GCSE results show that despite the number of pupils receiving good GCSE grades has slightly increased, this year still marks one of the lowest performances of the last decade.
62.8% of entrants got A*-C GCSEs in 2019, only 1.2% more than last year when the results were the worst for 13 years.
For the results for the two maths GCSEs taken by 16 year-olds, offered by the WJEC, there have been slight drops. In Maths and Maths Numeracy, there were falls of 1.9% and 1.5% compared to last year, respectively.
For English Language, C-grades are down 4.3% on last year. English Literature results are also down with 4.8% fewer pupils achieving grades A*-C compared to last year.
Welsh second language results went backwards too, down by more than 10%, dropping from 74.8% to 63.1% in a single year.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative and Shadow Education Minister Suzy Davies AM, said:
“I want to say a big congratulations to all those pupils today on reaching the end of what must have felt like a long, arduous journey, and that they can now choose a path that best suits their future ambitions.
“Sadly, I won’t be giving the Welsh Government an A*: although the boundaries for grades are always changing, what has undoubtedly happened is a fall in pupils achieving a ‘good’ GCSE, and the buck has to stop with the Lib Dem Education Minister.
“From school funding, PISA results, and teacher recruitment, Wales’ education system and pupils has long been victim to the Welsh Labour Government, but Kirsty Williams has not arrested the decline.
“With A*-C GCSE rates being lower in every year she’s been in her role, with core subjects like Maths and English seeing declines, and Welsh learners not excelling on the Welsh second language course, overall improvements seem to be masking underlying problems.”
Mrs Davies added:
“Welsh Government research found that performance against key indicators for years 4-9 have fallen, which doesn't bode well for those coming up to GCSEs.
“This is not good news when existing performance remains an issue, especially considering the hard work that went on this year and minimal improvement it showed.
“If the Minister doesn't want us judging schools on performance against these key indicators, then our education system still some way to go before it gets the best from our young people and doesn't exhaust our teachers and leaders.
“We don’t want another generation failed by successive Welsh Governments.”