STUDENTS have been celebrating in North Yorkshire, as they received their final GCSE grades following months of uncertainty brought about by the pandemic.

Hundreds of students in the county today learnt their final GCSE results, based on the results their teachers felt students would have achieved if this summer’s exams had taken place. Those that received higher calculated grades from the exam boards have retained those as their final results.

Stuart Carlton, Corporate Director of Children and Young People’s Services said: “We hope students today can take a moment to celebrate all their achievements after what has been a difficult few months.

“They’ve shown great resilience in overcoming the uncertainty brought about by the pandemic and we hope today’s results mean they can now move on to the next phase of their lives with confidence.”

Teachers in the county went to considerable lengths to produce the most accurate assessed grades for student including looking at mock exam results, portfolios and coursework, as well as homework and classwork.

Tom Kelly, headteacher at Bedale High School said: “The process we went through at this school in assessing student grades was a really rigorous and thorough one to make sure the students have the grades that they deserve and the grades they had the potential to get.

“Back at the start of April and end of March, we went through a six week process of checking all our teacher predictions against things like the mock exam performances, classwork and extended writing.

“We also took into account a range of factors and then carried out rigorous internal moderation activities to ensure consistency between teachers, classes and subjects. So it’s been a really rigorous process."

“Despite the fact students haven’t been able to sit exams this summer, we are confident that students have a set of grades provided by their teachers who know then so well that reflect their hard work.”

Malton School’s Headteacher, Rob Williams, said set against the difficult circumstances of the last few months, now was the moment to celebrate the achievement of young people and say well done.

He said: “I am delighted for this group of students that the government has taken action to remove the uncertainty and confusion faced by their counterparts receiving A-Levels grades last week. They deserve great praise for all that they have achieved and I am very proud of them.”

In GCSE Maths, an outstanding 95 per cent of learners achieved a grade 9 to 4, of which 2 achieved the highest possible grade 9. Results for GCSE English saw 100 per cent achieving a grade 9 to 4.

BTEC results have been delayed after exam board, Pearson, announced yesterday it would re-grade BTECs in line with GCSEs and A-levels after saying they had become concerned about potential unfairness in relation to the GCSE and A-level results. The grades were due to be issued on Thursday. Students will be notified when the re-graded results are due to be released.

The Wensleydale School and Sixth Form is celebrating their GCSE students’ success after an anxiety and uncertainty about the grading system. All students passed with 52 per cent achieving 4s and above. However, there are a some students waiting for BTEC results after the last-minute decision to bring them into line with this year’s A-Level and GCSE grading system.

Headteacher Julia Polley said: “Our students worked right up until lockdown to make sure their second round of mocks were completed – we bought these forward by two weeks at very short notice and they took it in their stride. This helped us when we assessed grades. They have shown super resilience, especially with all the last-minute changes from the government and Ofqual”.

Ripon Grammar School students are celebrating outstanding achievements at GCSE, providing a strong platform for future academic success. An impressive 97.6 per cent of grades awarded to the 131-strong year group were 9 to 5 with 67.7 per cent of all grades achieved being 9 to 7.

Headmaster Jonathan Webb said: “Without the opportunity of an examination, our departments worked hard to award grades which we believe were fair, valid and as accurate as possible."