The number of pupils taking GCSE exams early has “significantly decreased” in Pembrokeshire’s schools.

This is due to changes by Welsh Government in how performance is measured, deputy chief officer of education Steve Richards-Downes said.

The schools and learning overview and scrutiny committee looked into the practice of pupils taking maths and English exams early in January and an update was discussed at its meeting on September 27.

Mr. Richards-Downes said that the Welsh Government was now taking the first entry exam results to measure performance.

As a result the “volume of early entries across schools had significantly decreased.”

Schools were also using the early exam results as “diagnostic information” with a number of pupils seeing their grades improve when they retake the exam.

The committee heard that in maths 24 per cent went up one grade or more and 23 per cent in English language although there are also cases where grades go down.

“Schools have to make the decision about the best time to enter pupils for examinations. Evidence suggests that schools are using it as diagnostic rather than to bank C grades,” added Mr. Richards-Downes.

Director of schools Kate Evan-Hughes added that allowing some pupils to take maths early meant they could concentrate on the advanced exam later in the year.

She added that schools would “drill down” into why results had dropped, if they had, to find out why that had happened.