Many GCSE pupils across the North East have been celebrating their results today after sitting exams for the first time since the Covid outbreak.
Those who received their results today have navigated more than two years of disruption due to the pandemic which resulted in schools being closed to most pupils for weeks at a time. Today pupils recognised the challenges they have faced during their studies, but were also able to celebrate their success.
Jesmond Park Academy pupil, Leonardo (Lenny) Critchley achieved top grades across the board. He said: "I'm really chuffed. I'm just glad it's over and done with now. It has been really difficult at times to keep motivated and get started with home learning but I got there."
Read more: GCSE results day 2022 LIVE: Updates as students across the North East to get their results
Fellow Jesmond Park Academy pupil, Conrad Daniels also achieved top grades, with Grade 9s in all of his subjects. Today the 16-year-old said: "I'm over the moon. I'm really happy. I was literally shaking when I opened my results."
He added: "I had high expectations but I didn't expect anything like this. I don't have a clue what I'm going to do after, but I'll be staying on at sixth form."
Jesmond Park Academy is experiencing a "record year" for GCSE results. The school, formally Heaton Manor, joined Gosforth Group Academy Trust in 2019. Today 82% of it's pupils obtained a pass in English and 77% gained a pass in Maths, while 73% of pupils gained a pass in both subjects.
Nationally, top grades for GCSEs are 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.
Figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) – covering GCSE entries from pupils predominantly in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – showed top grades of 7/A have fallen from 28.9% in 2021 to 26.3% this year, a drop of 2.6 percentage points. But this remains higher than the equivalent figure for 2019 of 20.8%.
The proportion of entries receiving a 4/C – considered a pass – dropped from 77.1% in 2021 to 73.2% this year, a fall of 3.9 percentage points, but higher than 67.3% in 2019. The overall rate for grades 1/G or above is 98.4%, down from 99.0% in 2021 but slightly above 98.3% in 2019.
In the North East over 70% of North East GCSE students received a Grade 4 or above, and 22.4% received a 7 or above. This represents a 6% increase for top grades on 2019.
Despite the increases, the North East has the joint lowest top grades with Yorkshire and the Humber. The gap between London and the North East has risen from 9.3% to 10.2%.
Schools North East, a school-led regional network set up by a group of headteachers in 2007, said North East schools face a range of significant pre-existing challenges, exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic, in particular relating to long term disadvantage, the 'digital divide', rising financial pressures and an emerging crisis in recruitment.
Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said: "We are incredibly proud of the students and school staff in our region and all they have achieved despite unprecedented circumstances. However, the results are also a 'map' of the impact of Covid, reflecting the disproportionate affect the pandemic has had on our region and the exacerbation of serious perennial issues, especially that of long-term deprivation.
"Schools urgently need a properly thought through and resourced 'recovery' plan, that recognises the regional contexts schools operate in, with a long-term view of education and a curriculum that is appropriate and accessible to all students and schools."
Although the region witnessed the lowest grades in the UK, there were of course many students who received their desired grades.
Walbottle Academy pupil Josh Darby told his dad Ian he wanted to be a surgeon when he was seven. And after a range of coveted Grade 8s and 9s he's now one step closer to his medical dream. He said: "I'm just incredibly pleased, it's a bit overwhelming!"
Also at Walbottle Academy, Ericka Smith was stunned to gain a Grade 7 in English after struggling with her mental health during her studies. She said: "School was a struggle for me at times, because of mental health. But the school helped me come back slowly and really supported me to get my grades."
Elsewhere in the region schools were celebrating pupils' results. At Durham School 52.3% of pupils achieved grades 7-9; and, 70.9% of results were grades 6-9.
Kieran McLaughlin, Headmaster of Durham School, said: "Against a backdrop of falling grades nationally, we were delighted to see record numbers of grade 9s with one in five of the results achieved at that level. Combined grades 8 and 9 accounted for over one third of all the grades.
"After two years of turbulence, it is wonderful to see pupils achieve the grades they deserve. Praise goes not only to our children but also their parents and teachers who all worked hard to keep their education going throughout the pandemic."
Newcastle School for Boys enjoyed a 97% pass rate across the board. These results are expected to improve further for the School as a few grades are still pending from the exam boards, Newcastle School for Boys added.
Newcastle High School for Girls also celebrated strong results today. One in four grades awarded were at the very highest Grade 9 and two thirds of grades are at Grade 7 – 9.
At Royal Grammar School Newcastle (RGS) 86% achieved grades 7-9 and over half the grades were Grade 9. A total of 30 pupils at the school achieved all grade 8 or 9.
Pupils at Gateshead's Heworth Grange also had cause for celebration. Among those receiving their results today was Katie Dodds who achieved six Grade 9s and two Grade 8s. Katie will go to Newcastle Sixth Form College to study A levels in Biology, Psychology, Music Technology.
Fellow Heworth Grange pupil Aimee Falk will also go on to study at Newcastle Sixth Form College. She will study A levels in Psychology, English language and Mathematics after achieving five Grade 9s and three Grade 8s in her GCSEs.
At Kenton School there was also some outstanding results. The school reported a significant jump in the number of students achieving a Grade 5+ in a number of subjects, including Maths.
Kenton pupil Nuha Amer obtained nine subjects at Grade 9 as well as a Distinction in BTec in Health & Social Care. While fellow pupil Jasmine Bruce received three Grade 9s, five Grade 8s, one Grade 7 and two Grade 6s.
England footballer Ella Wilson also scored top grades in her GCSEs today. Her excellent set of results included three Grade 9s.
Ella, from Cramlington Learning Village (CLV), is heading off to Durham Sixth Form Centre – which has strong links with her new team Durham Women FC - to continue her studies. Before then the left back is joining up with the England camp.
Ella said: "I'm going to try to do both and keep my options open. You don't know what's going to happen in football." Ella started playing football at the age of four and joined the Sunderland Academy at eight. She has been with England since she was 12.
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