'Hard-earned and well-deserved' GCSE results at Cardinal Newman Catholic School

As with all secondary schools, the teacher-assessed grades were held in lieu of exams due to the impact of Covid-19.

Headteacher Andrew Bull said: “The students of Cardinal Newman should celebrate their outcomes with justified pride.

"The Teacher Assessed Grades we submitted were the outcome of a rigorous process undertaken by all the staff, standardised, internally moderated and sampled by the exam boards which took into account the students mock results and a summer series of assessments of unseen full past papers, marked to the exam specification criteria.

"The students had to work extremely hard to earn these grades and we are sure that they are a true reflection and a more rounded account of what they can achieve – which has been far greater than what the national expectation might have asked of them.

"Consequently, it shouldn’t be any surprise that this year’s cohort is one of the highest performing cohorts the school has ever seen. The really good news is that this cohort has shown themselves to be a talented and commitment group of young people representative of everyone in our community.

“These past 18 months have not been easy. The staff and pupils have risen to the challenge and following the robust procedures around the grades that have been awarded by the exam boards I couldn’t be prouder of the tremendous achievements of the Year 11 cohort this year. Our pupils continue to excel across the whole curriculum and this summer’s grades are testament to that. Across the board we have swathes of pupils achieving grades that they have worked incredibly hard for, amidst the disruption that we have experienced. Well done to all everyone!

“Their work over the last 5 years deserves to celebrated just like any other year group. I hope they feel proud of their achievements. We certainly are.”