A local council has praised the hard work of GCSE students across Buckinghamshire whose studies have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Students across Bucks and the UK headed back to school to collect their GCSE results - receiving grades that dropped from last year's standards but remained higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Joseph Baum, Deputy Cabinet Member for Education and Children's Services at Buckinghamshire Council said students should be 'very proud' regardless of the outcome of their GCSE exams.

He said: “Well done to all those students who have worked hard and got the results they wanted. We know that the effects of the pandemic are still impacting children and young people of all ages, so the achievements of those picking up their results today are a testament to their resilience and they should be very proud.

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“We know there may be some students who may not do as well as they hoped or expected but there is plenty of help and support available so make sure you speak to your school or college in the first instance, talk to friends or family, or go online.”

GCSE results day 2023 is the first year since 2019 to see a complete return to pre-pandemic grading, resulting in around 203,000 fewer top grades compared with last year but 142,000 more top grades than in 2019.

Covid-19 led to an increase in top grades for GCSE and A-Level students in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.