Improvement in grades after release of teacher-assessed GCSE results in Northern Ireland | Education Minister Peter Weir ‘our young people have demonstrated a determination not to let this pandemic put their lives on hold’

Some 29,000 students in Northern Ireland received results this morning from the locally based examinations body CCEA.
By Rebecca Black and Gemma Murray
Published 20th Aug 2020, 09:20 BST
Updated 20th Aug 2020, 10:51 BST
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 20th August 2020 Pupils across Northern Ireland receive the GCSE results. Bloomfield Collegiate pupils pictured at the school after receive their resultsPress Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 20th August 2020 Pupils across Northern Ireland receive the GCSE results. Bloomfield Collegiate pupils pictured at the school after receive their results
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 20th August 2020 Pupils across Northern Ireland receive the GCSE results. Bloomfield Collegiate pupils pictured at the school after receive their results

It has emerged that 37.1% of students achieved grade A* to A, up by 5.7 percentage points on last year.

The proportion of students receiving A* to C grades increased, by 7.6 percentage points to 89.4%.

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And the numbers receiving A* – G grades increased by 0.9 percentage points to 99.7%.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 20th August 2020 Pupils across Northern Ireland receive the GCSE results. Pupils at Bloomfield Collegiate receive their results with social distancing. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEyePress Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 20th August 2020 Pupils across Northern Ireland receive the GCSE results. Pupils at Bloomfield Collegiate receive their results with social distancing. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 20th August 2020 Pupils across Northern Ireland receive the GCSE results. Pupils at Bloomfield Collegiate receive their results with social distancing. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

In a statement CCEA said: ‘CCEA GCSE entries have increased by 0.2% this year, from 140,734 to 141,039 entries. There has been a slight decrease in entries at age 15 (-0.1%) and at age 16 (-0.7%), however a 0.8% increase for 17 year olds.

‘This year outcomes increased across all grades. 37.1% of students achieved grade A* to A, a 5.7 percentage point increase on last year. The proportion of students receiving A* to C grades increased by 7.6 percentage points to 89.4%. There was also an increase in the A* - G pass rate of 0.9 percentage points to 99.7%.

‘Both male and female outcomes increased across all grades this year. At the A* grade, there was a 2.9 percentage points increase for males and 5.5 percentage points increase for females.

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‘There has been an increase in GCSE English Language and Mathematics outcomes. In GCSE English there was an increase of 6.3 percentage points across A*- C Grades, with 87.2% of students achieving these grades. GCSE Mathematics saw a 6.9 percentage point increase at A* - C Grades, from 72.3% in 2019 to 79.2% in 2020.

Results dayResults day
Results day

There was a slight decrease in entries for STEM subjects, with a 0.7 percentage point decrease to 41.4%.

Overall, the proportional entry for Languages decreased by 0.1 percentage points, largely driven by a decrease in students studying French. However, Spanish and German entries increased this year.’

Stormont education minister Peter Weir issued a statement congratulating GCSE students.

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“These outcomes reflect the assessments made by the people who know you best, your teachers,” he said.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 20th August 2020 Pupils across Northern Ireland receive the GCSE results. Bloomfield Collegiate pupil Megan Russell, who achieved six A stars and four grades at A, pictured at the school with her mother Pauline and father Tony getting her results. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEyePress Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 20th August 2020 Pupils across Northern Ireland receive the GCSE results. Bloomfield Collegiate pupil Megan Russell, who achieved six A stars and four grades at A, pictured at the school with her mother Pauline and father Tony getting her results. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 20th August 2020 Pupils across Northern Ireland receive the GCSE results. Bloomfield Collegiate pupil Megan Russell, who achieved six A stars and four grades at A, pictured at the school with her mother Pauline and father Tony getting her results. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

“I appreciate the past few months have been particularly challenging but our young people have demonstrated a determination not to let this pandemic put their lives on hold. Today, they have been awarded qualifications which reflect their hard work and will enable them to move forward confidently with their future plans.

“Teachers and school leaders had a very difficult job to do and I want to express my appreciation for their hard work and commitment to their students in challenging circumstances.”

Related topics:Peter WeirNorthern IrelandTeachers