There was elation for many of the more than 500,000 students who opened their GCSE results yesterday, with one in five scooping top marks.
The proportion getting a grade 7 – the equivalent of the old grade A – rose to 21.7 per cent, up 0.1 percentage point on 2023.
Grades did not return to pre-pandemic levels as expected, with this year’s figure higher than in 2019, before Covid struck, when it was 20.6 per cent.
Discounting the freak years of 2020 to 2022 when grades were wildly inflated due to the pandemic, this year’s results at grade 7 are the highest since 2012.
In addition, 1,270 16-year-olds in England achieved the highest grade 9 in at least seven subjects – up from 1,160 in 2023 and 837 in 2019.
The proportion getting a grade 7 – the equivalent of the old grade A – rose to 21.7 per cent, up 0.1 percentage point on 2023 (pictured: Two Brighton College pupils Pupils hug after receiving their GCSE results)
Grades did not return to pre-pandemic levels as expected, with this year’s figure higher than in 2019, before Covid struck, when it was 20.6 per cent (pictured: Roedean School pupils celebrate their results)
Discounting the freak years of 2020 to 2022 when grades were wildly inflated due to the pandemic, this year’s results at grade 7 are the highest since 2012 (pictured: A students opens her results at Ark Pioneer in Barnet, north London)
A pupil shares good news of her results over the phone at Brighton College on Thursday
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The increase is partially due to the 5.2 per cent rise in the population of 16-year-olds compared to last year.
The exams regulator Ofqual said that following concerns about grade inflation during the pandemic, results were now on an even keel.
It added: ‘We have settled back into a pattern of dependable and trustworthy results.’
However, Alan Smithers, professor of education at Buckingham University, said: ‘If the procedures used in 2019 had been rigorously applied, there would have been fewer top grades by one percentage point.
‘There is variation from year to year with the ability of the intake, but it does look as though the regulators are now inclined to err on the side of good news.’
It comes after A-level pupils saw a record high in top grades last week, discounting the pandemic years.
Yesterday, it emerged that GCSE results this year may have been boosted by some subjects being graded more leniently.
Computer science has been assessed more generously this year, as have French and German for the second year running.
The change was made after Ofqual decided the subjects had been graded too harshly in the past compared with other subjects.
Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan at Dromore High School in Co Down with students who have received their GCSE results
Students at Nottingham High School receive their GCSE results early this morning
Nihal Shah is supported by family and friends as he receives his GCSE grades at Ark Pioneer Academy in London
Many of the pupils who are receiving their GCSE results were in Year 7 when schools closed due to the pandemic
This year’s students sat regular GCSE exams after several years of cancellations
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Although England now uses a numerical grading system of 9-1, Northern Ireland and Wales still use A*-G.
Across the UK, decreases in Wales and Northern Ireland caused an overall slight drop at grade A to 21.8 per cent from 22.0 per cent last year – although it is still higher than the 2019 figure of 20.8 per cent.
And 67.6 per cent of entries got a grade 4 – the equivalent of the old C and considered a ‘standard pass’.
This is down from 68.2 per cent last year but higher than 67.3 per cent in 2019.
The nation with the best results in the UK was Northern Ireland, with 31.7 per cent of entries graded at A or above – down from 35.4 last year but up on 31.4 in 2019.
Its consistently better performance than England is part of a long- term trend, and has in the past been attributed to the fact that it has retained the grammar school system.
A student reacts after opening their GCSE results at the City of London Academy in Southwark
A pupil at the City of London Academy in Southwark reacts as he sees his results for the first time
Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are bracing for outcomes which could determine whether they go on to study A-levels, BTEC’s or apprenticeships
Since 2010, grade boundaries across the UK have been set to ensure that roughly one in five entries at GCSE gets a grade 7 or A.
However, exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021, with teachers deciding marks instead – leading to a sharp rise in grades.
Since then, grading has been gradually brought back down year on year, with England due to return to normal last year, and Wales and Northern Ireland expected to achieve the same this year.
Many of the pupils receiving their GCSE results were in Year 7 when schools closed due to the pandemic. This means they still faced significant disruption to their schooling in the first years of their secondary education.
Overall, there were 6,186,879 GCSE entries – up by 4.8 per cent on last year’s figure of 5,905,000.
Posting on X yesterday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: ‘Congratulations to all students getting results today, and a huge thank-you to the incredible teachers and staff who’ve supported you along the way.
‘You’ve shown amazing resilience, overcoming challenges, and you should be proud of all you’ve achieved. Well done.’
Margaret Farragher, chief executive of the Joint Council for Qualifications, an umbrella organisation for exam boards, said: ‘These achievements are hard earned, and students should feel justly proud to have reached this important milestone in their educational journey.’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said students had ‘done an incredible job’, adding: ‘I know the power of education and opportunity.
‘My Government will make sure everyone’s path is determined by their talent, skills and ambition, not where you come from.’