GCSE results show sharp decline

GCSE results for England, Wales and Northern Ireland have shown a sharp decline, with the proportion of A*-C grades dropping 2.1 per cent compared to last year.

A drop in pupils achieving a C or above was predicted before the results were released, due to the new policy that requires 17 year-olds to re-sit English and Maths if they got a D or lower the first time around.

Of the older pupils retaking exams, fewer than a third achieved a C or above, compared to 70 per cent of 16 year-olds taking the exams for the first time.

However, while the number of resits impacted the large fall in grades, the proportion of first time entries gaining A*-C was still down by 1.3 per cent compared to 2015.

The number of students achieving top grades also fell for the fifth year in a row, with the proportion gaining A or A* dropping 0.7 per cent to 20.5 per cent.

English and Maths saw some of the largest falls, with the proportion of pupils gaining A*-C in English falling 5.2 per cent to 60.2 per cent and maths dropping 2.3 percentage points.