HUNDREDS of local secondary school pupils have just received their GCSE results. But are exams really getting easier and, if so, do we really need them?

Here, Julia Dudley, a 17-year-old sixth form student at Canon Slade College, looks at whether the criticism is justified and if there really has been a "dumbing down" of these qualifications.

LAST week Eton College headmaster Tony Little controversially likened students sitting GCSEs to boy scouts collecting badges.

So, does that mean that the GCSE qualification has become so downgraded that schools could ditch them altogether?

Ministers, exam officials and teachers' unions -- not to mention students themselves -- have reacted angrily to the suggestion that the increase in the rate of both GCSE and A Level passes means the exams are getting easier.

Much of this is to do with the fact that, for the 18th year in a row, students have outperformed their predecessors.

Former Chief Inspector of Schools in England, Chris Woodhead, has already called for a review.

"I think one has to ask whether the A Levels and GCSEs this year are as intellectually vigorous as they were 10, 15 or 20 years ago," he says.

Yet Tony Higgins, head of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, said students now are more strongly motivated, adding that students are adopting better examination techniques.

The General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, David Hart agrees.

He said: "The standards are not being dumbed down and grade inflation is not taking place. It's hard work. It's good teaching."

Certainly from my own experience, having finished my GCSEs last year, and my AS Levels this year, exams are definitely not getting any easier.

I think they are becoming more difficult so that the student is continually challenged.

The workload is greater because the courses demand more work and more time. And exams are a reflection of this because of their length and difficulty, which students find more academically challenging than before.

An inquiry in 1996 into exam standards failed to find any evidence that the exams had got easier over the past 20 years. The nationwide debate on exams has become an annual topic of conversation and many people, like School Standards Minister David Miliband are tiring of the argument.

He said: "Let's not fall for the British disease of knocking success. Let's give students a break from this annual carping.

"These exams are the hardest that some students will ever take. Critics should recognise the system that is still highly regarded by universities and colleges worldwide."

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has actually launched a campaign, working with its supporters to ensure that students get the recognition they deserve.

The "A Level of Pride" campaign, which was originally devised by the QCA to recognise the amount of hard work which students put into their A Level exams, has already been signed by thousands of people nationwide.

It is a realisation that, although still classed as important academic subjects, Maths and Physics are not at the top of every student's list of priorities.

These subjects are now being replaced by Psychology and Media Studies, rather than Modern Languages and the Sciences.

Critics have said that these so-called "soft" subjects are what are producing the high grades. And that Government education watchdogs should perhaps concentrate on trying to promote the Sciences and Modern Languages alongside the more popular Arts subjects.

Whatever the type of subject, students are still producing some excellent grades of which they should be proud.

Take Turton High School pupil Nicola Ayton. The 18-year-old A Level student has achieved what are thought to be the highest grades in the country.

Nicola got full marks in English Literature and full marks in five out of six general studies papers as well as A grades in History and Chemistry. Nicola's grade for Theatre Studies was one of the top five in the country -- proving that students can attain good marks without attending an independent selective school.

An experienced teacher at a Bolton sixth form college denied that exams were getting any easier.

He said: "The modern exams certainly don't demand the same body of knowledge, but the range and skills required have increased. And years ago, there was no coursework -- all answers were completed using factual knowledge."

As to whether certain subjects are "soft" options, he said that they simply demanded different skills.

He added: "In subjects such as Maths, Biology and Physics, there is a certain amount of factual knowledge that the student has to learn which is not easy to compare with other subjects like Psychology and Media Studies.

"I have known of some students that have underestimated subjects like Psychology which they presumed were easier, when in actual fact they were harder than they thought."