Records tumble as schools go out on a high

Reporter: KAREN DOHERTY and MARINA BERRY
Date online: 24 August 2010

Breeze Hill blown away by results!

RECORDS tumbled at Oldham’s schools today as pupils received their GCSE results.

Some of the borough’s secondaries are reporting their best-ever grades as well celebrating outstanding individual achievements.

It is the end of an era for Breeze Hill, Counthill, Grange, Kaskenmoor and South Chadderton schools which will be replaced with three academies in September

Breeze Hill bowed out with its best results with 52 per cent of pupils receiving at lest five to A* to C grades (38 per cent including English and maths).

Nearly all pupils achieved at least one qualification with both gifted students and those with special needs performing well.

Head teacher Bernard Phillips said: “It is a sad time for all of us — staff , students, parents and governors — as we close the school.

“We can all be really pleased however that, despite the uncertainty about the future, the professionalism of the staff and the determination of the students has produced these wonderful results.

“We are closing Breeze Hill with great pride in our collective achievements.”

Results were up at Counthill, which will merge with Breeze Hill in Waterhead Academy.

Academy principal David Yates said: “I am confident that this provides the foundations to build upon current areas of success.”

A record 65 per cent of pupils gained five top grades at Kaskenmoor (26 per cent including English and maths).

Acting head teacher Russ Bridge added: “It’s fitting that the school should close on a high.

“We are proud of the way staff and pupils have coped with the very difficult final year.

“We are just disappointed with the 26 per cent figure. We wish that grade could have reflected all the hard work.” More than 750,000 youngsters in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their results today.

They are usually published on a Thursday, but were moved to cater for schools in Northern Ireland which start back earlier.

The A*–C pass rose for the 23rd year in a row and 69 per cent of all GCSE have been awarded awarded at least a C grade

The number of A* and A passes increased to 22.6 per cent.

However there are concerns that pupils who did well will miss out on college courses because of competition from the unprecedented number of A-level pupils who have failed to get into university.

There has also been criticism that too many schools are encouraging pupils to take vocational exams, worth up to four GCSEs.

A banner was unfurled at Radclyffe School to celebrate its best-ever results while Hathershaw school also reported record achievements.

A record 22 Crompton House pupils achieved a clean sweep of A* & A grades.

Andrew Brocklehurst, Tom Lee and Michael Smith led the way with 10 A*s. At Hulme Grammar Schools, pupils scored a 91 per cent pass rate, with almost one-quarter achieving nine or more A* or A grades,

They included 14 star pupils who gained at least 10A* or A grades.

Principal Dr Paul Neeson said: “We are absolutely delighted. These results reflect a great deal of hard work and dedication by the pupils and their teachers.”

One star pupil was Louise Bintliff (16) from Ashton, who gained 10 A*grades.

She will stay on at the school’s Sixth Form to sit five A levels, and wants to go to university to study either law, finance or business.

She said: “I am kind of shocked. I thought I had done well, but not this well.”

At Blue Coat School, pupils were celebrating after busting last year’s A*-C grade record.

A total of 91.8 per cent of pupils got five A*-C grades, up by five per cent from last year.


Full results lists: see tonight’s Oldham Chronicle or read the Chron in full online (subscription required). Click the E-chron link.

To view all images of GCSE results and to order photographs, click the “buy a photo” link