Education and family correspondent, Wales
Pupils will open their GCSE results on Thursday ahead of a major shake-up to qualifications in Wales.
New GCSEs to align with the reformed Curriculum for Wales will start being phased in from September.
Thursday’s results, like last year’s grades, are expected to be broadly in line with the pattern before the Covid-19 pandemic – A-level grades published last week were similar to 2024 but remained higher than 2019.
Aoife, 16, a pupil at St Joseph’s Catholic School in Port Talbot, said: “I was anxious before the exams but I’m hoping my results will show that my hard work has paid off.”
In 2024 there were 62.2% grades at A* to C compared to 62.8% in 2019 and 64.9% in 2023.
Aoife is aiming for top grades when she collects her results and hopes to study A-levels in September before fulfilling her dream of an engineering career in motor sports.
In addition to the core subjects of English, Welsh, maths and the sciences, Aoife chose to study history, French and further maths, and said she “put a lot of pressure on myself when it came to revision.”
Catrin from Bala, Gwynedd, is a fourth generation farmer and wants to continue in agriculture.
The 16-year-old hopes to get a minimum of five Cs, including maths and Welsh, to study for a Level 3 in agricultural engineering at Coleg Glynllifon.
The Ysgol Godre’r Berwyn pupil who will be opening her results in the car on the way to work said she hoped to get “the right grades that I need for my future”.
Careers adviser Dylan Evans said young people could speak to Careers Wales service Working Wales for free if they are looking for guidance.
“My advice to parents of teens collecting their GCSE results this week is to listen and reassure them,” he said.
“Reassure them that there’s support out there for whatever they want to do next – and if they need to change their plan, that’s OK too.”
Ian Morgan, chief executive of Wales’ main exam board WJEC, said he expected GCSE results this year to be similar to pre-Covid years.
Year 11 pupils who took their GCSEs this summer moved from primary to secondary school at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
“I think we’ve seen some challenges over the last four or five years and this is the first year really that learners are able to show their knowledge, understanding and skills in a way that hasn’t been impacted by any other changes in the past,” he said.
Exams largely returned back to normal last year after measures to reflect the impact of the pandemic were dropped – a more gradual process in Wales than in England.
Another difference is that GCSEs in Wales are graded A* to G, whereas England has a numbered nine to one system.
The new Curriculum for Wales started being rolled out in schools three years ago.
Phase one of the changes includes a merged English language and literature GCSE and a new look Welsh second language qualification.
Mr Morgan said the 15 new GCSEs from September were “a real exciting opportunity for learners to show what they can do, what they understand, and show their knowledge”.
He added: “Now it’s up to the teachers, who I know have worked diligently over the last 12 months to better understand the qualifications and specifications, to start teaching from September.”
