Day of celebration for GCSE students across West Midlands as results day brings big grades and excitement
It was a day for students across the region to come together and celebrate the end of two years of hard work as they received their GCSE results.
The annual results day for Year 11 students is a huge landmark day in the lives of those getting their exam results as they find out how well they have done following years of coursework, revision, study and exams.
Pupils were be able to collect their results from around 8am and thousands of students descended on their schools to get their results, catch up with their friends and find out how they and everyone else had done.
Some students in the West Midlands were also taking part in a pilot scheme with the Education Record app, which delivered their results to their phones from 11am.
The West Midlands saw the lowest drop in GCSE grades nationally, with the figure having fallen from 63.1 per cent to 62.9 cent, the lowest for any region in England, while neighbouring East Midlands is down by just 0.1 percentage points from 65.1 per cent to 65.0 per cent.
For students at schools such as Kingsmead in Hednesford and Willenhall E-ACT Academy, the results were all that mattered and there were plenty of reasons to be cheerful amongst students and teachers.
At Kingsmead, there were success stories such as Will Seymour, who achieved six 9s and four 8s, Charlotte Whittle, who got 9s in French, Maths and Physics and a 7 in Further Maths and Luke Cresswell, who achieved five 9s and two 8s.
Headteacher Simon Cope said he and the whole school were absolutely thrilled for the students, saying they done phenomenally well.
He said: "They're really good people, really nice students as well and we're seeing loads of them coming back to Sixth Form, but just seeing them jumping around, smiling and happy is excellent."
Over in Willenhall, students at Willenhall E-ACT Academy celebrating success from GCSE results day included Joshua Cooper, who achieved an 8 in language and a 6 in History, and Phoebe Dawkins and Rosie Sambrook, who both achieved high grades in English.
The school had been seen as failing a few years ago, but is now being celebrated as a success story after getting a good rating following 10 years of hard work.
Headteacher Tim Marston spoke of his own pride at the success of the students, having been through the improvements at the school.
He said: "I think I would never underestimate the young people who come to this school, as the combination of hard work the youngsters have shown and worked with teachers means that some of them have left with exceptional results."
Across the region, there were schools with successful students and with outstanding overall achievements in a range of subjects.
At Thomas Telford University Technical College in Wolverhampton, 83 per cent of students achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths, with 61 per cent securing 5+ and one in five reaching grade 7 or higher in both subjects.
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There were outstanding GCSE success at St Edmund’s Catholic Academy in Wolverhampton with 21 per cent of all grades awarded 7–9 / Distinction - Distinction*, 47 per cent of students achieving a strong pass (grade 5 or above) in both English and Mathematics, 73 per cent of students achieving a pass (grade 4 or above in both English and Maths and an average attainment of 5.0.
The Hart School in Rugeley was jubilant after unveiling a record-breaking set of GCSE results, including its best-ever results for English and Maths, and record numbers of grade 9s, as well as a record number of students achieving Level 4 and 5 in English and Maths combined.
There was a real sense of pride and celebration at Brownhills Ormiston Academy, with the Year 11 cohort achieving particularly highly in subjects including mathematics, English, biology, chemistry, physics, French, performing arts, music, sport, art and food and nutrition.
Colton Hills Community School students in Wolverhampton were thrilled that they had gained higher grades than last year with 100 per cent achieving a grade 7 or above in Russian, Italian and French, as well as stronger results in Physics, Chemistry and Sport.
Kidderminster’s Baxter College students received their GCSE and BTEC results and saw a massive 10 per cent increase in the basic measures of English, maths and science and with many individual successes.
Chase Terrace Academy celebrated the achievements of its Year 11 pupils as they collect their GCSE results, with special recognition given to Trek Vaughan, who achieved eight grade 9s and one grade 8 and Annabel Remmer, who achieved six grade 9s and one grade 8.
