Leeds GCSE students celebrate this year’s exam results

Young people across Leeds are celebrating their GCSE results with initial indicators suggesting 2017 is another successful year for many pupils in the city.

Around 7200 year 11 pupils in the city are receiving their results today (Thursday 24 August) and, although the full extent of the results for Leeds won’t be known until later in the year, early signs are that many students in our city are continuing to do well.

This year’s cohort were the first group to take reformed GCSEs in Maths and English. These GCSEs are different in structure, content and assessment format, as well as being graded using numbers rather than letters - 9 is the new top grade and 1 is the lowest grade. Therefore they are not comparable with previous years. Other subjects are still being graded as A* to G.

Pupils and staff have worked extra hard this year and deserve additional recognition as not only are the new GCSEs graded differently, the curriculum and exam format was also totally new for these pupils.

Councillor Lisa Mulherin, executive board member for children and families, said:

“Everyone who has taken their GCSEs this year deserves congratulations for their effort and achievements. Exams are a difficult and stressful time but with the help and support of their families and schools, they have done themselves and the city proud.

“Support, advice and guidance is available to those young people still considering their future options after receiving their results today, either from school or the Next Steps event at Kirkgate Market next Thursday. I would like to wish all our young people all the very best as they choose their next steps.”

Students who did not get the GCSE results they needed for the future path they were hoping to take, or are still considering their options, are being invited to attend a Next Steps event at Leeds Kirkgate Market next Thursday (31 August) between 11.30am to 4.30pm. Organised by Leeds City Council in partnership with post-16 learning providers, students will be able to find out what options are available to them at sixth forms and colleges across the city as well as information about apprenticeships and traineeships.

For more information on the Leeds Next Steps event people can visit: www.leeds.gov.uk/leedspathways/Pages/leedsnextsteps.aspx

Young people can also visit www.leeds.gov.uk/results for information on all post 16 options.

Notes to editors

In 2017 the first set of reformed GCSEs in English, English Literature and Mathematics were assessed. The new subjects are being introduced gradually, with new waves of reformed GCSEs introduced in September 2016 (for assessment in 2018) and September 2017 (for assessment in 2019).

The reformed GCSEs in English, English Literature and mathematics are completely different qualifications to previous GCSEs in these subjects. The new GCSE content is more challenging; new GCSEs are linear (that is, they are assessed at the end of a two year period of study rather than assessed as smaller modules); there is far more assessment by exam and less coursework; and the new grades do not map directly onto previous A*-G grades.

Therefore in 2017, 2018 and 2019 young people will received their GCSE results in a combination of numbers and letters, as these cohorts take a mixture of both reformed and legacy GCSEs.