City students made the grade in new-look GCSE examinations
Sunderland students were on “cloud nine” when they celebrated exam success under the new GCSE gradings which came into force last year.
More than 2,500 teenagers across Wearside received their results in August when, for the first time, instead of being graded by letter, GCSE results for English language, English literature and mathematics moved to a numerical scale of nine down to one.
According to the Department for Education, a Grade four is aligned to what was previously a standard pass Grade C, with Grade five the equivalent of a strong pass Grade C.
In Sunderland the figures showed 55% of pupils achieved Grade 4 and above across the three newly-graded subjects.
Boys narrowed the gap on girls this year with 52% of boys and 57% of girls achieving Grade 4 and above in the three subjects.
As well as changes to the grading system, most exams were being taken at the end of the two-year course, rather than on completion of modules as has been the case in previous years.
There were also more essay-style questions in the exams themselves, with exams themselves designed to be more challenging.
New-style GCSEs in other subjects will follow over the next two years.
Simon Marshall, director for education at Together for Children, the company which runs children’s services across Sunderland, said at the time: “I’d like to congratulate all our GCSE pupils, their teachers and support staff for the results they achieved.
“It is always a challenge to be the first to sit exams under a new system and I’m proud of our young people and schools alike, for all of the hard work they have put in to achieve the results we have seen.
“When examination grading systems change it can be difficult to accurately compare our results to those of previous years.
“But it is testament to pupils’ and teachers’ determination to succeed that we have seen success stories in schools across the city.”
Again, at the time of the results release, Coun Louise Farthing, portfolio holder for children’s services at Sunderland City Council, said: “Congratulations and well done to all of our GCSE students and all of their teachers and support staff.
“There is much to be proud of in the city, all of which is paving the way for future success.
“We saw a rise in our top Grade Alevel results, and there is an ongoing longer-term trend of improvements in our primary schools, which has seen them singled out for praise at a national level.”
Across the city, 2,698 pupils sat GCSEs in 19 schools.