Schools in Greater Manchester are expecting their best-ever results as thousands of teenagers learnt their GCSE grades today.
In Manchester, several schools said early signs were that pupils had achieved all-time highs.
Secondary schools are judged by the number of students who gain five A*-C grades in five subjects, including English and maths.
The MEN has an unrivalled GCSE results service with results from schools across the region appearing on this page - check back later if your results are not up yet.
One of the largest improvements was believed to be at St Peter’s High School in Longsight – where 64 per cent of student achieved the benchmark, up from 56pc previously. More than half of students at the school, rated outstanding by Ofsted, are eligible for free school meals.
Thrilled headteacher John McNerny said he was immensely proud of what pupils and staff had achieved this year.
He said: “They have worked so hard. Last year we saw a big improvement in our results, this year it is even better. It has been a huge effort by everyone at the school.”
Other city schools – including Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury and Levenshulme High School for Girls – also reported a surge in good grades.
Patsy Kane, headteacher of Whalley Range High School for Girls, said 56pc of her students had met the government threshold this year – up from 53pc before.
She said: “This has been a great year for us. We are so proud of our girls and what they have achieved.”
And Zoe Morris, deputy head of Chorlton High School, said pupils at her school school had also smashed the previous best results.
She added: “It’s been a bumper year for us. We’ve had more students gaining A and A* grades than ever before.
“We serve a very mixed community but believe we are doing a good job for all our pupils. We track our pupils as they go onto sixth form college. Several of them are going to Oxford and Cambridge this year.”
Peter Mulholland, headteacher of William Hulme Grammar School, which although state-funded, is independent of Manchester council, said he was pleased with the early indications.
He said: “We are delighted with our outstanding GCSE results that maintain our high academic standards as an inner city academy.”
Last year 69 per cent of all exams gained an A*-C grade - with more than a fifth (23pc) awarded an A* or A mark.
Official exam board statistics were being released this morning but the GCSE pass rate was expected to rise for the 24th year. GCSE grades have risen almost continually since the first results for the exams in 1988.
Last year, only one per cent of students failed to gain a grade G.
The MEN has an unrivalled GCSE results service with results from schools across the region appearing on this page - check back later if your results are not up yet.
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yeh hoo sed we iz fick
Best ever? Easiest ever more like.... not to 'diss' the kids, but these results are a joke and everyone can see that, including employers who have to deal with the aftermath by sending young employees on basic English and Maths courses.
GCSEs up 24th year in a row.........or........."GCSE exams get easier for the 24th year in a row"
I wish the media would publish more photos of jubilant photogenic girls who've passed their exams, there really are not enough of them and society isn't smug or I'm alright Jack enough!!
I find hard to believe that the exams they take now are the same standard as I took in 1971. Some of the kids who get 8 or 9 with A, A* etc seem a bit thick to me. Still, it's not their fault the Blair government made them easier to provide more impressive results.
Best ever results for Greater Manchester pupils as GCSEs up 24th year in a row
how is that possible???????? I am nearly 38 years old, we were the 1st year to do GCSE's that would of made me 14? I wasn't great at maths but then neither are the reporters obviously
before anyone disrepects the kids they dont set the exam papers well done all the kids regardless of what grades you got you sat the exam thats more than whatever i did well done everyone
gcses and even a-levels are a farce. were not our kids any favours. going off at a tangent, why does the men use spellcheck software that checks for american spelling, this is britain!
It is not the kids fault that they have to listen to bored teachers, covering 10 to 12 subjects with no depth or real explanation as to why?
Visited India a couple of years ago, concentrated on Science, Maths and Language solely, our mistake of spreading subjects to far and wide and allowing "middle class " parents to help with the "course" work en route to University.
Back to basics and a 1950's education required but shall never happen, why?
Not enough teachers clever enough to teach those subjects and Unions whose members ,rather than the students, futures are their main concern.
Considering that many of you are taking great joy in stealing the positivity from our young people, is there any wonder that same group of people have no respect for you?
The kids have done well.What is it with some people?! Congratulations to all those who got the grades they needed and don't worry to those that didn't!! You'll have other chances and plenty of people do well in life without needing a piece of paper to prove it.I've always considered exams to be proof of a good memory,not much more.Anyone can fall apart in an exam.
Kids are taught how to pass exams these day rather than the learn the subjects. It's a shame because it's not the kids fault.
Liars! I got nine A-stars and they was dead difficult!
Ebay's well 'ard to use :o(
Well when are the results for Manchester going to appear?
(Ed's note: Sarah - we are currently working our way through results from hundreds of schools, including Manchester ones. It's a big job - we're getting there as quickly as we can!)
its grate goin to skool in henglan coz everywun getz an ology an a shedlode ov gcses fur doin shagawl me i wwant to b a pylot or mebbe a ginochologist as am well chuft wit me kwalifications cantwate tostart at de uni
How can people say exams are getting easier every year??? I did my GCSE's a number of years ago and got B's C's and D's and there were people that came out with all A*s simply because they worked harder. There is a lot more available for Students than there were 10, 20 years ago. Pupils are encouraged to go to school, have after school classes and are set more homework. My sister is 16 and just came out with A*'s A's and B's and she worked extremely hard to get those grades!! My Brother is 13 and he is set 3 or 4 lots of homework a night. I can’t speak for everyone but when I was his age we were lucky if we were set 1 piece a night.
Students that work hard get good results those that don't get poor results....simple as that! How do you think Pupils that didnt get the results they were hoping for feel when they come on here and see people saying they are easier?
I think it is wrong to blame easier tests for better results. I think the main reasons for the improvement in grades are firstly better technology to learn from. Next the exams in English, Maths and Science for the past 7-10 years have been done by the same exam board on the same syllabus which means that the questions can't really get much easier or harder and also the teachers have had a lot of practice teaching it and they have lots of past papers to give to the pupils so they know what to expect. Finally the students can only take the test put in front of them and I actually feel sorry for the truly smart as they end up getting a A* (which is great don't get me wrong I know some smart people who didn't get 1 A*) only to see someone who while not being an idiot isn't a genius get the same grade.
The media coverage of students receiving their GCSE results is just fascinating. It always revolves around two stories: 1) the students that receive numerous A* grades 2) the belief that exams are getting easier and 3) some foreigner getting fourteen A*s despite being able to speak hardly any English only three years previous to their exams. Hardly any attention is paid to those students who work hard by attending lessons and doing work, yet leave school with only three or four GCSEs. I look forward to reading an article about this specific topic in tomorrow's edition of this newspaper.
Are results from EVERY SINGLE school going to appear?
(Ed;'s note: Our aim is to publish the results from every school that submits them to us - though this may take a few days as there are potentially several hundred sets of results to process)
How can exam grades get easier each year and break last years record (every year) if the exams wern't getting easier,
Last year there was a TV programme that took a number of teenagers (15/16 year old's) back to the 1950's education system and sat them the old style GCE papers, they all failed, but before they undertook this excercise they all sat their normal GCSE exams and all acheived A* and A,B grades, explain that one.
Also, read only the other day that a 6 year old had passed the GCSE in Math's, OK she only got a E but at that age I was still learning my times tables.
Another thing, How can teenagers today fail when spelling and grammer dont count in an English exam and calulators are allowed in a Maths exam ?
Do ALL pictures taken from your photographers get published, whether online, or in the M.E.N?
(Ed's note - There are selection of pictures being published in the MEN and in our weekly titles across Greater Manchester)
I only speak for myself, but possibly other employers... as someone who interviews new graduates (yes, I appreciate these kids are only 16, but many will go on to university, I hope) on an approximately annual basis, my requirements are fairly modest, yet sadly met.
Simply, I require someone who is: personable, communicative, literate (oh, for a candidate that punctuates!), numerate, with fundamental knowledge of science, world history and geography. An appreciation of cultures, domestic and foreign would be good, as would an additional language. We take 'IT' (web, MS) skills as a given, as most teenagers are far more fluent in this than those only ten years their senior.
We need the education system to be handed back to schools and teachers to get on with providing young people with the tools to be interested in educating themselves. Frankly - as ever - exam grades are only a filter mechanism and indicator of a narrow set of skills and abilities. We want rounded individuals, with a thirst for knowledge and getting on in the world.
Perhaps, that's why mum's get their recruitment consultants to seek out high-calibre European and international candidates [with apologies to Iceland Foods!].
In summary: congratulates to all... you've started down the road, now keep on going!
Another qualification achieved. An A star for holding up a piece of paper.
Is the M.E.N. taking a page out of the Daily Mail, with the more prettier lasses picked to smile, holding up what appears to be certificates/awards?