Results are coming in for GCSE pupils across the East
It’s after an ‘exceptional’ time for those studying through a pandemic.
Last updated 12th Aug 2021
Those who have worked towards their GCSEs will receive their grades today. With exams cancelled this year due to covid disruptions, grades have been decided by teachers- known as ’Teacher assessed grades’.
They have taken into consideration the work students have demonstrated, including coursework, homework, assessments and mock exams to determine a suitable grade. Teachers were given flexibility to decide on an appropriate range of evidence. This was to make it fair to those students who had missed a lot of teaching time.
More pupils than ever have got top-grade GCSEs.
That includes 28.5% in the East achieving an 7/ A or above.
That’s up from 25.9% last year.
Overall, 28.9% of UK GCSE entries were awarded one of the three top grades this year, compared to 26.2% last years, figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland show.
In 2019, when exams were last held, only a fifth (20.8%) of entries achieved at least a 7 – the equivalent of an A grade.
Exam boards also provided assessment materials for schools and colleges to use, if desired, as part of the assessment process – past paper questions, often broken down by topic area, so teachers could select questions to reflect what they have taught. Schools and colleges made decisions about the best way to use this material, and other evidence depending on their particular circumstances.
This years GCSE results day was set earlier in the month to most previous years to allow extra time for expected appeals.
Graham White is from the National Education Union in the East, and reminds us that the results aren’t the ‘be all and end all’
“There are far more important things than exam results. Citizenship, how they fit into society, how they work in teams… is far more important for many employers than seeing that they’ve got 3 A* grades.”
“Let’s reward the hard work that parents have put in, in keeping their children on task and helping them in every way they can. And let’s praise pupils for working really hard in exceptional circumstances.”
“Pupils have probably had the worst education experience since the Second World War because of COVID. But that’s no fault of teachers, or schools or anybody else.”