Closing summary
That’s it from this morning’s GCSE live blog, after a nerve-wracking morning for 16-year-olds across the country. We hope you got the grades you were after.
Here are this morning’s toplines –
- The proportion of GCSEs awarded top grades has risen for the second year in a row. More than one in five (20.8%) UK GCSE entries scored one of the three top grades this year, up from 20.5% 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 introduction of more rigorous GCSE courses in England and elsewhere in the UK appears to have benefited girls more than boys, including in subjects such as physics and maths, where girls have narrowed the gap in results previously enjoyed by boys at age 16.
- It is the third year of results for the new-style GCSE exams in England, which have more complex content, a greater reliance on final exam results and replace the previous A* to G grades with a scale running from 9 to 1. The new GCSEs have been criticised in recent days by headteachers, teaching unions and the Girlguiding movement for increasing levels of stress among pupils, and for being too demanding for many pupils, including those with special needs.
Naomi Larsson on our community team has been gathering reaction from our readers.
Disha Hedge, 16, from Milton Keynes, has just received her results from the Royal Latin School in Buckinghamshire. She is “over the moon”, achieving 10 grade 9s and one grade 8, but she says it was very stressful adapting to the new system.
“Not only did we have a lack of resources and past papers, but also there are very big differences between marks awarded from different examiners, especially in essay subjects such as English and history, which are obviously quite subjective.
“It was extremely nerve-wracking to have the thought that I might miss my targets due to inconsistency within the new system. The new grade 9, which is higher than an A * definitely added to the pressure.”
Syeda Tasnia Tahsin, 16, is at Connaught School for Girls in London’s Leytonstone. She achieved above her predicted grades, and got 9 in English language.
Syeda came to the UK from Bangladesh aged seven and spoke no English. She says she’s gained confidence over time and has become more outspoken. Syeda is now a spoken word artist and in early August she had a week-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe about the impact of media perceptions on young people, terrorism and grooming.
She hopes to study PPE at Oxford and will be doing A-levels in Economics, Politics and Sociology.
“I am so proud of myself to see how far I have come, considering how overwhelming and challenging the new exam system was.I am exhilarated and so proud of the results I have achieved.”
Joe Lena studies in Kings Heath, Birmingham. He achieved grade 9 in film studies, grade 8 in product design, combined science and food tech, grade 7 maths and grade 6 English.
He plans to go to college and continue studying, and is relieved that his GCSEs are now over: “I’ve seen all around me that people feel more pressured with now having two ‘pass grades’ with a grade 4 being seen as less significant than a 5. There is a lot of pressure on higher achieving students too to get the top grade now being much harder than an A*. AQA as an exam board (especially in English) seem very harsh, I haven’t seen anyone get higher than a 6.
“This entire season has been incredibly stressful and I’m so glad to see the end of it. Michael Gove doesn’t understand what he has done to the pupils sitting these exams.”
Updated
Computing attracted more than 77,000 English students in 2019, a 7.6% increase on the 2018 figure. At first glance this looks like a healthy increase ... but it isn’t the full story.
Before computing, which was first introduced as a GCSE subject in 2014, there was ICT. However, even after the computing exam came on board, ICT remained an option for GCSE students, indeed 42,480 sat the exam last year.
However, in 2019 ICT is no more. So the combined number of entries for ICT and computing stood at 114,408 last year, falling to 77,407 computing students this year, a 32% drop.
If there is good news to be had it is that the proportion of girls taking computing is now at 21.7%, up from 20.4% in 2018. The overall number of computer entries rose by 7.6% but as we pointed out earlier on, the uptake among girls accelerated even more, up 14.5% compared to 2018.
15-year-old Victoria Chung, a pupil at the Brighton private school Roedean, has been awarded an astonishing 12 grade nines in her GCSEs.
“I just couldn’t believe it when I saw the results,” said Chung, who had flown in from Hong Kong to pick up her results. “I was so panicky last night thinking about it but all the hard work has paid off. I just got my head down and worked hard across Year 10 and 11 – that’s the only way.”
Chung got the top grade in art and design, biology, physics, chemistry, Chinese, German, English literature, English language, maths, further maths, history and business studies.
Roedean said it had received its best set of exam results in its 134-year history. A third of the grades awarded to its 99-pupil cohort were grade 9s. 70% of the grades awarded were 7,8 or 9 – the equivalent to A or above in old grades. Thirteen girls got at least eight 9 grades and five got a clean sweep of ten 9s.
Rémi de Fleurian on the Guardian’s data team has been looking at the proportion of English students taking up French and Spanish this year.
Last week he reported that, for the first time ever, more English A-level students took Spanish than French.
Although the popularity of Spanish among GCSE students increased for the second year running, French witnessed a bit of a comeback with a 4% increase in entries this year compared to 2018, reversing the trend over the past five years.
Over 120,000 students took the exam, meaning it remains the most popular language. Spanish was taken by almost 97,000 students took this year - an impressive 8% gain on last year - while German decreased by 3% to 41,000.
Updated
More from the King David High School in Liverpool, where Charlotte Dunn, 16, has exceeded her own expectations.
Dunn received nine GCSEs – including a 7 in English Literature, an 8 in Art and Design and in Maths a 9 or the equivalent of an A** (yes, those exist now).
“I’m really, really pleased,” she beamed. “I was quite nervous when the exams got closer, but once you get in there and you sit down, you just have to tell yourself you know what you’re doing.”
“It’s been really nice to relax and calm down over summer,” said Charlotte, who added that flashcards were a godsend during months of revision.
She also drew up a timetable of studying, which, according to her parents was completely of her own volition. “It was actually a bit scary,” said her dad, Ian Dunn. “I’ve always been a bit of a last minute person, but she’s so organised.”
Charlotte’s mum, Paula, said despite paper leaks, she thought social media had been a blessing in disguise during the exam period.
“When they’ve come out of an exam and are a bit in doubt, they’ll go on Twitter and see that other people were confused by certain questions too – it puts their mind at rest a bit,” she said.
Charlotte, who dreams of getting into creative marketing or advertising one day, will begin A Levels in Graphic Design, Psychology and Business in September.
Updated
Professor Simon Swain, vice-president for research and higher education policy at the British Academy, has commented on today’s results.
“The small increase in entries in modern languages GCSE for England is a positive sign that the long-term decline may be starting to change,” he said.
“Still only around half of school pupils in England are taking a qualification in a language other than English at this stage, compared to three quarters in 2002.”
The British Academy, a national body for humanities and social sciences, campaigns for greater provision of language-learning across the UK.
The University of Warwick professor of classics and greco-arabic studies added:
Learning a language is about far more than being able to communicate when we travel abroad on holiday or on business. It broadens our mental horizons and helps us to understand and respect other cultures and communities. There is now increasing evidence that competence in languages is beneficial for learning in other curriculum subjects and for cognitive function more generally too.
Learning a second language presents real advantages from an early age, which is why I hope this is the start of a more positive trend for language education in schools. We ought to take this opportunity to excel once again in language-learning and the British Academy is working with other stakeholders to determine how best to ensure the sustainability of the whole pipeline for language study and research.
Some very proud parents out there on Twitter ...
Well . Another one NOT following their father for brains thank god. Amazing GCSE Results @TiaLouiseWilli1 . Proud dad . #gcseresultsday2019 #prouddad pic.twitter.com/LcORocotI5
— Damian Williams (@DamianWill128) August 22, 2019
Super proud of our fabulous daughter who smashed her GCSEs.
— Fiona McNamara (@Feemac20) August 22, 2019
Yes this was me this morning .. happy tears😅🤗#gcseresultsday2019 pic.twitter.com/Mj2e5EtXox
So proud of my boy with his #GCSEresults passing 8/9. however I can’t help but feel for the students this year taking the hit on ridiculous grade boundaries and harder exams to satisfy our pathetic government. The education system is flawed #gcseresultsday2019
— Gary Lock (@GaryLock1973) August 22, 2019
After almost 3 years of hell; missed school, hospital appointments & severe #mentalillness, 16 yo got her GCSE results today & passed them all.
— Emma (@brainybird) August 22, 2019
So #proud of how she's handled what she's been through, who she is & what she'll become#gcseresultsday2019 #family #love #college
The number of girls doing computing at GCSE has risen with female entries up 14%, PA reports.
Computing entries saw an increase overall of 7.2% to 80,027, with the the number of female entries up from 15,046 in 2018 to 17,158 in 2019.
Females continued to outperform males in the subject, with 24.9% of females compared to 20.8% of males scoring the top grades - at least a 7 or an A grade.
Some 66.2% of females scored at least a 4 or a C grade, compared to 61.7% of males.
However, female entries in computing were only 21.4% of the total student numbers.
There were 62,869 male entries, and an increase in the number scoring top grades from 20.1% in 2018 to 20.8% in 2019.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College leaders, said: “It mirrors what we were seeing last week when we saw more girls doing sciences than boys at A-level.
“The encouraging part of that is that females are thinking ‘this is as much a part of my world as it it my brother’s’, so I think that’s a really good thing.”
Derek Richardson, vice president and responsible officer at the Pearson examinations body, said: “Increases in computing entries and outcomes - for both females and males - show that young people recognise the changing nature of the world and are preparing themselves for needing an increasingly digital toolkit for their future studies or careers.
“It’s encouraging to see female entries are up 14% on last year.”
Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner, has passed on her congratulations to all those getting results today.
But she remains alarmed by research earlier this week which showed that disadvantaged pupils are almost twice as likely to fail GCSE maths as their wealthier classmates.
She said: “It is deeply concerning that disadvantaged young people are far less likely to get good GCSE grades, creating an inequality that will remain for years to come.
“This government, by cutting school funding for the first time in a generation and creating a crisis in teacher recruitment and retention, is making it harder for young people to succeed, while those going on to further education will once again see the impact of nearly a decade of Conservative cuts to education.”
The school leaders union, NAHT, is concerned that the general nature of the GCSE is becoming narrowed.
Paul Whiteman, its general secretary, said:
“We remain concerned about the impact that the increased content and greater number of exams can and will have on everyone. Wellbeing during study is just as important as the results themselves.
“Although the government’s reforms have seen a significant increase in the number of exams that students must take, perversely the breadth of subjects is getting narrower. We have lost the ‘general’ element of GCSEs, which is a disservice to all concerned.
“NAHT believes that students should have access to a wide variety of options at GCSE, but we continue to see an overall decline in the number of non-EBacc subjects taken. Design and Technology entries, for example, have dropped below 100,000 this year, which is worrying when you consider how important that subject could be for many young people.
“It has been interesting this week to hear the many voices raised in opposition to the EBacc, which pushes schools to offer only a narrow core of academic subjects with only a couple of extra options for other subjects covering the arts, technology, creative and vocational subjects. Even Kenneth Baker, the architect of GCSEs, says this is wrong, and we agree.
“The purpose of GCSEs is to offer a general education. This needs to be broad so that every student can find a combination of subjects that works for them. A Levels, college and university courses are the time and place for students to choose to specialise.
“The EBacc distorts the curriculum offer to no real benefit, certainly not to students. It is much too early in their school lives to enforce a narrowing of the curriculum. The EBacc is a curse that schools and students have to operate under, and it is high time we did away with it.”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, has a word of caution about the increased uptake in French and Spanish.
“The improvement in the uptake of French and Spanish this year is encouraging, but it is nowhere near enough to make up for the decline in entries to modern foreign languages since 2010. Even taking into account this year’s improvement in French uptake, entries in this subject have still fallen by more than 40,000 since 2010 in England. German entries have fallen again this year and by more than 25,000 since 2010. These subjects are part of the English Baccalaureate suite but students are deterred from taking them because of their perceived difficulty.
“It is clear that we need to rethink the way in which we measure the performance of schools, and that our schools and colleges urgently need an improved level of funding from the government. We also need a national strategy on improving the uptake of modern foreign languages rather than trying to lever entries through the blunt instrument of school performance measures.”
And now for the clever clogs...the proportion of top marks - which among English students is a 9 grade - rose this year among both boys and girls. More than 5% of exams sat by girls in England resulted in a 9 grade.
Updated
Amy Walker has been speaking to delighted pupils at a voluntary aided King David High School in Liverpool – a Jewish school that admits children from 11 to 18 of all faiths.
Ben Franks, 16, is among those now in the queue to register for the school’s sixth form after receiving GCSE grades including an 8 (equivalent to an A*), two 7s (A) and three 6s (B). Revising “got really weird at one point,” he said. “I basically developed a caffeine addiction.”
Although he spent a lot of time procrastinating, for the final two months before exams Ben said he had revised every night. His mum, Stella Franks, added: “We’ve had to wean him off the coffee this summer.”
Despite his hard work, Ben’s grades have still come as a pleasant surprise. He thought he’d flunked English Literature and was “absolutely mortified” after the exam, according to his mum.
“I just came out of the exam not as confident as before,” he said, “But I got an 8.” Ben, who will begin A Levels in art and design, English language and economics in September, hopes to study Architecture at degree level.
Also pleased with his results is Ben Williams, 16, who is leaving the school to begin an apprenticeship in hairdressing.
“To be honest, I don’t really stress and I’ve been calm throughout it, but my grades are much better than I was expecting,” said Ben, who achieved three 7s.
He’s looking forward to joining the world of work. “I don’t really fit well in a school environment. I did some work experience at a hairdressers and really enjoyed it,” he said.
Ben Williams, who’s off to start an apprenticeship in hairdressing, also did better than he was expecting - receiving three 7s (A). “To he honest, I don’t really stress and I’ve been calm throughout it,” he said. #GCSEResults2019 pic.twitter.com/McG2ZUuzyb
— Amy Walker (@amyrwalker) August 22, 2019
The overall pass rate at King David was above the average in England, Wales and Northern Ireland this year – at 68.4% compared to 67.3%. Headteacher Michael Sutton said he was pleased with the results but had, like his pupils, been expecting the worst.
“I’m a glass half empty type of person,” he said. “There’s so much pressure on them now, and on staff,” he said, adding that he thought the introduction of tougher exams had been a “dreadful idea”.
“There’s so much more content to fit it. If you don’t extend the length of the school year you have to cram everything in,” he said.
Updated
Not to be outdone by all the many reforms undertaken in England in recent years, Northern Ireland decided to shake things up, introducing a new C* grade in 2019, equivalent to the English 5 grade. While the proportion of A grades and above grew to 31.4%, the percentage of students achieving a C grade or above (including the new C* grade) also increased marginally.
While much of the attention on GCSE results day revolves around England, students in other parts of the country are also opening their results with trepidation this morning.
In Wales, where exam grades have remained blissfully reform-free, it was a mixed bag when compared to last year. The proportion of A grades or higher fell ever-so-slightly from 18.1% to 17.9% while those achieving a C or above rose by almost 2%.
Katharine Birbalsingh, head teacher at Michaela community school in Wembley - a well-known free school, is delighted by its first ever set of GCSE results. She said her pupils “smash it” after 18% got a 9.
Some results for you! 🥰 pic.twitter.com/90tjB1v6OC
— Katharine Birbalsingh (@Miss_Snuffy) August 22, 2019
Some more results! 🥰 pic.twitter.com/3HyaYLsBRp
— Katharine Birbalsingh (@Miss_Snuffy) August 22, 2019
Nothing nicer than parents saying, ‘We trusted you and we you did it!’ ‘TOGETHER! I say! We did it TOGETHER!’ Parents matter!! pic.twitter.com/6u28YfIHBP
— Katharine Birbalsingh (@Miss_Snuffy) August 22, 2019
This boy hugged me and he used to be SO naughty... I can’t believe it! “Thank you Ms Birbalsingh! Thank you to all the teachers! They are all amazing! Thank you!” 🥰🥰🥰#MichaelaResults pic.twitter.com/CrCPV1Axii
— Katharine Birbalsingh (@Miss_Snuffy) August 22, 2019
Michaela pupils SMASH IT!! 🥰🥰#MichaelaResults pic.twitter.com/9F9tl1wRoK
— Katharine Birbalsingh (@Miss_Snuffy) August 22, 2019
The British Council has welcomed the improved take up in foreign languages.
There was a 3% increase in modern foreign language entries, which had been in sharp decline for years. French remains the most popular language at GCSE, though Spanish entries went up 7.5%. German entries dropped again, as did Chinese, where numbers fell from 4,410 to 3,200.
Vicky Gough, British Council schools advisor, said:
“It’s encouraging that GCSE numbers are picking up, but this has to be seen as a slight recovery from a huge drop over more than a decade.
“Hopefully these rising numbers will have a knock-on effect as pupils take A-Levels and university courses, because the UK needs more foreign language speakers.
“Languages underpin our relationships with other countries. They are vital to the UK’s future prosperity, security and global influence, and they are important to pupils because they open doors to new people, places and cultures.”
Don’t forget the teachers, says Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.
He said:
We are nearing the end of a massive programme of qualification reforms which has been extremely challenging. Our teachers deserve a huge amount of credit for all that they have done to support students taking new GCSEs which have been deliberately designed to be more difficult, and which have undoubtedly caused increased levels of stress and anxiety.
“It is great to see that there has been an increase in entries to art and design. However, we continue to be concerned about the long-term decline in the uptake of other creative arts subjects, and design and technology. This has been caused by the government’s obsession with measuring schools largely on performance in a small suite of traditional academic subjects combined with education cuts which have left them without enough funding to sustain smaller-entry courses.”
Overall performance up in Wales
In Wales, where exams are still graded with the old letter format, the number overall performance has increased but those achieving top grades has remained stable.
The Welsh government said overall performance is up 1.2% with 62.8% achieving A*-C grades. Those achieving A*- A pass stayed the same at 18.4%.
The percentage of pupils gaining A*-A and A*-C grades in all individual sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics). Some 58.1% of students achieved grade A*-C in GCSE Mathematics
Wales’s education minister, Kirsty Williams, said: “Last year we saw a dramatic increase of 50% in entries for science GCSEs. I am pleased to see that entries and results are continuing on the upward trend, with more pupils gaining A*-C and more achieving the very top grades in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
“This increase in learners being entered means more young people are accessing qualifications that lead to greater opportunities for further science study and careers, paving the way for the future scientists of Wales.”
She added: “This was the first year learners sat the new Welsh Second Language GCSE full course, following removal of the short course option last year.
“As this is a more challenging qualification, it was expected that overall attainment would be effected with many more learners taking the new full course. However, the number of pupils achieving A*-C results are up by over 1,300.
“There is still work to be done, but the new GCSE provides learners with a stronger focus on speaking, listening, and using the language practically in their day to day lives.”
Boris Johnson has passed on his “huge congratulations” to everyone receiving their GCSE results today.
In a statement he said:
“I’m delighted to see an increase in those studying EBacc subjects – including science, computing and foreign languages – as well as creative studies, meaning pupils are getting the rigorous yet well-rounded education they need.
“As I said last week, my government will do all we can to increase funding for education, and to give schools the powers they need to deal with bad behaviour and bullying so pupils continue to learn effectively.”
Proud father moment ... my brilliant daughter passed 11 GCSEs. All bar one were 7 or above, including three 9s. Way to go girl!
Maths remains the most popular subject among English GCSE students with English and English literature retaining their popularity. The recently reformed double science exam gained 5% more students when compared to 2018 while the number of students taking history grew by 7% and art and design was up by almost 10%.
The exam regulator Ofqual has this graphic showing the improvement in this year’s grades top grades. It shows a slightly sharper increase in those achieving the top three grades, than reported earlier by PA. Ofqual says the increase went from 21.4% last year to 21.9% in 2019 for 16 year olds only.
GCSE results are out. We've published key information, infographics and analysis on our website. https://t.co/wXg5KW9UXT pic.twitter.com/Di1DbZ4fMF
— Ofqual (@ofqual) August 22, 2019
Updated
Girls benefits from new format
The introduction of more rigorous GCSE courses in England and elsewhere in the UK appears to have benefited girls more than boys, including in subjects such as physics and maths, where girls have narrowed the gap in results previously enjoyed by boys at age 16.
More than one in four exam entries by girls received top grades of A, or 7, and above in this summer’s exams in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an improvement of half a percentage point to 25.3% compared with last year, while just 18.6% of entries by 16-year-old boys achieved the same grades.
In England girls won the majority of the coveted top 9 grade, with 5.2% of female entries gaining the grade that replaced the top tier of the previous A* grade, compared with 3.7% of boys and a combined rate of 4.5%. Just below that, 13.1% of girls gained a level 8, compared with 9.4% of boys.
Some 837 students this year achieved 9s in seven or more subjects, a slight increase on last year, when just five students achieved 9s in 12 subjects.
In maths, the largest single subject, there was a substantial closing of the gap between boys and girls at age 16. While the proportion of boys obtaining top grades nudged up slightly to 20.6%, the proportion of girls getting A/7 or above leapt by nearly a percentage point, from 19% last year to 19.9%, more than halving the difference between the two groups.
In physics – a subject traditionally dominated by boys – girls made large strides in eliminating the gap in grades, which is close to disappearing at grades C, or 4, and above. In the top grades the proportion of girls jumped from 40% to 42.1%, driving a strong improvement overall, while the proportion of boys rose by just 0.3 percentage points to 46.1%.
Increase in top grades
The proportion of GCSEs awarded top grades has risen for the second year in a row, PA reports.
More than one in five (20.8%) UK GCSE entries scored one of the three top grades this year, up from 20.5% 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% of UK entries scored a C/4 or above, up from 66.9% last year, according to data published by the Joint Council for Qualifications.
The number of UK entries getting C/4 or above in English and maths has increased slightly since last year.
A total of 62% of UK entries scored C/4 or above in English, up from 61.8%, while 59.6% of entries scored C/4 in maths, up from 59.4%.
The Student Room, which provides support and advice for pupils, is at Hove Park School.
We’re at @HpsHove today celebrating all students receiving GCSE Results! 🥳 This is Alfie, he passed everything and is off to @BHASVIC in September! Well done Alfie ✨✨ #BeResultsProud pic.twitter.com/KbS3iFHahb
— The Student Room (@thestudentroom) August 22, 2019
This is Rose and Nora, celebrating amazing Results today! ✨🙌🏻 Rose’s advice to students doing their GCSEs next year “Keep on top of all your coursework! You don’t wanna be doing it last minute!” ☺️ Well done guys! 💓 #BeResultsProud pic.twitter.com/OE4fbyok17
— The Student Room (@thestudentroom) August 22, 2019
First results
The first results are beginning to come in.
“I thought I was going to fail Maths - I’ve been dreaming about it every night,” says Niamh Jamieson, who ended up with an 8 (A*) in the subject. Lots of happy tears here! @KDHSLiverpool #gcseresultsday2019 pic.twitter.com/K4jOgCSfvr
— Amy Walker (@amyrwalker) August 22, 2019
“Your mental health is more important than your grades,” the children’s charity NSPCC reminds pupils.
Good luck to everyone receiving their #GCSEresults today. Remind your child that no matter the grade, or what's next, #Childline is always there to support them https://t.co/u2w7f9nKjK pic.twitter.com/t7tbmLDx5O
— NSPCC (@NSPCC) August 22, 2019
My colleague Amy Walker is at Liverpool’s King David high school with some nervous pupils.
Another week, another results day! I’m at King David High School in Liverpool this morning, where around 90 pupils will pick up their GCSEs. #gcseresultsday2019 pic.twitter.com/oDfDD23oVm
— Amy Walker (@amyrwalker) August 22, 2019
Exam boards have published their grade boundaries for this year’s papers.
The grade boundaries are now available on our results day page - https://t.co/yRuqiRIpgL
— WJEC (@wjec_cbac) August 22, 2019
You can find grade boundaries here: https://t.co/YJeUGxYWOv#gcseresultsday2019
— AQA (@AQA) August 22, 2019
OCR’s grade boundaries are set out here.
#GCSE students - looking for grade boundaries? Here's the link: https://t.co/XYlkj1erdo #gcseresultsday2019 pic.twitter.com/YjrYkKblOB
— OCR (@ocrexams) August 22, 2019
AQA’s are here, and CCEA’s here.
Updated
It is not the end of the world if your result are not as good as you hoped, says Adrian Childs.
Accountants have warned that the focus on exams is failing to fully prepared students for the world of work.
Andrew Harding, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Management Accounts, called for more apprenticeships:
“Our research shows that 36% of workers don’t feel they have all the skills they need to do their jobs effectively in the next five years. This figure will only increase if we don’t change our approach to learning new skills and competencies.
“In the past, we largely dedicated ourselves to passing exams and forged a career based on those results. Now, we must recognise the value in non-traditional routes like apprenticeships, which offer a real opportunity to fix the UK’s productivity problem. As, by design, they inherently link learning and working which helps students develop a growth mind-set and prepares them for the world of work.”
Share your experiences with us
We want to hear from pupils and educators about how you been affected by the new GCSEs. Have you achieved better results than you expected, or lower? Do you think the new system has penalised you in any way? Or have you been unaffected?
You can share your experiences in the form here. You can also share your stories, photos and videos with the Guardian via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056.
Please ensure you include important details, like the name of your school, in the description box. Photos would be great too! If you are under-16 you will need parental permission to take part. We will include some of your responses in our ongoing coverage.
Updated
Boris Johnson has passed on this good luck message:
Good luck to all those receiving their GCSE results today. Nothing beats hard work and effort - and the greatest reward is knowing that you've done your best. #gcseresultsday2019
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 22, 2019
Shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, has this message to pupils awaiting results.
Good luck to everyone receiving their GCSE exam results today. Whatever the outcome be proud of the hard work, dedication and commitment you have put in. Thanks also to all the fantastic teachers and support staff who have helped so many students #GCSEresults2019 #gcseresultsday
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) August 22, 2019
And Nicky Morgan, former chair of the education select committee, now culture secretary, has this:
Good luck & congratulations to everyone collecting their #GCSEs2019 today & best wishes for the next stage whatever you decide to do pic.twitter.com/ADuZDDNxhA
— Nicky Morgan MP (@NickyMorgan01) August 22, 2019
Schools minister, Nick Gibb, has rejected union claims that the new format has led to some pupils refusing to take exams.
Asked about the concerns of teaching unions on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Gibb said: “We have seen a significant increase in the number of entries to GCSE this year so I’m not sure that I accept their their assertion about children not taking these GCSE.”
He also defended the new format and suggested the onus was on schools to deal with the stress of pupils. Gibb said: “We don’t want children to be overstressed. Testing and exams have always being part of an education system, there will always be some stress to them.
“But we trust schools to make sure that children are well prepared and are supported. So they shouldn’t be that to that level of stress.”
He also pointed out that figures for this year showed a 3% increase in entries for arts subjects despite fears that a greater focus on academic subjects would drive out arts.
He added:
We have reformed the GCSE over the last few years so that people are better prepared for further study, or for an apprenticeship or technical route, or for work with training.
There were criticisms of the old GCSE by employers that they weren’t properly preparing young people for further study. They weren’t comparable with the qualifications of some of the best performing countries around the world. We spent many years improving and consulting on these new reformed GCSE.
We have conducted impact assessments to ensure that they’re suitable for children of all abilities, including children with special educational needs.”
Summary
Welcome to the Guardian’s GCSE live blog as more than 700,000 teenagers, and their anxious parents, prepare for GCSE results this morning.
In England this is the second year where the grading system for most exams has switched to the numerical system with the top mark of 9, to the bottom mark of 1.
A grade 7 to 9 is approximately equivalent to A to A* under the old system, while a grade 4 and above is roughly equivalent to a C and above.
The content of the courses has also been made tougher, prompting teaching unions to warn that the changes have left many pupils feeling stressed with some even refusing to sit the exams. And this is the first year that students have sat reformed GCSEs in media studies, design and technology, and sociology.
The new system is designed to be more academically rigorous and to better differentiate the highest achievers. Under the old system increasing numbers of pupils were achieving A*s. With two more grades, the idea for the new format is that fewer pupils will achieve the top mark.
If last year is anything to go by, around one in five pupils are expected to score one of the three top grades this year, but only a tiny fraction of teenagers is likely to walk away with a clean sweep of 9s.
Figures published by exams regulator Ofqual, showed that just 732 16-year-olds in England taking at least seven new GCSEs last year, scored straight 9s in all subjects.
But Philip Nye, researcher at Education Datalab said the numbers getting straight grade 9s “might go up a little bit because there are more subjects in the 9-1 system, but it is very difficult to say what will happen.”
Pupils in Wales will still have exams graded on the A to G scale, but the content has also been reformed. In Northern Ireland there is a mix of both letter and numerical grades depending on the exam board.
Our data team will be crunching the numbers throughout the day. And after the results are released, at around 9.30am, we’ll be gauging all the agony of ecstasy of students.
Good luck.
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