THE Minister for Education and Welsh Language paid a visit to St Asaph based Ysgol Glan Clwyd.

Jeremy Miles met pupils collecting their GCSE grades.

Mr Miles said: “Our priority this year has been to put a system in place so that learners receive grades based on evidence of their work and enables them to progress to the next stage of their education, training or work with confidence.

Rhyl Journal: Students were congratulated on their efforts!Students were congratulated on their efforts!

“My message to this year’s GCSE students is a huge ‘well done’. You’ve had everything thrown at you over the last 18 months – periods in lockdown, time away from your friends and families, and times where you’ve missed out on many of the social activities you should be enjoying. You’ve shown tremendous resilience to overcome all of these challenges.

“I also want to congratulate learners on their vocational qualification results. Skills in priority sectors are vitally important in meeting the range of needs of the Welsh economy, now more than ever, and your hard-earned qualifications will put you in good stead for the future.

“It’s also been a remarkable achievement by all the school and college staff who’ve worked so hard to enable qualifications this year. It’s been an almighty task to put measures in place so that learners could get their results, like any other year. You should be very proud of the work you have done to help our learners progress.”

There were 328,658 summer GCSE entries this year, a rise of 8.6 per cent compared to 2020.

Rhyl Journal: Pupils open their results!Pupils open their results!

A total of 29 per cent of entries achieved an A* or A, with 74 per cent receiving between A*- C.

A total of 98 per cent of entries resulted in a pass between grades A*-G.

This year’s assessment and qualification process has been different to previous years, as examinations for summer 2021 were cancelled in response to the pandemic. A new system was designed and delivered by schools and colleges, drawing on a range of assessment evidence to determine learners’ grades.

The Welsh Government provided an additional £9m to support schools and colleges in the delivery of this year’s assessments. £26m was provided to ensure students could complete their vocational qualifications and colleges could continue to deliver practical sessions this year.

Posting a video on Twitter during the visit to the school, Mr Miles said: "Right across Wales learners are getting their results today (Thursday, August 12).

"I want you to know that those results are the product of your hard work and evidence of what you've achieved in your studies over the course of the last year. So you should be proud of those results and confident in them and I wish you well in whatever comes next for you."

He also tweeted: "Thanks to all Ysgol Glan Clwyd - so pleased to get the opportunity to congratulate everyone getting their results.

"Learners and staff have worked so incredibly hard this year."