There was no increase in the overall GCSE pass rate in Wales for 2011 compared to last year.
The pass rate remained at the 2010 level of 98.7%, although the proportion of those getting A* did increase slightly by 0.1% point to 66.5%.
The pass rate in Caerphilly County Borough was 96.7% – down from last year’s figure of 97.9%.
GCSE results for students in Wales compared to 2010:
- The overall pass rate remains 98.7%.
- The proportion of passes at grades A* to C increased by 0.1 of a percentage point this year to 66.5%;
- The proportion of A* and A grades increased by 0.4 of a percentage point to 19.5%;
- The proportion of A* grades increased by 0.5 of a percentage point to 6.6%;
- Chemistry entries rose by 13.4% and the proportion of A* grades rose by 3.9 percentage points;
- Physics entries rose by 11.4% and the proportion of A* grades rose by 2 percentage points; and
- Biology entries rose by 11.3% and the proportion of A* grades rose by 0.5 of a percentage point.
Welsh Education Minister Leighton Andrews was with students at Ysgol Cwm Rhymni as they collected their GCSE and Welsh Baccalaureate results.
He said: “It’s great to be here with the students as they celebrate their achievements. These young people and their fellow students across Wales can be very proud of their performance this year.
“The pass rate for GCSE remains extremely high at 98.7% and it’s encouraging to see more entries in Wales achieving the higher grades again this year.
“I was also particularly pleased to note the strong performances across the sciences and in maths given the importance of these subjects to meeting the future needs of industry in Wales and beyond and their high value to learners.
“I’d like to extend my thanks to parents and teachers for their support and guidance, which I know they will continue to provide to help these young people make the right decisions about the next steps on their learning journeys.”
Students also collected their results for the Welsh Baccalaureate, Intermediate and Foundation Diplomas.
The results were:
- 1,873 students achieved the Foundation Level Diploma compared with 1623 last year – an increase of 15%.
- At Intermediate Level, 4021 received the full Diploma compared with 2345 in 2010 – an increase of over 70%
- In addition some 263 learners whilst not achieving the full Diploma have been awarded the Foundation Core and 631 the Intermediate Core.