Year 10s are studying new-look qualifications after GCSEs.
Subjects, including maths and numeracy, English language and literature and Cymraeg [Welsh] language and literature, were introduced in September 2025 as part of the reformed Curriculum for Wales.
Many subjects have seen a shift from final exams to class-based assessment and the first pupils to take the courses get Year 10 results on Thursday.
In July, the WJEC said there would be changes to English language and literature, Cymraeg language and literature, core Cymraeg and religious studies GCSEs to address concerns about workload.
Changes will come in for students starting in September but will not affect current Year 10s, who are already halfway through the course.
Miriam, 15, is one of the first to sit the new curriculum, which came in for Year 10s in September and noticed there had been “a big step from Year 9”.
She added: “It’s been really good, it’s been filled with coursework and straight to exams but doing a new course is really exciting.
“At the start of the year we didn’t have enough time so we had to start [coursework] straight away. So every lesson we have had has been on coursework or for exams.
“It’s definitely been a lot.”
With the additional assessments, Miriam said she was already ahead on her Year 11 work.
“In some subjects I have done 50% of the coursework so I’m not too worried because I don’t think the work will get any bigger.”
Ian Morgan, chief executive of the WJEC, said he had “listened intently to comments from schools and college leaders and put some solutions in place”.
He acknowledged challenges around change, but said he felt the new qualifications helped learners “properly demonstrate what they know, what they understand and what they can do”.
Morgan added: “I need to be clear that there’ll be no learner that would be at a detriment as a result of this being the first iteration of those qualifications.”
Overall, he said this summer’s results were likely to show “stability in terms of GCSE outcomes for this academic year”.