Five takeaways from this year's GCSE results

Students who picked up their GCSE results connected Thursday were portion mode done Year 8 erstwhile the pandemic deed and schools closed during nationalist lockdowns.

Further schoolhouse closures followed, portion they were successful Year 9, and galore experienced disruption owed to Covid astatine the opening of Year 10 arsenic well.

They sat their archetypal ceremonial exams this year, which England's exam watchdog, Ofqual, said would beryllium astir "getting backmost to normal". But the interaction of Covid, and the disruption to children's education, is wide successful this year's results.

Here are 5 cardinal takeaways.

GCSE passes successful England, Wales and Northern Ireland person fallen for a 2nd twelvemonth moving - with 68.2% of each grades 4/C and above.

It volition mean disappointment for immoderate students but has thing to bash with their idiosyncratic performances.

It is each portion of a program to bring grades backmost down successful enactment with pre-pandemic levels.

It was ever the program for grades to beryllium brought backmost successful enactment with 2019 levels this twelvemonth successful England but stay a spot higher successful Wales and Northern Ireland.

Ofqual says determination was "protection built into the grading process" truthful students should person achieved the grades they would person without the pandemic - adjacent if they performed little good successful their exams.

Some Covid measures besides remained successful spot for this year's exams:

But, dissimilar successful the remainder of the UK, students successful England received nary beforehand accusation astir the topics connected which they would beryllium tested.

Tens of thousands much 16-year-olds successful England volition request to resit their English and maths GCSE exams arsenic a effect of this year's grading.

Among 16-year-olds successful England, the fig of GCSEs marked arsenic a neglect (grade 3 oregon below) has risen by:

Combined, these numbers are the highest successful a decade.

More students sat GCSEs this twelvemonth but the proportionality marked arsenic fails has besides risen since 2022 and is present person to wherever it was successful 2019.

In England, students request maths and English GCSEs astatine people 4 oregon supra to determination connected to further qualifications specified arsenic A-levels oregon T-levels.

Those who failed should beryllium capable to commencement their adjacent courses but volition person to resit the GCSEs alongside them.

Julie McCulloch, of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the other resits would "put much unit connected sixth forms and colleges" and mean "many students are forced into a bid of demoralising retakes wherever the bulk volition again autumn beneath the benchmark".

Schools Minister Nick Gibb told BBC One's Breakfast programme the argumentation was "terribly important" but did not accidental whether much wealth would beryllium available.

The spread betwixt the regions with the highest and lowest proportions of passes was:

Commenting connected A-level results past week, the Sutton Trust said the quality reflected "patterns of determination prosperity".

Pupils besides experienced antithetic amounts of Covid disruption, depending connected however their portion of the state was affected.

MPs person warned it could instrumentality a decennary for the spread betwixt disadvantaged pupils and others to constrictive to what it was earlier the pandemic.

The walk complaint successful autarkic (fee-paying) schools successful England was 90.1% this year, down from 92.6% successful 2022.

In academies, it was 69.4% down from 74.6%.

Having narrowed successful 2020 and 2021, the spread betwixt the 2 antithetic types of schoolhouse is much oregon little backmost wherever it was successful 2019.

But portion the spread successful the proportionality of apical grades grew successful 2020 and 2021, it is present somewhat smaller than earlier the pandemic.

Additional reporting: Rob England, Liana Bravo, Libby Rogers, Jana Tauschinski, Maryam Ahmed, and Erwan Rivault.

What questions bash you person astir results day? Whether you person queries astir A-levels, GCSEs, Highers oregon vocational courses, you tin get successful interaction by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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