AND ALL ACROSS THE BOARD...
Results at a glance
In comparison with 2018’s results:
■ Grades A*-A down by 0.1 percentage points to 18.4%
■ Grades A*-C up by 1.2 percentage points to 62.8%
■ Grades A*-G up 0.8 percentage points to 97.2%
The rise in A* to C grades comes at the same time as school performance will no longer be rated on the proportion of students reaching this standard.
Gender gap
■ Girls out-performed boys at all grades. 22% of girls achieved an A* or A compared with 14.6% of boys.
■ 67.6% of girls achieved A*-C grades compared with 57.8% of boys.
Subject gap
GCSE entries were up 4.5% on last year from 290,640 in 2018 to 303,635 this year.
Entries for these subjects were up: English language +30.5%; Welsh language +11%; English literature +20.7%; maths +16%; maths numeracy +7.4%; applied science single award +67.5%; art and design +14.7%; biology +4.2%; chemistry +6.3%; physics +2.8%; music +1.8%; food and nutrition +8.3%; and Spanish +29.7%.
Entries for these subjects were down: Applied science double award -19.3%; French -14.2%; German -24.7%; drama -2.7%; geography -0.5%; and physical education -2.6%.
Exam regulator qualifications Wales says the large rise in English literature entries is likely to be the result of literature counting towards literacy for school performance measures under changes this summer.
The leap in English language entries is driven by the increase in Year 11 entries, instead of schools entering students early.
Schools will only be judged on first results, driving down early entries and pushing up Year 11 entries.
The new Welsh language qualification is the only one available at GCSE now the short course has been halted, which has pushed up entries and has affected results, says the regulator.
How GCSE results in Wales compare for the last five years:
A*-A 2015 19.2% 2016 19.4% 2017 17.9% 2018 18.5% 2019 18.4%
A*-C 2015 66.6% 2016 66.6% 2017 62.8% 2018 61.6% 2019 62.8%
A*-G 2015 98.7% 2016 98.7% 2017 96.9% 2018 94.4% 2019 97.2%