THOUSANDS of students from across York, North and East Yorkshire collected their GCSEs at schools today and their results reflected a great resilience in bouncing back from the disruption of Covid and school closures.
This year students received results after the first formal GCSE exams since the pandemic as it was the first year since 2019 that GCSE and equivalent examinations have been taken after they were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
At York High School in Acomb, head teacher Rod Sims said students had shown 'great resilience'.
He said: “This group of students started at YHS when I became headteacher and we have faced the highs and lows of the last 5 years side by side.
"The wonderful staff at YHS have enabled so many of our students to achieve higher than expected grades, whether this is at grade 4, 5 or 7+. Year 11, well done.”
At Manor CE Academy in Poppleton Interim Principal, Liz Mastin said: “This year, students took tests and exams for the first time in three years.
"The class of 2022 have had to deal with a lot during their time with us and their resilience and application has been laudable and should be recognised and celebrated.
“We are immensely proud of the work and achievements of this wonderful group of students. We know how hard they have worked and I am so pleased that their results reflect their ability and potential. Huge congratulations to them all, and many thanks to all our staff who have worked so hard to support and prepare them for these exams.
“We look forward to seeing how the class of 2022 progress as they join their post-16 providers across the city and beyond."
Across the city there were celebrations at Vale of York Academy in Clifton where students achieved great success this year and provided the best set of results in the school’s history with improvements in all of the key performance measures.
Principal Toby Eastaugh said: "We are delighted for all our students who have achieved such success during what has been a challenging two years. Their outcomes reflect the ongoing improvements being made at the academy and demonstrate how the academy continues to go from strength to strength. I wish to congratulate all our students, thank parents for their continued support, and all of the staff who work at Vale of York Academy."
Gemma Greenhalgh, the head teacher of Millthorpe, where 1 in 5 students achieved 7 or more grades 7-9, said: "I am exceptionally proud of all our young people, today and throughout the last 2 years.
"Despite the challenges of the pandemic and online learning they have achieved fantastic results, surpassing the results of 2019 when we didn't have all the obstacles that hindered their learning.
"They have been determined, resilient and worked relentlessly to achieve their results.
"Today all our students and staff should be very proud of all their hard work."
At Joseph Rowntree School, assistant head, Lois Venn, said: "We are so very proud of our Year 11 students this summer! They are the first year group to sit external exams since 2019, and given the lockdowns that took place during their GCSE years, we are delighted to see their hard work and perseverance rewarded.
"We have loved working with them, and seeing them develop in our school community. There are so many success stories within our results, with students achieving brilliant results against the backdrop of real challenge, and we hope that all our students will feel proud of what they have achieved in their exams.
"Nineteen of our students have six or more grades at 8 or 9, and many more students have smashed their target grades to truly excel. Kian Kennedy achieved 7 Grade 9s, and Renia Fragkoulaki and Scott Codrai were amongst students who earned 6 Grade 9s amongst their results, which shows real elite performance. We wish all our students the best of luck with their next steps."
Nationally the top grades for GCSEs are down on last year – but remain higher than pre-pandemic levels, as UK students receive their results.
The proportion of candidates receiving the highest grades has fallen from last year, but is higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 26.3 per cent of entries were awarded 7/A or above, down from 28.9 per cent in 2021 but up from 20.8 per cent in 2019.
Some 73.2 per cent of entries received a 4/C grade or above. This is down from 77.1 per cent last year, but higher than 67.3 per cent in 2019.
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