Students wait for GCSE and BTec results

Getty Images A teenage boy sits on the sofa looking at his smartphone. He has earphones in and short dark hair. He is holding a cat.

Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will obtain GCSE, BTec Tech Awards and different stage 2 {qualifications} on Thursday.

It is the primary yr that GCSE grades are anticipated to be much like 2019 throughout all three nations.

It follows a progress within the proportion of passes in 2020 and 2021, when exams had been cancelled due to Covid, and a phased effort to convey them again down.

Last yr, fewer passes in English and maths GCSE exams meant extra college students in England wanted to resit.

About 200,000 college students are on account of get outcomes for BTec Tech Awards, BTec Firsts and BTec Level 2 Technical programs, whereas about 120,000 will obtain outcomes for Cambridge Nationals.

Most college students receiving outcomes had been in Year 7 when the primary Covid lockdowns had been introduced, so have spent yearly of their secondary schooling within the midst, or the wake, of the pandemic.

GCSE college students in England had been the ultimate yr group to be given formulae and equation sheets in maths and science in recognition of the disruption, whereas exams had been again to regular in Wales and Northern Ireland.

‘I’m aiming for straight 9s to kickstart my T-level’

BBC/ Kate McGough Cheryl stands in an empty classroom with tables, chairs and computers behind her. She is in focus in the foreground. Her hair is braided and she wears a black headband with brown glasses. She is wearing her school uniform - a white shirt, red tie, and grey blazer.

By Kate McGough in Wright Robinson College, Gorton, Manchester

Cheryl, in Year 11, has excessive hopes for her GCSE outcomes. She is aiming for 9s throughout the board, together with in statistics, pc science, historical past and Spanish.

Next yr she’s going to do a T-level in pc science, and is worked up concerning the likelihood of getting office expertise whereas she research.

She is hoping it should assist her to kickstart a profession in software program improvement or cyber-security.

Like most college students getting outcomes on Thursday, Cheryl had solely executed one full time period of secondary college when the primary Covid lockdown was introduced in England.

“In Year 7, I’ll be sincere, I used to be actually scared. I truthfully didn’t think about myself now truly wanting to return to high school and being completely happy and socialising with individuals,” she says.

“I’d say it positively will get higher as you develop up.

“I really feel college is such a giant reward.”

Exams had been cancelled throughout the UK in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions. Pupils’ grades had been primarily based on lecturers’ predictions as a substitute, resulting in a spike in passes and high outcomes.

Phased approaches had been then launched to convey outcomes again all the way down to 2019 ranges.

In England, that occurred final yr, which is why it noticed the steepest drop within the proportion of grades marked at 4/C or above.

In Wales and Northern Ireland, this would be the first yr that grades are anticipated to fall again in keeping with pre-Covid ranges.

Overall, 68.2% of grades final yr had been marked at 4/C or above in 2023.

A bar chart showing the percentage of pass grades and top grades in every year from 2019 until 2023, showing a rise in both in 2020 and 2021, and that grades fell back towards pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

The modifications to grading in England final yr – mixed with extra youngsters sitting GCSEs – meant that fewer college students achieved grade 4 or above in maths and English.

That, in flip, meant that tens of hundreds extra college students wanted to take obligatory resits, as college students in England want grade 4s or above in English and maths to qualify for additional examine.

Colleges mentioned they needed to increase class sizes and rent examination halls to manage.

Last week, the proportion of high A-level grades rose for the primary time since 2021 throughout the entire of England, Wales and Northern Ireland – however the image was totally different relying on the place you appeared.

The proportion of high grades rose in England, however fell in Wales and Northern Ireland.

The move charge for Higher exams in Scotland returned to its 2019 stage this month whereas the move charge for National 5s and Advanced Highers dropped additional.

Grading in England shall be extra beneficiant for GCSEs in pc science, French and German this yr, however exams regulator Ofqual mentioned this was to do with making certain requirements had been truthful in these topics, somewhat than compensating for Covid disruption.