GCSE results day: Shropshire schools celebrating grades above national average
Schools across Shropshire are celebrating their GCSE grades going against the national trend.
Pupils sat exams this year for the first time since the pandemic.
Similarly to the pattern with A-level results, published last week, grades across the UK dropped below last year, but remained above those from 2019.
However some schools in the county have logged their best results.
Telford College had an overall GCSE pass rate of more than 98 per cent which was comfortably ahead of the national average, and well over a third of students achieved high grades.
It also recorded its best-ever set of BTEC level two results, with a 97 per cent pass rate across the 500 students assessed this summer.
“These are absolutely fantastic results, reflecting the hard work our students and staff have put in during a challenging couple of years.
“We are very proud of them,” said principal and chief executive Graham Guest.
“Maths and English form a key part of the Government’s levelling up programme, and opens up pathways to the maximum number of courses and job opportunities.
He added: “We look forward to seeing many of our students now progressing with us onto A levels, apprenticeships, or technical and vocational courses over the coming years.”
The Association of School and College Leaders said the results were “uneven” across different schools and areas, and reflect the “turbulent circumstances” of the pandemic.
ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton appealed to schools watchdog Ofsted to bear these factors in mind. He said: “Schools and pupils have been affected to varying extents by the pandemic and the consequent disruption to learning, and it is likely that results will reflect these turbulent circumstances and will be uneven.
“Where infection rates have been high across the last two years, it is likely to have resulted in more staff and pupil absence, in addition to the periods in which schools were closed to most pupils. Despite the best efforts of schools to support pupils with remote education and to plug learning gaps, this situation will inevitably have had an impact on learning.
A spokeswoman for Ofsted said: “We use data, in context, as a starting point for our discussions with school leaders about what they are teaching children and how they are running their school.”
