Today is GCSE results day for learners across Wales.
This year, there has been a return to the way exams were sat and grades issued prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. We explained in our A level results article last week how the return to usual grading had been phased in 2022 and 2023 to achieve a gradual transition back to the position before the pandemic in 2019. Overall grades in the years when no exams were sat (2020 and 2021) were much higher than usual. In 2022 there were adaptions to the exams, and in 2023 learners were given advance notice of some themes, topics or content of the exams, but this was not the case for exams sat this year.
What are the results for summer 2024?
Given there has been a return to pre-pandemic grading, it was expected that overall results would be lower than in 2023. As can be seen in the table below, the results are broadly in line with the overall results in 2019.
- Overall grades A*/9 – A/7 are 0.8 percentage points higher than 2019 and 2.5 percentage points lower than 2023;
- overall grades A*/9 – C/4 are 0.6 percentage points lower than 2019 and 2.7 percentage points lower than 2023; and
- overall grades A*/9 – G/1 are 0.6 percentage points lower than 2019 and 0.3 percentage points lower than 2023.
Percentage of entries achieving GCSE by grade in Wales, 2024 (provisional)
The data in the table above shows results for 2024 based on data published by Qualifications Wales. Data is provisional, representing the position at the time that results are issued and is subject to checking before final data at national (Wales), local authority and school level is published. The data above refers to the number of entries into qualifications and includes learners of all ages, although Qualifications Wales does publish data on the overall results for 16 year-olds in Wales.
As there have been adjustments to the grading approaches, this year’s results are not directly comparable to previous years.
This year, outcomes continue to be higher for females than males:
- 22.3% of females achieved A/7 or above compared with 16.0% of males;
- 66.0% of females achieved C/4 or above compared with 58.3% of males; and
- 96.9% of females achieved G/1 or above compared with 96.3% of males.
In England, GCSEs are graded from 9 to 1. These grades are not directly comparable to the A*-G grades used in Wales. Some GCSEs designed for use in England may be taken by learners in Wales. Data is also published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ – a membership organisation comprising the eight largest providers of qualifications in the UK) and include Wales A*-G GCSEs and the 9-1 GCSEs designed for use in England. As the grade scales do not directly align, results are published for key grades A/7, C/4 and G/1. The proportion of learners in England achieving grade 4 or above was down to 67.4% compared with 67.8% last year and closer to 2019 when it was 67.0%.
What’s next?
Whatever they choose to do, there is lots of advice for learners receiving their results today. As well as schools, Careers Wales and UCAS have a range of information on the choices available, about further study or starting a career.
Article by Sian Hughes, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
