Thousands of pupils in Wales are getting GCSE results online on Thursday, and Year 10 pupils are receiving marks for revamped GCSEs for the first time. The new-look qualifications were introduced in September 2025 as part of the Curriculum for Wales, so this results day shows how the first cohort is settling into the reworked courses.
Yaroslav, a Year 11 pupil, said: "I need to connect my life with engineering and after maybe help my own country," and added: "I am a guest and I want to respect the language." He moved to Wales from Ukraine in 2022 with his mother and said support from teachers at Caldicot School in Monmouthshire had been amazing as he adjusted.
WJEC and Welsh Baccalaureate
The WJEC said in July that it had already made changes to English language and literature, Cymraeg language and literature, core Cymraeg and religious studies GCSEs to address workload concerns. Those changes will apply to students starting in September and will not affect current Year 10s, who are seeing the first results from the revamped courses.
Pupils are also getting vocational qualification results on Thursday. The Welsh Baccalaureate is being awarded for the last time at this level before it is replaced with new skills courses, adding another change to the day for pupils receiving their grades.
Miriam and Year 10 workload
Miriam, 15, said the new course had already moved quickly from Year 9 into assessments. "It's been really good, it's been filled with coursework and straight to exams but doing a new course is really exciting," she said.
She added: "At the start of the year we didn't have enough time so we had to start [coursework] straight away. So every lesson we have had has been on coursework or for exams." Miriam said the additional assessments meant she was already ahead on her Year 11 work.
The results come after 2025 figures showed 62.5% of pupils achieved A* to C, up 0.3 percentage points on 2024. How the revamped GCSE changes will affect results for the first Year 10 cohort is the question left open by Thursday’s marks, and those pupils now move on with the same courses already under way.
