed GCSEs have sacrificed the interests of the most vulnerable students for the supposed benefits of raising the bar for the most able students."

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "Exams are an essential part of ensuring that young people have acquired the knowledge and skills they need, but should never be at the expense of a young person's wellbeing."

Here are the main figures in today's GCSE results:

- The proportion of entries receiving the top grades (A/7 or above) has risen to 20.8 per cent, up 0.3 percentage points on last year and the highest level since 2015. It is the second year-on-year rise in a row.

- 67.3 per cent of entries received a C/4 grade or above, an increase of 0.4 points on 2018. This is also the highest level since 2015.

- The gap between girls and boys getting grade A/7 is unchanged from last year. 24.1% of entries by girls got A/7 or higher, compared with 17.6 per cent for boys, a lead of 6.5 points.

- The gap at grade C/4 has narrowed for the second year in a row. 71.7 per cent of entries by girls got C/4 or higher, compared with 62.9 per cent for boys, a lead of 8.8 points. Last year the lead was 9.1.

- The most popular subject was double award science, followed by maths and English. Among all the subjects individually listed, the least popular was leisure and tourism with 111 entries.

- The subject with the largest percentage jump in entries was statistics, which rose 55 per cent, from 15,562 entries in 2018 to 24,027 this year. The second largest increase was for Welsh second language (up 33 per cent) followed by economics (up 17 per cent).

- The subject with the largest proportional drop in entries was leisure and tourism, which fell 95 per cent from 2,306 entries in 2018 to just 111. The next biggest drop was for hospitality (down 88 per cent), followed by health and social care (down 83%).

- The overall pass rate - the proportion of entries getting G/1 or above - is unchanged from last year at 98.3 per cent. This is the lowest overall pass rate since 2007.

- There were 5,547,447 entries for the exams, up 77,371 on last year - a rise of 1.4 per cent.

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