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 13:05 · Eleanor Busby]

The number of students taking science, history, geography and languages has increased - but more pupils are turning away from technology and arts subjects this year.

The number of entries to Art and Design grew by 9.5 per cent - but Design and Technology saw entries drop by 22 per cent and Media and Film declined by 13 per cent.

 Music and Drama entries at GCSE were also down this year, the figures show.

Education unions say the decline in the arts and technology is likely to have been caused by the government’s introduction of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), a league table measure which recognises teenagers who take GCSEs in English, maths, science, history or geography, and a language.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “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.”

 

[22 August 2019 13:25 · Eleanor Busby]

Girls still do better than boys at GCSE but boys have narrowed the gap at the “pass” grade.

This year, 62.9 per cent of boys achieved a C/4 or above  – up from 62.3 per cent last year.

For girls, 71.7 per cent of entries achieved the same level, up from 71.4 per cent the previous year.

The gap has narrowed from 9.1 percentage points last year to 8.8 percentage points.

And boys have begun to recover some ground in subjects where girls have traditionally led the way in scoring top grades - such as English Literature and Biology.

[22 August 2019 13:51 · Eleanor Busby]

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) is worried about the impact of the tougher GCSEs on students’ wellbeing.  

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, 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.”

He added that the government’s reforms have led to a narrower curriculum. “We have lost the ‘general’ element of GCSEs, which is a disservice to all concerned,” Mr Whiteman said.