students in england, wales and northern ireland have been getting their gcse results after the first exams in three years. grades are lower than during the pandemic when they were based on teacher assessments, but higher than pre covid. the government say that s part of the plan in the transition back to exams. there are strong regional variations in today s results, with a north south divide in england. vocational and technical awards are also out, with some delays for btecs. here s our education correspondent sean dilley.
this is the first year since 2019, before the pandemic, that traditional exams have taken place. fewer have achieved top marks compared with the previous two years when teacher assessments determined grades but that, says the government, was the plan. what we are seeing these results today is, yes, the return to examinations, albeit with a number of adaptations reflecting the disruption young people have faced over the past couple of years so results are higher than they were when we last had exams in 2019, but lower than under teacher assessed grades in 2021. while some may look enviously at those receiving higher teacher assessed grades in 2020 and 2021, additional help was given this year as well. grade boundaries were set more generously than in 2019 and advanced exam content information sheets were available for some subjects to compensate for disruption. here is what this year s gcse figures look like. 73.2% of gcses were marked at grade four or above in england, the broad equiva
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when teacher assessments determined grades but that, says the government, was the plan. what we are seeing these results today is, yes, the return to examinations, albeit with a number of adaptations reflecting the disruption young people have faced over the past couple of years so results are higher than they were when we last had exams in 2019, but lower than under teacher assessed grades in 2021. while some may look enviously at those receiving higher teacher assessed grades in 2020 and 2021, additional help was given this year as well. grade boundaries were set more generously than in 2019 and advanced exam content information sheets were available for some subjects to compensate for disruption. here is what this year s gcse figures look like. 73.2% of gcses were marked at grade four or above in england, the broad equivalent of c or above. in wales and northern ireland, this is down from 77.1% last year but much higher than 2019
this year has been described as a transition year. as with last week s a level results day, overall grades are expected to drop after two years of exceptionally high marks based on teacher assessments. but the pass rate should still be higher than 2019, the last year of formal exams. there are concerns that students from deprived areas have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and this could be reflected in today s grades. they ve seen the most disruption. they have the worst access to devices and internet for home learning. and that s going to have a knock on effect on their schooling. we ve had several leading indicators indicate that those attainment gaps between those from less well off backgrounds and better off backgrounds are opening up. gcse, btec first, technical and tech award students will all receive their results. after a number of years filled with disruption, these students say they are looking forward to moving on to their next challenge. vanessa clarke, bb