Croydon schools were busy today as pupils picked up their GCSE and year 11 examinations results.
Year 11s had been faced with disruption and remote learning throughout the past two years of the pandemic, before finally sitting their first in-person end of year exams earlier this summer.
Croydon’s provisional results are in line with this year’s 3% national drop in pupils achieving Grade 4 – 9 in both English and maths – 69.5% of Croydon pupils fell within these grades. But compared to the last set of end of year exams in 2019, Croydon had seen an improvement of 2.8%.
Croydon’s percentage of pupils receiving strong grades in English and maths, measured as Grade 5 and above, has also notably improved from 2019 in-person exams by 10% to 51% overall.
Tyrone Myton, Principal of Shirley High School was on site as his pupils opened their results. Mr Myton said: “I’m really happy for the students here at Shirley, producing such fantastic grades after two years of disrupted learning. This gives the students of Croydon more opportunities for their futures and it is something we’re immensely proud of”.
Annabelle Parker, 16, from Shirley had some great results – five 9s and three 8s – and is off to college to study Level 3 Sport Science. Annabelle’s advice for next year’s students was: “work hard, it pays off!”.
Molly McGrath, 16, from Shirley was happy with her grades which mean she will now study science and art at college, with aspirations to enter the medical world one day.
Elsewhere at Thomas More Catholic School in Purley, Headteacher Nathan Walters spoke about how the success of this year’s year-11s after the pandemic. He said: “a wonderful testament to their resilience, their efforts and the enthusiasm that they so cheerfully maintained.”
Aaliya Watson, 16, from South Norwood said: “I’ll be real, the pandemic was tough, but I am relieved with today’s results. I passed everything!”. Aaliya is staying on at Thomas More for sixth form but going to give some further thought to her A-level choices.
Euan Cabautan, 16, from New Addington said: “I am relieved with my results but nervous for my college interview later today”. Euan is hoping to go to Coulsdon College to study travel & tourism, business and English.
Matthias Elgohary, 16, from South Norwood had very strong results – two 9s, two 8s, a 7, a 6, and a merit – ahead of starting his A-levels in chemistry, biology and maths. Matthias said: “I am still undecided on where I’ll go next but I’m just absolutely happy and excited for now”.
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon said:
“Congratulations to our pupils on yet another fantastic set of GCSE results and year 11 examinations. I know a huge amount of work and study goes into these exams, both from young people themselves as well as their support network of parents, carers, teachers and schools – you can all be proud today.
“I wish all our pupils the best of luck as they begin preparing for sixth form, college, training and apprenticeships this autumn. If you don’t have a confirmed place for September yet, your school can help you find the right destination for your future education or training.”
The council has produced an Exam Results guide to make sure students get all the help they need to for next steps after their results.
The council’s Post 16 team can also offer practical post exam support to local students. To find out more visit their webpage, call 020 8726 7485 or email Post16@croydon.gov.uk
Further third-party advice and support is also available for any students who are unsure on their next steps or were impacted by results which weren’t what they hoped for:
- National Careers Service Helpline provides free and impartial careers advice, information, and guidance. Pupils can contact the helpline by calling 0800 100 900 to speak to an adviser.
- National Careers Service Exam Results Helpline has free advice if pupils have received exams results that were not as good as they expected.
- NHS South West London are partnered with digital mental health service, Kooth, who can provide support to students that may feel anxious, worried, or overwhelmed by their results.
