‘After seeing my results today I’m really proud’
PUPILS at Ashfield Girls School in east Belfast arrived at staggered intervals throughout the morning to allow for social distancing.
Caitlin Martin (16) was delighted with her GCSE results which will allow her to return to school for A-levels, but is continuing to wait for her Btec result.
“I’ve done very well, I got similar to what I got in my mocks so that was very good,” she told this newspaper.
“I’ve been very worried thinking that they might not go that well, but I’m very happy with how they have gone so I’ll be coming back to school, which I was set on, and now I have the results. I’m happy to know that.
“I’m also waiting for a Btec result, just one, but I’m hoping to do well in that too.
“It’s sad not to be able to celebrate with my friends in school today but we’re all doing well with the Covid guidelines.”
Tija Petruseviciute (16) was also pleased with her results.
“I did better than I expected, I thought I was going to get results that I wasn’t going to be proud of, but it turned out when I opened my envelope that I got the results that I wished for, that I really wanted, so I am very happy with them,” she said. “I’m hoping to go down the artistry route, photography, art andict. in my fu tu rei want to be a graphic designer.
“I’ve been stressing because of what happened with the A-level results. I thought I was going to get marked down even though I have put so much work in, but I wouldn’t pass. I wasn’t hopeful but after seeing my results today I’m really proud.”
Ashfield Girls principal Louise Hanvey said the school was generally happy with the centre-assessed grades for GCSE students.
The move came after Education Minister Peter Weir abandoned plans to use centralised standardisation following an outcry over last week’s A-level results.
The usual exams were cancelled this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We feel that that is a fair reflection on pupils’ ability, therefore it seems a fairer system given the unprecedented circumstances that we are in,” she said.
“If you don’t have an exam, it’s a bit like the Grand National — if you don’t have a Grand National, how do you judge which horse is going to win?
The principal added: “You study the form, the past attainment, you look at everything and you make your best-case scenario judgment, and teachers in Ashfield have really looked and worked through rigorous quality assurance process that we have.”