In the past few years, GCSE and A level results have reached an all time high with 61.3% of pupils in Wales receiving GCSE grades A*-C and 96.8% pupils in Wales receiving A grades at A Level. After these fantastic results, instead of high praise and positive acknowledgment for the students, many people have started to say that exams are getting effortless and that the same examinations were harder 30 years ago.

The exam boards have insisted that standards were "the same as in the past" and the record results reflected pupils' achievements. So are the exams really getting easier?

Students in Britain have been studying for exams since they were in primary school, from simple spelling tests to SATS Tests. Since the beginning of Secondary School, you will have taken on average a SATS exam, a CAT exam, around ten GCSEs, four A.S Levels and three A Levels - not forgetting several teacher assessments and end of year exams! So being able to write an essay or answer a series of questions within a time restriction has been drummed into us from an early age and much practiced.

As a result, students have become better equipped at taking the exams - in terms of resources, such as revision guides, practice exam questions, and the internet which all help with the students understanding and revision of their subjects. It is not that exams are getting easier, it is that we are aware of the exam structure and style and have grasped the all important exam technique.

In the past, exams tested less of your own knowledge of a subject but more on your ability to remember long lists of facts. Surely, giving your own opinion and awareness of a subject is more practical and rewarding in providing students with the tools to make a difference in the great wide world than simply recalling one fact after another?

Furthermore, the introduction of the coursework element within the exams has also been criticized for making exams simpler. This is simply not true. Coursework is an integral part of A levels and GCSEs which allows students to develop their ideas and shows teachers and examiners how much students have learned about a particular subject over the two year period.

Coursework demands a great deal of time and effort from the student and even with high-grade usually only amounts to between 20-60% of an overall grade! Not very significant! Also the subjects studied also involve basics from other subjects. For example, History also requires some elements of knowing where certain countries are found, a knowledge of past trends and also how to write confidently. So students nowadays need a good understanding of a range of issues and themes surrounding the subject.

As nervous students await their vital exam results, calling the exams easy can cause much heartache with the students. If they were disappointed with their results, people saying that the exams were easy makes them feel inadequate and wonder why they didn't succeed on such a simple exam.

Then on the other hand, if students have worked hard and received high grades, the persistent criticism that the exams are straightforward, devalues there own ability and undermines there achievement and academic motivation. It's a no win situation for us!!

To conclude, students are continually pressured to get high grades throughout their academic life and yet when our country does receive them, they are criticized! Would the Government prefer us to receive bad results each year? I think not! We'd receive exactly the same amount of criticism if we did do badly in them!

I'm sure this debate will continue for years to come. An interesting experiment would be to allow these people who criticize to actually sit the exams and prove once and for all whether exams are getting easier. In the meanwhile, people need to give credit where it is due and celebrate the success of those passing their exams.

Our exam results are high not because the exam boards are marking them incorrectly or making the exams simpler, but that children are working harder, teaching standards are improving and parents are taking a more active interest in their children's education.

Written by Rachel Capper from Newtown High School