Headteacher praises pupils for their hard work throughout GCSEs

A proud headteacher has spoken of the hard work and determination of pupils achieving excellent GCSE results in the face of a “disrupted learning journey” due to Covid.

Peter Mitchell of St Joseph’s Catholic Academy, part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, said staff and governors were “extremely proud” of their Year 11 students’ performance, as he congratulated them.

He acknowledged this year group had faced national lockdowns due to COVID in both years 8 and 9, as well as “numerous localised isolation events due to in-school outbreaks” and praised the fact they had “not let this get in their way of success”.

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He said: “Despite the national reduction, the results do show an improvement when compared to pre-pandemic outcomes."

Nationally, GCSE results have fallen for a second year running with 68.2% of all grades marked at grades 4 and above.

The national fall in passes is due to England’s plan to bring grades back down after a spike in top results during the Covid pandemic.

In England, GCSEs are now graded using a numerical system from 9-1 rather than A-E. Students need a grade 4 for a “strong pass”.

At St Joseph’s, the overall pass rate has improved, with 74% of students achieving five or more GCSE grades at 9 - 4 and well over half of all grades at grade 5 or better.

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“We must give special recognition to Aimie Faye who achieved 7 grade 9s; Ethan Holmes who achieved 5 grade 9s; Albert Papuc who achieved 5 grade 9s and Sadiya Begum who achieved 4 grade 9s.

“We wish all our students well as they progress onto their chosen next steps including staying on into sixth form, continuing with their education elsewhere or taking up an apprenticeship and training.

“I would also like to thank the staff and the families of our students for their support throughout the GCSE journey."