Congratulations to everyone who got their GCSE results today.  There were some highs and lows, and few as stark as at York High School where some unusual dips in results for English Language GCSE stood out from strong performances in Maths and English Literature.

From the Press;

At York High School in Acomb head teacher David Ellis had mixed emotions when he looked at the 2015 GCSE results this morning.  He was delighted for pupils Edward Bagnall and Owen Gibson who achieved five and four A* grades respectively but was very disappointed with some other aspects of the results.

Mr Ellis said: “As always our young people supported by the staff at York High have worked incredibly hard, and young people, often with significant barriers to overcome have made huge progress and we are very proud of them.”

He added: “Whilst we are delighted with the outcomes for some of our students it is clear that many of our young people around the crucial grade C border have been punished by the changes to the exam system that are currently taking place.”

Mr Ellis was particularly concerned about English. He said: “It is clear that something has gone seriously wrong with the system when the grades in English Language have fallen significantly whilst at the same time English Literature results have improved dramatically. The same pupils with the same teachers have radically different outcomes in these two similar subjects. This will have significant implications for the young people concerned and for our school”

Mr Ellis explained that York High will be seeking to have the English Language papers remarked as the grades allocated to students were well below those expected even though in other subjects students had achieved in line with expectations. “It is clear to us that something has gone wrong with the examination system either as a result of poor marking and or major changes in the grade boundaries.

“The next few days will be very anxious ones for pupils, their parents and for staff at our school. This cannot be right and it is an issue that is being identified by schools across the country and we will be working with them to ensure we get a fair deal for our students