Increase In Highest GCSE Grades

This years GCSE results have seen an increase in the number of students achieving the very highest A* and A grades.

Welcoming the news of another strong performance for NI's school pupils, Education Minister, John O'Dowd, said: "Today is a huge milestone for thousands of young people and regardless of the outcome, all young people should be proud of the hard work they have put in over the last two years towards getting their GCSEs. These young people are now faced with important decisions on whether they continue on in school, further education, training or employment. Whatever choice they make, I wish them well on their next step.

"I would also encourage those who did not achieve the grades they had hoped for, to seek advice on where they go from here. There are many options available to you and your teachers and families can offer you guidance and advice.

"Those who do stay on at school will experience even greater choice in their post-16 studies as a result of my policy, the Entitlement Framework. This policy ensures that young people have access to at least 27 courses, both general and applied, offering clear progression routes to further and higher education, training and employment."

Continuing, the Minister added: "I am particularly pleased that today we are seeing improvements in two key areas, the performance of young men at this level and the growing popularity of key subjects including English, maths and ICT. In GCSE, like in A Level, Maths is the most popular subject and this is very encouraging. Following the trend seen last week in A levels, the proportion of entries in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at GCSE has also grown by 3%. These subjects offer a firm foundation for a range of careers choices and I expect will be welcome news for those in the business sector seeking young people to join their industry.

"However, we do need to continue raising the standards and closing the performance gap between the highest and lowest achievers in our society. We have ambitious targets for improving outcomes for pupils from socially disadvantaged areas and I remain committed to ensuring pupils from all sections of our society do well in education and are supported to achieve their full potential."

(MH/LM)