A headteacher has praised the “resilience” of pupils at his school after they tackled their GCSEs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This morning, pupils across the country collected their GCSE results after years of hard work and study, much of work was impacted by lockdowns, social distancing and remote learning.

At The Bicester School in Queens Avenue, 65 per cent of year 11 pupils achieved grade 4 or higher in English and maths while 42 per cent scored grade 5 or more.  

READ MORE: Bicester twins collect great GCSE grades

The results are the first to be published since former Bicester Technology Studio merged into The Bicester School.

Executive headteacher of The Bicester School, Tony Rushworth, praised his pupils for the way in which they approach their exams during the unprecedented disruption of the pandemic.

He said: “I am delighted at the results that TBS has achieved for 2022 which are better than our pre-pandemic scores in 2019.

“The school has shown a tremendous level of professionalism and resilience in negotiating through the challenges of the pandemic as well as successfully merging the Year 11 students of Bicester Tech onto our school roll.

“I would like to thank our staff and students for all their excellent work this year and wish our class of 2022 students great success in their next step, many of whom will be studying in the new TBS sixth form state of the art building.”

Bicester Advertiser: Pupils collected their results from The Bicester School todayPupils collected their results from The Bicester School today

Across the country, top grades for GCSEs are down on last year – but remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) – covering GCSE entries from students predominantly in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – showed top grades of 7/A have fallen from 28.9 per cent in 2021 to 26.3 per cent this year, a drop of 2.6 percentage points.

The proportion of entries receiving a 4/C – considered a pass – dropped from 77.1 per cent in 2021 to 73.2 per cent this year, a fall of 3.9 percentage points, but higher than 67.3 per cent in 2019.

The overall rate for grades 1/G or above is 98.4 per cent, down from 99.0 per cent in 2021 but slightly above 98.3 per cent in 2019.

Bicester Advertiser: Picture: PA Graphics Picture: PA Graphics

Girls continued their lead over boys this year, with 30.0 per cent of entries achieving a 7/A, compared with 22.6 per cent for males.

The gap has closed slightly from last year, when 33.4 per cent of female entries were awarded 7/A or above compared with 24.4 per cent for males, a lead of 9.0 percentage points.

Schools minister Will Quince has insisted closing the attainment gap is a “huge priority” for the Government, as Labour accused the Tories of having “failed” children amid regional disparities in results.

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This story was written by Sophie Perry. She joined the team in 2021 as a digital reporter.

You can get in touch with her by emailing: sophie.perry@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @itssophieperry

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