Tears of joy as students open up their envelopes
THOUSANDS of teenagers across Manchester breathed a sigh of relief as they opened their long-awaited GCSE results.
There were tears of joy at schools as students collected those all important envelopes - with some impressive performances.
This year even more subjects were marked under the new numerical grading system as part of a move to toughen up GCSEs.
The national pass rate increased despite the shake-up with the proportion of students achieving a grade 4, the equivalent of a C, up by 0.5pc to 66.9pc..
In Manchester, the proportion of pupils achieving a grade 4 in English and Maths had increased by 2.3pc to 56.6pc.
Those gaining a ‘strong pass,’ a grade 5, above have improved 1.2pc to 36.1pc.
The city’s youngsters were among some of the best performers in the country, with several scooping straight 9s. Chiamaka AnthonyOkeke, a pupil The Barlow RC High School, notched up straight grade 9s and one grade 8 in all of her subjects.
Chiamaka, who started at The Barlow in Year 8 after moving to Withington from Nigeria, said: “When I started at The Barlow in Year 8, I was very nervous and shy. Coming from a different country and continent, everything was different and unfamiliar. However, I constantly worked hard and pushed myself to achieve the best possible grades. Opening my GCSE results today has truly shown me how much hard work and perseverance pays off.”
Hibah Kamran, a Manchester High School for Girls pupil, celebrated an impressive clean sweep of grade 9s.
Hibah, from Whalley Range, said: “I am overwhelmed with my grades. I put so much hard work into studying for my exams I didn’t feel too nervous. I was still in shock when I opened the envelope. My parents are so happy. I am weighing up my options in terms of further study and I want to thank all my teachers who have supported me all the way.”
While many high schools said it was difficult to compare their performance accurately to previous years due to recent changes to GCSEs, many celebrated strong sets of results. Parrs Wood High School managed to maintain their performance from 2017 in English and Maths, and increasing the pass rate for high achievers.
William Hulme’s Grammar School said 72pc of students achieved five or more 9-4 grades, including a 4 or above in both English and maths.
The Manchester Academy welcomed their results in English and Maths with 51pc of students gaining a grade 4 or above.
Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Executive Member for Schools, Culture and Leisure, said: “Pupils at schools throughout the city have done really well with some brilliant individual results. Across the city as a whole it’s also great to see that our results in English and maths - the only exams that we can directly compare with last year - have gone up in both subjects.
“This year’s new exams have meant pupils and staff have had to work even harder to get through their exams, so well done to everyone for this and good luck to all of our young people as they take their next steps in their education.”