Students celebrate significant progress in GCSE exam results across Islington

Many students found they had achieved or even improved on their expected grades, overcoming the upheaval and disruption they have all faced over the last couple of years.

The provisional borough-level results this year reveal 70% of pupils achieved a level 4 or above in English and Maths, a seven percentage point improvement compared to results day 2019. Attainment 8 – the measure of achievement across the eight key subjects – has also increased to 49.5, up from 45.4 in 2019. The 2022 results are not comparable with the 2020 or 2021 results, which used Teacher Assessed Grades rather than exam results.

Teachers and support staff in schools, as well as parents and carers, have been helping pupils to stay focused and on-track through uncertain periods that included bouts of school closures, remote learning and self-isolation. Islington Council, charities and businesses have also worked together to provide hundreds of computers to those who needed one to study remotely, helping to tackle the digital divide experienced by some families.

Cllr Michelline Ngongo, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families, visited Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School (EGA) and Arts & Media School Islington (AMSI) this morning to congratulate pupils.

She said: “The last two years have been very difficult for students, teachers, support staff and parents. Nothing like this has happened before, yet by pulling together in the face of uncertainty, and staying focused on how to keep learning and teaching, we have helped our students to really shine in adversity.

“They’ve been supported to do their best, and have risen to the challenge. I am so proud of all our students today and wish them the best of luck for their next steps.”

Among the students collecting their grades at EGA this morning was Laura, who will take A Levels in maths, chemistry, biology and Spanish, with her sights set on a career in medicine or the sciences.

“I am really happy,” she said. “I have done really well – better than expected, so I’m really pleased. I got nine 9s, and one of those is in English literature, which I was predicted a 5 in a year ago, which is a C. My teachers helped me so much and I just worked really hard. Somehow it worked!

She said lockdown was “tough”, and Covid had affected every year of their exams: “In 2020, 2021 and this year we have had exam results coming out. Last year was really stressful because they had to collect data, so it felt like any piece of work you did would be used [towards a final grade]. So it felt like constantly being judged and assessed, which was really terrifying and it felt like it went on for months. It’s difficult to say it’s good to go back to exams because lots of people won’t be advantaged, but it worked well for me.”

Lola joined EGA in Year 7, not speaking a word of English. With a clutch of top results, she is now heading to Camden School for Girls to study history, sociology, politics and economics.

She said: “The school helped me a lot in improving my English and my self-esteem. I’m very grateful to those people for helping me to progress. I definitely didn’t think I would get an 8 in English language!”

She credited “support from friends and teachers” with helping her stay focused and keeping up with learning through the pandemic. “Because we had so many mock exams, when it came to the real thing it almost felt like, for myself, a bit relaxing. We were prepared for that environment and stuff.”

At Arts & Media School Islington, Oliver achieved mostly 8s and 9s and is considering a future in astrophysics. He will take maths, further maths, physics and chemistry at LaSWAP Sixth Form Consortium.

“I think I did quite well, especially for the standards I’d set myself,” he said. “The whole Covid thing did set me back a bit, but especially with help from the school I feel like I’ve been somewhat able to get my grades up a bit from what they would have been because of Covid. Teachers were trying to help with a lot of live lessons; we were very easily able to email them for support.”

Adrian achieved two grade 8s, two 7s, three 6s and one 5 and will study biology, chemistry and maths at St Mary Magdalene Academy.  He said: “I’m interested in dentistry. I was looking at potential jobs I could get with sciences because I’m really interested in science. I’m a bit relieved [with my results] – but I feel like at A Level I’m gonna have to work really hard because I want A*s in all three subjects.”

For students unsure of their next steps, the council’s team of friendly career advisors are standing by to offer practical support, advice and information to help secure a sixth form place at school or college, a training course or a job opportunity.

Students can get in touch with the Progress Team of advisors throughout the summer by phone, email, and in person. The Progress Team can be contacted at progress@islington.gov.uk or on 020 7527 7031.

Notes to editor

Further quotes from students:

At EGA, Sadie achieved a brace of mostly 9s and 8s, and will study economics, maths, further maths and media studies at LaSWAP Sixth Form Consortium. She said: “I didn’t expect a 9 in maths; that was a bit of a shock because you work so hard for it, but it feels a bit unattainable.

“I think in lockdown I had quite a streamlined focus because the only thing you could really do was study, if you had the means to. I think a lot of people would have struggled if they couldn’t. The school gave us Chromebooks, which really helped. You hear about other schools trying to get people access to the internet so they could do their online work and stuff, and I feel so grateful that I was able to get that so easily.

“Starting GCSEs earlier [in Year 9] meant that we had to stay on top of things, so you couldn’t really let it slide in Years 9 and 10, when we were learning online. That helped keep study habits in Year 11 when everything was getting a bit much.”