A Bury headteacher says she believes the return to pre-pandemic grade boundaries came too soon but has been more than impressed with school pupils' resilience.
Derby High School head Helen Hubert has been amazed by pupils this year who have made her "proud" to be in her role.
Students collected their results from the school foyer with many, including Hassan Anwar more than impressing staff with their high grades.
Hassan opened his results first thing this morning to discover he has achieved five grade 9s in maths, English literature, chemistry, physics and history.
WOW! Well done to Hassan Anwar who received 5 Grade 9s in Maths, English Lit, Chemistry, Physics and History.
— Harriet Heywood (@Heywoodharriet_) August 24, 2023
He also received 4 Grade 8s in English Language, Biology, French and Computer Science.@BuryTimes @derbyhighbury #GCSE #GCSEResultsDay #gcseresultsday2023 pic.twitter.com/I1la3V57iX
His other four grades in English Language, biology, French and computer science were all grade 8s.
Head girl at the school, Grace Fothergill, said she was surprised by some of her results after achieving grades 8 in music and physics and a 7 in maths.
She said: “Overall I am so happy, I worked hard.
Head girl @derbyhighbury Grace Fothergill said she was extremely nervous coming in this morning.
— Harriet Heywood (@Heywoodharriet_) August 24, 2023
She is pleased that her hard work and many days and nights of revision paid off.
She said she now hoping to enrol at @HolyCrossBury #gcse2023 @BuryTimes #result pic.twitter.com/9mlPD07zqI
“I had revision sessions after school every day and I would go home and do more after the sessions and then even more again at the weekends.
“I have been enjoying the break from school and not having any more revision to do but I am excited to hopefully enrol at Holy Cross College to study physics, biology and chemistry.”
Kyle Bowkett, thanked his teachers at the high school after opening his results and seeing a pleasant surprise.
He said: “I passed everything, I genuinely didn’t expect it, I am very pleased to say the least.
Kyle Bowkett thanked the “sick” teachers at @derbyhighbury for helping him progress so much.
— Harriet Heywood (@Heywoodharriet_) August 24, 2023
He said that GCSEs came at a difficult time in his personal life and he can’t believe how well he has done.
Well done Kyle! 👏 @BuryTimes #bury #GCSEResults #gcseresultsday2023 pic.twitter.com/krewcRU05h
“The teachers at Derby really do help you get these grades.
“I had a lot going on in my personal life at the time of GCSEs and finding time to revise was hard but I have my results and I am walking out this door happy.”
Kyle said he is now going to Bury College where he will study public service in the hopes of joining the police force in the near future.
Headteacher Ms Hubert said: “Im very proud to be head of this amazing school
“The students have done well again and our current calculations are predicting positive progress against the backdrop of the grade boundaries this year.
“We have seen a drop in the number of high grades this year and the number of students getting grades at 4 and above but personally I believe that is because the decision to go to pre-Covid marking was made too soon.
Headteacher @derbyhighbury Ms C. H Hubert, said she is “disappointed” the government have reverted to pre-covid grade boundaries when the year group has been so heavily impacted by the pandemic….@BuryTimes #gcseresultsday2023 #GCSEResults pic.twitter.com/K1CWqzOrOY
— Harriet Heywood (@Heywoodharriet_) August 24, 2023
“The current year 11 has been heavily impacted by covid in their formative years 8 and 9 that prepare them with the skills and the knowledge they need to then go on and perform well in GCSEs.
“I am disappointed that the government made that decision but we as educators are always really proud of how hard we work and how hard our students work.
“Education for us is always more than the exam performance it is about the experiences and inspiration that we give them”
Head of English, Emma Booth, said she was also proud of the progress many of their pupils made.
Head of English @derbyhighbury, Emma Booth, said she is incredibly proud of their pupils and all the progress they have made.@BuryTimes #gcse2023 #Bury #English #Results pic.twitter.com/VnOPcyPu9v
— Harriet Heywood (@Heywoodharriet_) August 24, 2023
She said: “Many of our students come into us significantly below the national average with their English grades and we are so proud of the progress that they have made with us both in English and across school as a whole.”
Although not all students may have achieved their expected grades, Helen shared advice and words of wisdom with students adding that "grades do not define you".
She said: “My advice is to reflect back on how hard you have worked and this isn’t the only thing that defines you in life.
“There are always chances to work hard and do well but always value your education I think it is incredibly important.
“Life is not always smooth but work hard goon and make the most of yourself be resilient.”
Live updates as Bury students collect their GCSE results
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