Heavy rainfall didn’t dampen this year’s GCSE students as 15 and 16-year-olds flooded into schools last Thursday (August 25) to receive their results.
This year’s Year 11s were the first cohort to sit exams for the last two years, and lost months of classroom time thanks to school closures and quarantines among both students and school staff during the pandemic.
Top grades for GCSEs were down on last year – but remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. In 2021, the proportion of GCSE entries awarded top grades surged to an all-time high after exams were cancelled for the second year in a row due to Covid-19 and pupils were given results determined by their teachers. In England, the traditional A* to G grades have been replaced by 9-1 system, where nine is the highest. A ‘4’ is broadly equivalent to a C grade, and a ‘7’ is broadly equivalent to an A.
The proportion of entries receiving a 4 – considered a pass – dropped from 77.1 per cent in 2021 to 73.2 per cent this year, a fall of 3.9 percentage points, but higher than 67.3 per cent in 2019.
“Every region in England saw a fall in the proportion of pupils getting a 7 or above, although 32.6 per cent of London students achieved that level.”
Girls continued their lead over boys this year, with 30 per cent of entries achieving a 7, compared with 22.6 per cent for males. The gap has closed slightly from last year, when 33.4 per cent of female entries were awarded 7 or above ,compared with 24.4 per cent for males, a lead of 9.0 percentage points.
Every region in England saw a fall in the proportion of pupils getting a 7 or above, although 32.6 per cent of London students achieved that level.
In Southeast England, 29.2 per cent of entries were 7 or above, compared to 31.9 per cent in 2021 and 23.5 per cent in 2019.
Hannah Knowles, Principal of The Skinners’ Kent Academy, said: “Despite all the challenges the world of the last two years, our Year 11 students have approached their studies with resilience and a determination to make the most of the opportunities while here at the Academy.
“This year is very much a ‘transition year’ between 2020 and 2021 (when assessment was done directly by schools and colleges) and 2019 (the last year exams took place),” she stressed.
“This means that overall grades will be adjusted to lie between the two [years] nationally.” Meanwhile St Gregory’s Catholic School said three-quarters of students achieved five or more ‘standard passes’ – at grade 4 or above. Over 90 per cent of pupils achieved a standard pass in English, with over three quarters gaining a ‘strong pass’ – of grade 5 or above
In maths, 80 per cent achieved a standard pass and more than half achieved a strong pass. Four fifths achieved the standard pass in English and maths combined, and over half achieved a strong pass in the two core subjects.
BEN WILDMAN (TWGSB) “It didn’t quite feel real. The overall experience probably didn’t feel what we expected. It’s been stressful. But we all got in to the sixth form – they lowered the points requirement.”
Samantha Price, headmistress of Benenden School in Cranbrook, announced record results, which included 50 per cent of all grades being Level 9.
But she added: “Frankly, however, our pride in these results is tinged with disappointment that not every student in the UK was able to benefit from continuity of education throughout the pandemic.
“During Covid, we were in a position to immediately switch to online learning without students missing a single lesson.
“Every region in England saw a fall in the proportion of pupils getting a 7 or above, although 32.6 per cent of London students achieved that level.”
Girls continued their lead over boys this year, with 30 per cent of entries achieving a 7, compared with 22.6 per cent for males.
The gap has closed slightly from last year, when 33.4 per cent of female entries were awarded 7 or above ,compared with 24.4 per cent for males, a lead of 9.0 percentage points.
Every region in England saw a fall in the proportion of pupils getting a 7 or above, although 32.6 per cent of London students achieved that level.
In Southeast England, 29.2 per cent of entries were 7 or above, compared to 31.9 per cent in 2021 and 23.5 per cent in 2019.
Hannah Knowles, Principal of The Skinners’ Kent Academy, said: “Despite all the challenges the world of the last two years, our Year 11 students have approached their studies with resilience and a determination to make the most of the opportunities while here at the Academy.
“This year is very much a ‘transition year’ between 2020 and 2021 (when assessment was done directly by schools and colleges) and 2019 (the last year exams took place),” she stressed. “This means that overall grades will be adjusted to lie between the two [years] nationally.”
Meanwhile St Gregory’s Catholic School said three-quarters of students achieved five or more ‘standard passes’ – at grade 4 or above.
GREGORY’S GIRLS Among the pupils from St Gregory’s in Reynolds Lane was Isabelle Perkin (far left) who achieved 9s and 8s in all subjects. She said: “I was very nervous awaiting the day’s results, but happily, when I tore open the envelope I was delighted to see that I had scored 9s and 8s in every subject and a lot of my friends had too!”
Over 90 per cent of pupils achieved a standard pass in English, with over three quarters gaining a ‘strong pass’ – of grade 5 or above.
In maths, 80 per cent achieved a standard pass and more than half achieved a strong pass.
Four fifths achieved the standard pass in English and maths combined, and over half achieved a strong pass in the two core subjects.
Samantha Price, headmistress of Benenden School in Cranbrook, announced record results, which included 50 per cent of all grades being Level 9.
But she added: “Frankly, however, our pride in these results is tinged with disappointment that not every student in the UK was able to benefit from continuity of education throughout the pandemic.
“During Covid, we were in a position to immediately switch to online learning without students missing a single lesson.
“This has certainly been a contributing factor in Benenden’s strong performance this year. If only every student in this country had the same access to educational resource to enable them to achieve their potential.”
At Beacon Academy in Crowborough, headteacher Anna Robinson singled out five students who achieved grade 8+ (or equivalent) in all of their subjects, including many grade 9s – Abbie Jones and Hannah Robertson with eight 9s each, Theo Hall with seven 9s, Abi Nowicki with six 9s and Annabelle Bentley with five 9s.
Mayfield, an independent Catholic girls’ school reported 44 per cent of those taking Further Maths achieved a grade 9, while almost all of the drama students achieved 8 or 9.
