Good news for Princess Eugenie

The York's younger daughter, 16 year-old Princess Eugenie, is "relieved and happy" with her General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results. It is not yet known what her subjects were but the Princess received two A*s, four As and three Bs.

After a hard year of studying and test taking Princess Eugenie has been having a relaxing summer holiday attending not only glitzy parties in St. Tropez with her mother but also enjoying a few music festivals in the UK.

Princess Eugenie, who is sixth in line to the British throne, sat for her exams at Marlborough College where she became a boarder in 2003. The year before she was diagnosed with Scoliosis and had to undergo a surgery to her spine.

It is not required for students to sit for GCSEs but, if they wish to take the Advanced Level (A-levels) exams, a prerequisite for getting into University, they must receive five or more grades of C or better in their GCSEs. In the past few years there has been growing criticism towards GCSEs and A-levels for being "too easy" resulting in increasing numbers of University applicants some of whom may not meet the higher standards of the Universities. There are plans being drawn up to raise the level of difficulty in both GCSEs and A-levels although there are plenty of students who will say they are hard enough as is!

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