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 09:07 · Samuel Osborne]

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

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."

[22 August 2019 09:13 · Samuel Osborne]

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

[22 August 2019 09:19 · Samuel Osborne]

Poorer pupils are nearly twice as likely not to pass their maths GCSE as their richer peers, an analysis of last year's results suggests. Eleanor Busby, our education correspondent, has the story: 

[22 August 2019 09:30 · Eleanor Busby]

And the results are in...

The number of students securing top grades at GCSE has risen to the highest point in four years despite the government’s major exam reforms to make the qualifications harder.

Across the UK, the proportion of students gaining an A grade and above – or a 7 under the new grading system –  increased from 20.5 per cent last year to 20.8 per cent.

And 67.3 per cent were awarded a C or above, or a 4 which is now considered to be a “standard pass”, this summer, which has risen by 0.4 percentage points from 66.9 per cent.

[22 August 2019 09:35 · Samuel Osborne]

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. Eleanor Busby, our education corespondent, has the full story:

[22 August 2019 09:44 · Samuel Osborne]

Here are the main figures from today's results:

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.

[22 August 2019 09:48 · Samuel Osborne]

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.

[22 August 2019 09:52 · Samuel Osborne]

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).

[22 August 2019 09:56 · Samuel Osborne]

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 per cent).

[22 August 2019 10:03 · Samuel Osborne]

Kitty Taylor (centre left) celebrates her GCSE results with her parents and Amy Barker (centre right) at Norwich School in Norwich, Norfolk (Joe Giddens/PA)

Somto Elumogo (centre) and other students celebrate with their GCSE results at Norwich School in Norwich, Norfolk (Joe Giddens/PA)