Didn’t they do well!
TWO years of hard work paid off for thousands of students collecting their A level results across Manchester.
The overall pass rate in Manchester schools fell slightly but the proportion of pupils reaching top grades increased this year.
In schools, excluding colleges, the A level pass rate fell from 98.3pc to 97.2pc while the percentage of exam entries scoring A* and A grades jumped from 23.1pc to 26.1pc this year.
These included entries from King David High School, Parrs Wood Sixth Form, Whalley Range High School for Girls and William Hulme’s Grammar School.
Coun Luthfur Rahman, Manchester’s lead member for schools, said: “This has been another great set of results for our schools that builds on the success of previous years.
“Despite the various challenges we’ve seen this year, our students and schools have shown yet again how determined they are to reach for the stars and get the very best results they can.”
Colleges across the celebrated some fantastic achievements too.
Xaverian College celebrated at 99pc pass rate while 97pc of pupils at Connell Sixth Form passed their A levels.
The Manchester College celebrated a pass rate of more than 95pc for A-E grades with a surprise visit from Corrie star and former college pupil Brooke Vincent.
Lisa O’Loughlin, principal of The Manchester College, said: “This year’s A level students have performed incredibly well, especially with the challenge of the new grading system for their exams.
“The staff of The Manchester College are immensely proud of the efforts of our students and we are here to support both those who did and didn’t get the grades they were hoping for.”
Pupils at Manchester’s independent schools also shone – with some outstanding results at The Manchester Grammar School and Manchester High School for Girls.
Nationally boys emerged as the winners in this summer’s results, pulling ahead of girls in terms of A*-A grades for the first time in almost two decades.
It is the first time the A*-A pass rate has risen since 2011.
The increase comes amid major changes to the qualifications, with a move away from coursework and modular exams throughout the course as well as the decoupling of AS-levels, making them more challenging for students.