Northern Ireland comes out top in GCSE pass rates yet again with 82.7%, compared to 67% in England and 62% in Wales

NI also compared favourably with the number of GCSEs at A grade or above, with 31%, compared to 21.7% in England and 19.2% in Wales.

The gap between NI and the other two regions was similar from 2019 right through the pandemic.

This year sees the return to pre-pandemic awarding arrangements in NI. However, the percentage of pass grades and grades of A and above in NI this year were still higher than in 2019, when they were 82.2% and 30.5% respectively.

Praising students for their achievements, Education Minister Paul Givan said: “Congratulations to all the young people who received their GCSE results today. They have all worked incredibly hard and this has been reflected in the grades they have deservedly achieved.

“Pupils in Northern Ireland have once again performed impressively and have continued to outperform their counterparts in England and Wales. This is testament to their own efforts and the hard work, dedication and commitment of teachers throughout Northern Ireland. I commend all our pupils as they move on to their next stage of education, employment or training.”

He told the Press Association: “I am delighted when I look back at 2019 because we have achieved slightly higher grades, but then I benchmark it across the United Kingdom, and when we’re sitting at nearly 83% of a pass rate of A* to C compared to England at 67%, Wales at 62%, I am delighted with those results and it shows how we have excellence here in Northern Ireland and I want to continue to support our schools to deliver that in the future."

The Minister added: “Today marks the first step in their future journey. I encourage anyone who wants help to seek advice on the full range of options available to them and take time to consider the many choices on offer.”

Mr Givan's eldest daughter was among those getting GCSE results. He said he was “personally delighted but also relieved” with her results adding, “that’s an emotion that many parents will be feeling today as I looked on and watched people with their young people”.

“Ultimately we just want our young people to do well. We want them to be happy and we want to provide them a place in Northern Ireland where they can succeed, and we have an education system that is doing that.”

He later met students at Dromore High School. Head of Year 12, Bill McCord, said there were somewhat chaotic scenes at the school, as the 178 GCSE pupils arrived for results.

"Once the dust had settled a bit there was lots and lots of happiness and good results, though a few disappointments from people who were not quite where they wanted to be,” he told the News Letter.

Even in the case of the few disappointments, the physics teacher said, the pupils are "still moving ahead to where they want to get".

He added: “I think this might be the first year we have to cap numbers at six form because we just have so many people who want to be back in.”

Rebecca Donaldson, Eva McClelland and Lewis Mulligan were three pupils all pleased with their results.

"I got a handful of Bs and a couple of As and one C* so I am very happy with that," Rebecca told the News Letter. "Yeah, it is a massive relief."

She added: "I am hoping to do A-Levels in Sport and Business and then hopefully go back to university."

She hopes to study criminology, inspired in part by police dramas on television.

Eva said: "Yeah, I'm very happy with myself - I got all As and A*s. We were definitely nervous coming in this morning. I think my mum might have been more nervous than me.”

She too hopes to return to study biology, chemistry and history at A-Level.

"And then uni, probably, but I'm not exactly sure what I want to do yet. I kind of thought of medicine, but I know it's a very hard path to go down.”

For Lewis it was "a big result" achieving both A*s and As. "I hope I can replicate them at A-level," he said.

He too has his eyes on university: "An engineering path, with maths and physics, that general direction - I just love maths."

Over 32,000 GCSE students across NI have received results, with 82.7% of exams resulting in a pass, compared to 67% in England and 62% in Wales.

NI also compared favourably with the number of GCSEs at A grade or above, with 31%, compared to 21.7% in England and 19.2% in Wales.

The gap between NI and the other two regions was similar from 2019 right through the pandemic.

This year sees the return to pre-pandemic awarding arrangements in NI. However, the percentage of pass grades and grades of A and above in NI this year were still higher than in 2019, when they were 82.2% and 30.5% respectively.

Praising students for their achievements, Education Minister Paul Givan said: “Congratulations to all the young people who received their GCSE results today. They have all worked incredibly hard and this has been reflected in the grades they have deservedly achieved.

“Pupils in Northern Ireland have once again performed impressively and have continued to outperform their counterparts in England and Wales. This is testament to their own efforts and the hard work, dedication and commitment of teachers throughout Northern Ireland. I commend all our pupils as they move on to their next stage of education, employment or training.”

He told the Press Association: “I am delighted when I look back at 2019 because we have achieved slightly higher grades, but then I benchmark it across the United Kingdom, and when we’re sitting at nearly 83% of a pass rate of A* to C compared to England at 67%, Wales at 62%, I am delighted with those results and it shows how we have excellence here in Northern Ireland and I want to continue to support our schools to deliver that in the future."

The Minister added: “Today marks the first step in their future journey. I encourage anyone who wants help to seek advice on the full range of options available to them and take time to consider the many choices on offer.”

Mr Givan's eldest daughter was among those getting GCSE results. He said he was “personally delighted but also relieved” with her results adding, “that’s an emotion that many parents will be feeling today as I looked on and watched people with their young people”.

“Ultimately we just want our young people to do well. We want them to be happy and we want to provide them a place in Northern Ireland where they can succeed, and we have an education system that is doing that.”

He later met students at Dromore High School. Head of Year 12, Bill McCord, said there were somewhat chaotic scenes at the school, as the 178 GCSE pupils arrived for results.

"Once the dust had settled a bit there was lots and lots of happiness and good results, though a few disappointments from people who were not quite where they wanted to be,” he told the News Letter.

Even in the case of the few disappointments, the physics teacher said, the pupils are "still moving ahead to where they want to get".

He added: “I think this might be the first year we have to cap numbers at six form because we just have so many people who want to be back in.”

Rebecca Donaldson, Eva McClelland and Lewis Mulligan were three pupils all pleased with their results.

"I got a handful of Bs and a couple of As and one C* so I am very happy with that," Rebecca told the News Letter. "Yeah, it is a massive relief."

She added: "I am hoping to do A-Levels in Sport and Business and then hopefully go back to university."

She hopes to study criminology, inspired in part by police dramas on television.

Eva said: "Yeah, I'm very happy with myself - I got all As and A*s. We were definitely nervous coming in this morning. I think my mum might have been more nervous than me.”

She too hopes to return to study biology, chemistry and history at A-Level.

"And then uni, probably, but I'm not exactly sure what I want to do yet. I kind of thought of medicine, but I know it's a very hard path to go down.”

For Lewis it was "a big result" achieving both A*s and As. "I hope I can replicate them at A-level," he said.

He too has his eyes on university: "An engineering path, with maths and physics, that general direction - I just love maths."