Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Families has applauded the hard work of Somerset students who today (Thursday 24 August) receive their GCSE results.

Cllr Frances Nicholson said: “Every year young people, their families and schools anxiously wait for these results. I want to say well done to the young people and pay tribute to everyone who supports them achieve their potential.

“For many young people this is the stepping stone they need to the next stage of their lives. And for those who have not achieved quite what they hoped, I urge them to talk to their schools for the best advice for their futures.”

This year in particular the GCSE results have attracted a lot of national attention due to the new reforms and grading system that the government introduced where students will receive a mixture of number and letter grades.

English Language, English Literature and Maths are the first subjects to use the new system with students being given a grade from nine (highest) to one. Most other subjects will adopt number grades by 2019 and eventually all GCSEs taken in England will receive numerical grades. It is important to recognise that 2017 is a resetting of the national examination system and comparisons cannot be made with previous years’ results.

Cllr Nicholson continued: “I’d like to thank our teachers for preparing students for the new courses and examinations. We know the reforms have made the GCSE content more challenging for our students this year. I want to share my best wishes with all those young people who are getting their results today.”