Harrogate High School 'delighted' as GCSE students receive centre assessed grades

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CEO, Jenn Plews, said: "These GCSE results are a testament to our student’s hard work and perseverance over many years of education. Teachers in our schools followed a rigorous process, put in place by the exams regulator Ofqual, to arrive at the centre assessment grade. I would like to thank teachers and leaders for their professionalism, integrity, and extraordinary hard work."

GCSE results had to be awarded differently from usual, after exams were unable to go ahead due to Covid-19. Schools and colleges were asked to use their professional experience to make a fair and objective judgement of the grades they believed a student would have achieved had they sat their exams this year, and to submit these centre-assessed grades (CAGs) to the relevant subject exam board.

The grades were then standaradised by Ofqual, the Government's education body using a specialist algorithm - but after many A Level students were left with grades much lower than the ones they were given by teachers, the Government announced that all GCSE and A Level students would receive whichever of their grades were the highest.

Charlotte Clarke, Academy Head at Harrogate High School, said: "We are extremely proud of our Year 11 students and all that they have achieved during their time at Harrogate High School.

"This has been an incredibly challenging year for them, given the unprecedented circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and the disruption to their final GCSE year. Students have been courageous and resilient in their learning, attributes that will undoubtedly contribute to future success.

"It is important to recognise the excellent support from families and the dedication from our teaching and support staff, who work relentlessly to provide the highest standard of education and wellbeing support and who have been instrumental in raising student aspirations.

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"We wish our Year 11 students success and happiness in their future."