GCSE day joy across Leeds as schools post record results

THE LONG wait for GCSE results came to an end for 16-year-olds sparking scenes of celebration across the city as young people's hard work was rewarded.
Pupils at Ralph Thoresby School get their GCSE results.  
Sam Whitaker , 10 A* A.  
25 August 2016.  Picture Bruce Rollinson

(07766954101)Pupils at Ralph Thoresby School get their GCSE results.  
Sam Whitaker , 10 A* A.  
25 August 2016.  Picture Bruce Rollinson

(07766954101)
Pupils at Ralph Thoresby School get their GCSE results. Sam Whitaker , 10 A* A. 25 August 2016. Picture Bruce Rollinson (07766954101)

Leeds City Council reported an increase in the number of students getting good grades this year despite a drop nationally.

And schools around Leeds were hailing both collective and individual success stories.

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Leeds Council said: “Early indications from the city’s secondary schools and academies, from around 89 per cent the year 11 cohort, suggest this year around 59 per cent of pupils have achieved five or more A*- C GCSEs including English and maths compared to 55.5 per cent last year. However it is important to note that due to national changes in the indicators used to monitor schools’ results the outcomes in 2016 are not directly comparable to 2015.”

Jo DobsonJo Dobson
Jo Dobson

At Ralph Thoresby School pupils celebrated their best ever results as 60 per cent of students secured good grades in both English and maths. Sam Whitaker discovered he had become the school’s most successful ever student with 10 A* and one A grade.

At Roundhay School star performers included Catherine Thompson with 12A*s, Shay Breen who picked up 10A*s and two As while twin brothers Rohan and Logan Reed picked up two dozen A*s and A between them. Across the school 39 students gained at least seven A* or A grades.

Boston Spa School also hailed its best GCSE results as more than two-thirds of pupils achieved five good GCSEs including English and maths – up more than ten per cent on last year. Fulneck School also broke records with one-third of all GCSE results resulting in an A* or A. The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) saw 16 students achieve 10 A* passes at GCSE. It also had students who excelled in both exams and on the sporting field.

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For Jo Dobson, getting her GCSE results was a load off her mind after overcoming injury and a heavy training schedule to become national weightlifting champion midway through her exams.

Jo DobsonJo Dobson
Jo Dobson

She got an A*, six As and three Bs.

Her achievement is all the more remarkable as her preparation was disrupted by shoulder surgery at the end of 2015 and a training commitment of five days a week with the Leeds City Weightlifting Team.

England netballer Lexy Shipley and up-and-coming rowing cox Harin Wijayathunga are celebrating after sweeping the board with 10 A*s each in their GCSEs.

They are also both students at GSAL.

THE EFFORTS of pupils has been praised by Leeds City Council’s executive member for children and families Coun Lisa Mulherin. She said: “Everyone who has taken their GCSEs deserves congratulations for their effort and achievements. Exams are a difficult and stressful time but with the help and support of their families and schools, they have done themselves and the city proud.”