GCSE results celebrations

Young people across Blackburn with Darwen were celebrating their GCSE results on Thursday.

There were 41% of students who achieved a strong pass in English and Maths – level 5 or above in both. On top of that, 63% achieved a standard pass in English and Maths – level 4 and above in both.

This is the second year of the new 9-1 grading scale which replaced the old A*-G in certain subjects. Last year these were the new grades for Maths, English Language and English Literature and have expanded to 20 more subjects this year, including sciences, history and geography.

The new scale will be phased further into other GCSEs next year.

The new grading means a pupil who scored a C or above under the previous year’s grading scale has received a four grading or above this year.

Councillor Maureen Bateson, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, said:

I am really pleased that our pupils have again done

well in their GCSE’s, the results are comparable to last year’s which were very good. This is especially good as it is the second year of the new grading system which has been extended further this year.

There are, as ever, some fantastic success stories across the board, and the results are a great demonstration of all the work put in by our pupils in the borough’s schools. “I also want to thank all the parents and carers, teachers and school staff who support our students to achieve their full potential.