Pupils’ joy as results rise across the board
Day of celebration a far cry from A-levels fiasco
STUDENTS in Northern Ireland showed they were a class act yesterday as the number of top GCSE grades rose significantly.
Around 29,000 pupils received their results on a day of celebration, unlike the chaos of the previous Thursday’s A-level debacle.
Happy and smiling faces replaced tears on a results day like no other, coming after a lockdown that saw classrooms empty for months, controversy surrounding calculated grades, late changes and a general air of uncertainty.
The teacher-assessed grades came after Education Minister Peter Weir abandoned plans to use centralised standardisation following the outcry over A-level results.
The algorithm used in lieu of exams saw more than a third of A-level grades issued last Thursday reduced from teacher estimates, sparking criticism and protests by pupils.
Overall GCSE outcomes increased across all levels, with 37.1% of pupils achieving grade A* to A, up by 5.7 percentage points on last year.
The proportion of pupils receiving A* to C grades also increased, up 7.6 percentage points to 89.4%.
The numbers receiving A* to G grades increased by 0.9 percentage points to 99.7%.
At the A* grade, there was a 2.9 percentage point increase for boys and a 5.5 rise for girls.
There was also an increase in GCSE English language and mathematics grades.
In English there was a rise of 6.3 percentage points across A* to C grades, with 87.2% of pupils achieving within that range.
Maths saw a 6.9 percentage point increase in A* to C grades, from 72.3% last year to 79.2%.
But there was some last-minute disappointment for pupils awaiting Btec results, which were due to have been released yesterday but were delayed.
Examinations body Pearson said it would be regrading all its Btecs to bring them in line with school-based assessments.
Maire Thompson is principal at Hazelwood Integrated School, where more than 100 pupils have been affected.
“It’s crazy and you’re left asking yourself, ‘Why wasn’t this sorted out last week? What is the impact of this going to be and is this going to be ongoing?” she said.
“I’m disappointed in the lack of vision and foresight to have sorted this out.
“It’s a disappointment for the students who yet again seem not to have not been prioritised in the whole process.”
Congratulating pupils on their results yesterday morning, Mr Weir said his department had set out to provide a system that was “fair and credible”.
“Any system that was going to be put in will have problems with fairness,” he added.
“These outcomes reflect the assessments made by the people who know you best, teachers.
“I appreciate the past few months have been particularly challenging, but our young people have demonstrated a determination not to let this pandemic put their lives on hold.
“Teachers and school leaders had a very difficult job to do. I want to express my appreciation for their hard work and commitment to their students in challenging circumstances.”
Fiona Kane, principal of St Ronan’s College in Lurgan, said that while the last week-and-ahalf had been a “complete roller coaster” for teachers, parents and pupils, there was less anxiety in the school yesterday.
“Nobody knows these young people better than their subject teachers, who have worked closely with them and know all about their progress, their ability and their potential,” she explained.