Students in Wirral have been receiving their GCSE grades this morning. However the GCSE pass rate has fallen again with 67.4% of all grades in England, Wales and Northern Ireland at 4 or C and above.
All-boys St Anselm’s College in Birkenhead seems to have bucked this trend though. Girls have continued to outperform boys across the country but this year boys’ results went up.
The college said the number of pupils getting top grades 7 to 9 were up 10% on last year. This follows record-breaking results last week where over 20% achieved straight A* and A grades for A Level.
Serena Cubbin, the college’s headteacher, said: “St. Anselm’s have done it again with a record number of Year 11 students securing places on their first choice A-level courses today. Congratulations, we are so proud of your remarkable achievement, a true testament to your hard work, determination and resilience.”
Ewan Cartledge is one of those pupils. When he opened up his results this morning, he found out he got 4 9s and 3 8s, though that may change as he is one mark off a nine in English Language.
He said: “I am more happy to have the results now. It’s what I expected, it’s a sense of relief really.”
He’s now going to do English Language, History, and Theology with the idea that this will take him into a career in environmental law, telling the LDRS: “It’s something I really care about. I wanted to look into politics.
“I want to protect the things I care about, it’s a compromise. It’s a law degree but I can do environmental law.”
He said he has always grown up going on campervan holidays with his family and spending time in nature, adding: “If my kids wouldn’t experience that, it makes me really sad. It’s something we have to protect for the future.”
Euan McGuiness, from Wallasey, said: “I am really happy. It was everything I wanted to get and some of them I have done better than expected. I was nervous. I was confident I had done well but there’s always that thought that you haven’t done well.
He said consistency was the key to his success including two 9s and three 8s, adding: “It’s been stressful and rewarding. When you come out of the exam and know you have done well, it’s the best feeling.”
Bliss Ayalloor said he is “so glad” with his results as it means he can stay on at St Anselms, telling me: “It feels like a real confidence boost. It makes me ready for the challenge of A Levels because it’s going to be a massive step up.”
His dad James said: “It’s amazing, we are really happy. When we asked how his exams went, he always said they went okay.” His mum Jinsi added: “He did work really hard and we are so proud of him.”