GCSE results day: Stunning results for Blue Coat pupils

Blue Coat school chiefs have saluted their best ever GCSE performance with a stunning set of results.

This morning, pupils buzzed around the entrance of the school, eagerly awaiting the sheet of paper that told them whether their hard work had paid off.

It certainly did; the school was today able to announce their 85% pass rate in English and Maths – a personal best for the staff and pupils there.

We spoke to Kirsty, who felt the pressure this morning.

She said: “I was a bit nervous because a lot of my teachers were expecting me to get high grades so there was quite a lot of pressure on me.

"I was a bit nervous about geography specifically because I hadn’t been doing so well in school."

There was no need for the nerves, however.

With an 8 (equivalent to an A/A*) in Geography and above 7s across the board, Kirsty is off to Loreto College to study Maths, Chemistry, Physics and German.

Prospective Oxbridge applicant Max Butterworth also had a spectacular set of results.

He said: “I’ve done really well – as expected. I’m really happy with them – all 8s and 9s.”

Max is going to continue his study at Bluecoat Sixth form with a view to studying Maths, Further Maths, and Physics or Chemistry.

Luca and Rico were another success story for the school – two identical twins arriving together to be greeted by yet another great set of GCSEs.

Luca said: “I’ve done well – most of them I’ve got my targets.”

The two will continue studying side-by-side at Bluecoat as they enter their A-level years.

Headteacher Rob Higgins was overjoyed with the morning’s outcome.

He told the Chronicle: “Results are fantastic. It’s been a really difficult year with GCSEs, with the new, tougher specifications.

"The results are actually the best set of results that we’ve ever had as a school so I couldn’t be prouder of the pupils or the staff for the hard work that they’ve put in.”

This year has seen the second set of changes to GCSE curriculum and assessment. 

In addition to the changes in 2017 for English and Maths when they were made more challenging, similar changes in 2018 will affect 20 more subjects, and the remainder from 2019.

These subjects are all graded on a new scale of 9 to 1, with 9 the highest grade, rather than A* to G.

Simple comparison of 2018 GCSE results with previous years’ results is not possible.  

These changes also affect the government Basics, Attainment 8, Progress 8 and Ebacc measures.  

Progress comparison will be possible later this year when national level data is released.

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