GCSE results: 74.3 percent 4-9 pass rate, above UK average

It's GCSE results day for students across the Rock.

Gibraltar's pass rate from grades 4-9 - what used to be A*-C - is 74.3 percent across both Bayside and Westside Schools, and 71.8 percent when you include the College.

This is higher than the UK, where 67.4 percent of all grades in England, Wales and Northern Ireland were 4 or C and above. 

For its part, the Department of Education says it "believes it is essential to report on the full range of pass rates, 9-1 (and A*-G), rather than focusing solely on the traditional A*-C (or 9-4) benchmark".

By this metric, the pass rate is 99.3 percent across all grades above a U.

The best-performing subjects were Music, Art and Design, Dance, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, and English Literature - all of which had over 88 percent 4-9 pass rates. 

At the lower end of the scale was Business Studies, with a 4-9 pass rate of 42.1 percent, and Design and Technology, with 53.5 percent.

The highest percentages of top grades - between 7-9 - were in Dance, with over 55 percent, and Spanish, with over 52 percent.

The pass rate for top grades was 23.9 percent across both schools, and 22.7 percent including the College.

These figures exclude Combined Science and Cambridge O-Level English Language, as they are scored on a different scale.

Meanwhile, in vocational subjects, there was a 76.9 percent overall pass rate across all qualifications in both the secondary schools and the College.

There were pass rates of 97 percent and above in areas including Sports Studies, Travel and Tourism, Support Work in Schools, Fashion, and Health and Social Care.

The full results can be viewed here.

...and after two years of hard work and change, students were relieved to finally receive their GCSE results.

They shared the moment with friends, family and the teachers who supported them throughout.Headteachers at Comprehensive School, Prior Park and the College said today was about more than just grades.

It was also a celebration of how far students have come.

And for the College, a milestone too, marking results day for its first group of adult daytime learners.