Post-GCSE results: The Breakdown

I guess the 27th August 2009 was a very memorable day for many teenagers in the UK. It was a day for celebrating all the hard work that students put in. The UK government expects a minimum of 5 A*-C grades from 16 year-olds, although technically, any grades from A*-G is considered a pass.

There was (as I had predicted), an improvement on comparison to last year's results. It was reported that 21.6% of all exam papers were graded as an A*/A. This lead to media outlets speculating that the exams have gotten easier (once again). In my opinion, there is no such thing as an easy A*. What has happened is that both teachers and students have gotten to know the GCSE exams better and so much so that we are able to 'predict' exams just by looking at past questions. Also, as more emphasis is put on achieving ONLY the best, students and teachers feel pressurised to work and study harder.

Although there had been a rise on the national front, not many public schools are reporting improvements as had last year. Full results are yet to be released but schools such as King's School Canterbury are reporting less A*s than last year -"This year’s GCSE and IGCSE results were not quite last year’s bumper crop"- (Quoted here). However it is VERY important to remember that although results may have slipped, the actual results are still VERY impressive. For example, Tonbridge School may have slipped but it still has a very impressive 48% A*. The following is a list of well known schools that have either improved or achieved less A* grades:

PARTIAL ETON GROUP LIST
King's School Canterbury DOWN

Tonbridge School DOWN

Marlborough College DOWN

St. Pauls DOWN

Dulwich College UNKNOWN

Sherborne School UNKNOWN

University College School UP

Westminster School UNKNOWN

Eton College UNKNOWN

As many schools on the Eton Group refuse to submit their results on the non-compulsory league tables, I have made a league table of the schools listed above. However, it is very important that you understand that this could be inaccurate. It is only for your guidance only. As many schools have not yet released stats on their website, on some schools I have used past results and pre-existing expectations.

1. Westminster School

2. St. Pauls

3. Eton College

4. Tonbridge School

5. Dulwich College

6. King's School Canterbury

7. University College School

8. Sherbourne School

9. Marlborough College

not 100% accurate

However A-level results were on the rise (in general) this year in public schools. I predict that it will continue to rise in public schools next year as well however decline in 2011. We will have to wait and see!

Overall, this year has been a little disappointing for public schools. Although no-one can say that the public schools did badly at all. I guess public schools hit an all-time high last year at GCSE and will hit a peak next year for A-levels.

As for me, my grades only consisted of A*s and As, so I'm happy.