It's possible to criticise the exams without criticising the students. I worked hard to get my GCSE results, particularly the two English/ English Literature exams, and most students do work hard. But it's plain that over time the exams have got easier, not year-on-year but certainly now compared with 20, 30 years ago the Maths GCSE is easier. Of course it is. GCSE merged two separate qualifications, CSE and O-Level, that were at two different tiers of difficulty, and the result is something in between and probably closer to CSE with a few O-level bits thrown in.
If it's rude to kid to say that exams were much harder years ago, it's surely patronising to pretend that they weren't. Like my headteacher did at the time, as I recall. Like I said, I worked hard for my GCSEs, and so do most students. But I also knew that they weren't as rigorous as O-Levels were. This wasn't offensive, and it didn't devalue the achievements, as you can only tackle what's in front of you.
Good luck to all those who get their results today.