NUT Wales comment on GCSE Results
Commenting on this year’s GCSE results, NUT Secretary, David Evans, said:
“This has been a difficult year for education in Wales with huge upheaval due to policy reforms introduced by the Welsh Government which are still bedding in. Added to which morale has been depressingly low as a result of the attacks on the profession by the Westminster Government. That the high pass rate secured last year has been retained despite these challenges, is a real testament to the hard work and dedication of pupils, parents and teachers.
“Pupils and teachers should receive high praise for their commitment. Today’s results are something we should be proud of and it is important that students are now given the right support as they progress in school and elsewhere.”
Speaking on the very slight drop in A* – C grades, David Evans added:
“It has already been widely reported that core subject exams, such as Maths and Science, have been more challenging and marked more harshly this year than in previous years. This has made it more difficult to attain top grades in those subjects. In reality, what we are seeing is not a dip in the performance of students but an increase in the height of the bar. No doubt this accounts for the very slight change in the overall A*-C grade percentage at GCSE level.
“It is important, particularly looking at results in Science, Maths and English, that we are not comparing these results directly with previous years. Clearly the way they have been evaluated has been different causing a drop in the pass rates. It is more appropriate, perhaps, to view these figures as a new baseline for future exams, rather than contrasting them with results from last year.”
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