Hathershaw Principal 'incredibly proud' on GCSE results day

Hathershaw College Principal Mark Giles has spoken of his pride after his students celebrated their GCSE results today (Thursday) following numerous disruptions over the past five years.

This year’s results are the second set of outcomes to be published since the pandemic and the first to be received without any mitigations, with grade boundaries essentially returning to levels seen before the disruption of the last few years.

This cohort of students started Hathershaw in 2018, only for their studies in year 8 to be disrupted as a result of the first national lockdown, before then facing further Covid related disruption during the latter stages of key stage 3 in year 9.

As a result of this, they started GCSEs in year 10 with less secure foundations than their peers in previous years, but have overcome this adversity, achieving incredibly well and securing places at a range of post-16 providers, with most set to progress to Oldham Sixth Form College (OSFC) - Hathershaw's Trust partner.

Despite the disruption, attainment is close to that of previous years and in line with what staff were predicting.

They are looking forward to seeing their progress score when this is calculated by the Department for Education later in the year.

Mr Giles said: “I am incredibly proud of these young people who have overcome a lot of disruption during their time at school as a result of the pandemic.

"Not only this, they have done it by completing challenging exams which have been assessed using pre-Covid standards.

"I must also acknowledge the hard work and professionalism of their teachers and other colleagues who have given their time freely to help reduce the impact of the pandemic, including working with young people after school, at weekends and during the holidays.

"I wish the class of 2023 all the best for the future and look forward to hearing about their continued success.”

Andy Potts, Assistant Principal, who has worked closely with the year group, said: “They have been a really good group of students who have shown great determination.

"I have watched many of them flourish in the face of some difficult personal challenges and am incredibly proud of each and every one of them.

"We are supporting them all beyond their time with us to ensure they make the most appropriate post-16 choices.”

In summary, staff are all extremely proud of the hard work of themselves and students.

Hathershaw has once again provided young people with excellent foundations for their future.

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.