The anxious wait is over for pupils, parents and teachers in Rotherham today as thousands of young people across the borough receive their GCSE results.
The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that pupils were unable to sit exams this year, so their grades have come from teacher predictions, or central assessed grades as they are also known.
The predicted grades are based on the pupil’s performance over the last two years and are assessed by schools, based on guidelines provided by exam regulator, Ofqual.
The original Government plan for Ofqual to apply an algorithm to the predicted grades, which would have factored in the school's performances in each subject over the previous three years and other criteria, was scrapped earlier this week after the same system saw 40% of predicted A-Level results were downgraded.
Cllr Gordon Watson, Deputy Leader of Rotherham Council and Cabinet Member for Children and Young People and Families Services said: “Congratulations to everyone receiving their GCSE results today, which are the culmination of years of hard work.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the way our schools, teachers and young people have responded to the unprecedented situation of the last five months and I hope they are rewarded today with the grades they deserve, befitting their ability and potential.
“At what is already an incredibly stressful time, it’s a huge shame that young people studying both GCSEs and A Levels have been put through completely avoidable torment caused by the Government’s botched handling of exam grading. And to make matters even worse, we are now also seeing the same mistakes and shoddy treatment of those waiting on vocational qualifications.
“For those pupils that have not done so well, it’s certainly not the end of the world and there are many great opportunities available for everyone – whether that be continuing in education or in the world of work. I urge students to take advantage of the advice and support available from careers co-ordinators at their schools.”
The exam performance of local schools is compared in league tables which use Progress 8, a measure introduced in 2016, to show how much progress pupils have made between the end of primary school and their GCSEs.
Because Progress 8 is calculated by assessing how children compare across the country, any school’s Progress 8 score for 2020 will not be known until the nationwide results have been collected, and averages calculated. The Government will publish these figures later in the year.
