Urged to walk faster. Officials at Public Health england say high levels of inactivity may be harming their health. Good morning. Its thursday the 24th of august welcome to bbc newsroom live. Theres been a fall in the number of pupils in england, wales and Northern Ireland passing their gcses. Overall, the percentage of passes fell to 66. 3 a decline ofjust over half a percentage point from the previous year. The fall follows big changes in the testing and grading of gcses, especially in england where, to replace the traditional system, maths and english papers are being given a numerical mark on a scale from nine to one. The highest grade is nine, and will be awarded to fewer pupils than the a star is currently. The bottom of the old grade c, the lowest pass at the old o level, is equivalent to the bottom of the new grade four. Changes have also been made to make the exams more challenging. Not only are the questions set out in a different way, but the way the qualifications are taken