"Don't panic": Advice from North Yorkshire teachers ahead of A Level results
Thousands of pupils will be picking up their grades today
It's A level results day!
Thousands of nervous students across North Yorkshire will be getting their grades.
Phil Rumsey is the Principle of Scarborough Sixth form and has this message for pupils: "First and foremost, well done, they get the results they generally deserve, a lot of students work very hard to get their results and to anyone whose results aren't as good as they might have hoped, don't panic. There's definitely a way forward and we will support you to make sure you get the right destination."
He also had this advice for anxious parents: "I think they need to do the role of comforting any disappointment and reassure their sons and daughters that actually, you know, there's always a way forward and just take a breath and compose and then contact the college. We'll have staff on hand to support them to make sure they either get in if it's university to go through clearing and get a place there, of which there will be plenty available, and if it's not university, then looking at opportunities for apprenticeships or employment with training that and that's what we can help them with at any point. It doesn't have to be on the day of results, it can be anytime from now on."
There's concern that some students feel University is no longer affordable.
But Principle Ramsay says that doesn't seem to be the case for his students:
"Last year we saw a definite drop in the number of applications to universities, but actually this year it's gone back up. So we've got just short of 2/3 of our students have applied for places at universities. So it's very difficult to tell really."
"Over the years there's been a shift more and more to students opening their results, you know, online. But we've actually we've gone back the other way and we've asked the students to come in in person because we think it's important that we know there's somebody here we don't want students at home on their own. If whoever's at home has gone to work and they get the results and they're disappointed and there's nobody there we don't want that. So we've got all students invited in from 8:00 tomorrow, and if they want to get their results online, they have to wait till 9:30. So we're hoping to get most students in and we're having a celebration breakfast for them at the same time.
He also says it's a fantastic day for teaching staff too: "It's kind of the highlight of the summer holiday for most staff because they want to come in and they want to be there. We'll have a lot of staff here this morning when they open their results to be able to just share that joy with the students and say well done and it's always a really nice event and teachers in particular look forward to results day because that's the kind of that's the culmination of all that hard work."
The overall pass rate at Scarborough Sixth form for A levels was 98.2% with 47% achieving the highest grades of A, A or B and 77% achieving A - C, up 3% from last year. 15 students achieved straight A*/A grades, which is an outstanding feat. These results mean students have secured places at some of the most prestigious universities including Cambridge and Oxford and on some of the most competitive courses including Law and Medicine.
“These are fantastic results for our students that will allow them to progress to the University of their choice or to begin apprenticeships or employment and enjoy successful careers. For some of our students who joined us with below-average GCSEs, these achievements today will be life-changing. They are thoroughly well deserved and just reward for all the hard work, ambition and determination shown by our students. In particular, I would like to give a special mention to all of our staff who have worked really hard, with great focus and energy to enable and support our students to do their best.”