GCSE

GCSE results … and 9,000 sixteen year olds

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Jonathan Craig - MLA and chair of the board of governors of Laurelhill Community College

(Blog posts are better when they cover one idea at a time. This follows on from the previous post about the Belfast Telegraph’s coverage of Laurelhill Community College’s inspection report.) The front page of the Laurellhill Community College website links to a news item from August which – while omitting any figures – explains: the number of pupils being awarded the highest GCSE grades A* to C has risen again in Laurelhill Community College. It was particularly pleasing to see …

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What’s the real story behind today’s GCSE results?

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GCSE English results

Much of the mainstream media’s reporting around this morning’s GCSE results has focussed on the highest grades. The clipping to the right (from a BBC News online article) is a typical example. Not much mention of any grade below C. Mick’s post from earlier today has already started some discussion. The disparity between male and female results is very noticeable in a subject like English. This year 24.5% of girls opened their envelope to discover they had been awarded an …

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What do the GCSE Results tell us about employment propects?

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The truth is, probably not a great deal. The trend in Northern Ireland is pretty established: best top end performances in the UK; and the worst record of students leaving with no qualifications at all. Education Minister John O’Dowd has been questioned several times about a .5% drop in the NI performance; which, to be fair to the Minister, is probably neither here nor there. The real problem is that after four years of Education being devolved to Stormont we …

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