GCSE results day 2019: Only 800 students in England get clean sweep of highest grades under reforms

Teenagers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland found out their marks

What is the new GCSE grading system?

The number of students awarded top grades at GCSE has risen for the second year in a row despite a major government overhaul to make the qualifications more difficult.

Grades were awarded in the first tougher GCSEs, maths and English, in 2017 - with a further 20 reformed subjects last summer. Students received numerical grades in a further 25 subjects this year.

The new GCSEs, which are now graded 9 to 1 rather than A* to G, have less coursework and a greater focus on exams at the end of two years.

Just 837 teenagers scored a clean sweep of the highest grade in their GCSEs this summer, with more girls achieving straight top grades than boys.

This summer's clean sweep figure is up from 732 16-year-olds in 2018, the figures from Ofqual show.

Follow our coverage of GCSE results day:

Key Points

• Proportion of students awarded top GCSEs rises to highest point in four years
• Exams for 16-year-olds were reformed by government to be tougher
• Students in England received numbered grades in most subjects
• Education secretary wishes students 'all the very best for their results'

[22 August 2019 07:00 · Eleanor Busby]

Hundreds of thousands of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are anxiously waiting to open their GCSE exam results today.

[22 August 2019 07:15 · Eleanor Busby]

In case you need a quick recap on results day - we have a handy guide on what to expect today:

[22 August 2019 07:25 · Samuel Osborne]

Around one in five GCSE entries are expected to score one of the three top grades this year, but just a tiny fraction of teenagers is likely to walk away with a clean sweep of 9s.

[22 August 2019 07:36 · Samuel Osborne]

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.

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 get numerical grades for all their subjects as almost all courses have now moved over to the new system.

A total of 25 subjects will be 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.

[22 August 2019 07:49 · Samuel Osborne]

Here's Eleanor Busby, our education correspondent, explaining what the numerical GCSE grades mean in greater detail: 

[22 August 2019 08:01 · Samuel Osborne]

Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, 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.

"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."

[22 August 2019 08:20 · Samuel Osborne]

Last year, one in five UK entries (20.5 per cent) picked up at least a 7 or an A grade, roughly in line with previous years, and is likely that a similar proportion of entries will achieve this level this summer.

Around two thirds (66.9 per cent) of UK entries were awarded at least grade 4, or C, last summer, according to data published by the Joint Council for Qualifications.

[22 August 2019 08:36 · Samuel Osborne]

Separate figures, published by exams regulator Ofqual, showed that last year just 732 16-year-olds in England taking at least seven new GCSEs scored straight 9s - the highest grade available under the new system - in all subjects.

This is just a tiny fraction (0.1 per cent) of the more than half a million teenagers in England who take GCSEs.

[22 August 2019 08:46 · Samuel Osborne]

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."

Of those who got a clean sweep last year, 62 per cent were female and 38 per cent male.

[22 August 2019 08:58 · Samuel Osborne]

Several restaurants are offering a variety of discounts and freebies as 16-year-olds across the country either rejoice or commiserate after opening their results. Katie O'Malley, our assistant lifestyle editor, has a roundup of the best deals: