Praise for Hartlepool pupils, teachers and parents on GCSE day in 'very difficult times'

Stock image from Pixabay as pupils receive their GCSE results

Council chiefs in Hartlepool have paid tribute to students receiving their GCSE results today and said they are ‘very proud’ of their achievements.

It comes after teenagers across the country faced weeks of uncertainty over the handling of the qualifications.

Cllr Leisa Smith, chair of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Children’s Services Committee, congratulated students and their families, and commended the work carried out in testing times.

She said: “First and foremost, we would like to pay tribute to Hartlepool’s students, their families and schools for all the hard work they have done leading up to this point and we send them our warmest congratulations.

“Across all our secondary schools, students have received results which the headteachers tell us are an accurate reflection of the effort and hard work the students have put into their studies.

“We are very proud of the students’ achievements during this very difficult time and we wish them every success in their future studies and careers.”

With students not being able to sit exams as usual due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Centre Assessed Grades had been submitted to Ofqual to calculate GCSE results, based upon teacher assessments.

There had been much controversy in relation to how this process was applied to A Level results, which saw Centre Assessed Grades changed as a result of an algorithm that Ofqual applied to those submissions.

However the Government recognised that this algorithm was not a fair process and, as a result, has agreed that the Centre Assessed Grades for both A Levels and GCSEs will be accepted.

Cllr Smith welcomed the change in approach from the Government, adding students are receiving GCSE results from a fairer process, which reflects their hard work.

She added: “We fully appreciate how deeply worrying and stressful the last few months have been for them due to the Covid-19 situation and the controversy over the grading process and we welcome the Government’s change to using grades based upon teacher assessments.

“As a result, Year 11 students are today receiving results which reflect a much fairer process.

“The schools are happy that the results awarded are a fair reflection and the students have been able to visit their schools this morning and celebrate their hard-earned grades with their families and teachers.”

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Praise for Hartlepool pupils, teachers and parents on GCSE day in 'very difficult times'

It comes after teenagers across the country faced weeks of uncertainty over the handling of the qualifications.

“As a result, Year 11 students are today receiving results which reflect a much fairer process.

A message from the editor

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off at https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/