North Tyneside’s youngest and brightest have taken their first steps into the next stage of their lives following another outstanding year of A-Level results in the borough.
Young people across North Tyneside are now preparing for a future in employment or at university after receiving the borough’s best academic results compared to previous years.
Overall, the borough continued to build on its excellent performance from last year, as the average point score for each student increased from 32.1 to 33.6, despite more challenging exams.
Congratulating the young people, Elected Mayor Norma Redfearn CBE said: “I am so incredibly proud to see our talented young people have excelled once again with another fantastic set of A-Level results.
“Regardless of what these students go on to do, whether it is further education or going straight into work, I’d like to wish them the very best of luck with the next stage of their lives. They are a credit to their parents, as well as all the staff and governors and deserve every bit of success that comes their way.
“I’d also like thank and congratulate who has supported them along this journey.”
Cllr Peter Earley, cabinet member for Children, Young People and Learning, said: “Congratulations to all the young people getting their exam results – we have seen some fantastic results and a number of students going on to do great things, so they deserve a lot of credit.
“We have so many fantastic schools in North Tyneside, with just under 90 per cent of our school rated as ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.
“This is yet another amazing achievement for our young people and they can all be very proud of the work they’ve done.”
At Churchill Community College, students arrived bright and early to find out their results.
And they weren’t disappointed; the school saw notable improvements from last year as they increased the average grade to a C+, above the national average of a C.
Overall, the school saw 100 per cent of students pass, with 43 per cent between A* to B and 59 per cent between A* and C.
One of those successful students was Elisha Tait, who got one A* and three As. She said: “I’m really excited. I’m going to be studying medicine at Birmingham from September. I’d like to be a surgeon, but I’ve got plenty time to decide so we’ll see.”
Executive headteacher David Baldwin said: “Here at Churchill Community College, the success of the pupils is always our number one priority, which is why we take such pride in results such as these.
“We have a lot of students who have done immensely well and there have been some great success stories and some very happy faces today.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff and governors at the school who support our children to reach their goals every single day, these results wouldn’t be possible without the work they do.”
Whitley Bay High School saw excellent results, with 57% per cent of grades between A* and B, and 85% per cent between A* and C. The average grade at the school was a B, making Whitley Bay one of the highest-performing post-16 providers in the North East.
Students of all abilities achieved excellent results, including 20 students achieving 3 or more A*/A grades across their A level subjects and 56 students achieved at least the ABB grades needed to send them to top universities.
Among those was Whitley Bay-born Joe, who will go on to study English at Oxford University after he got two A*s and one A in English Literature, French and History.
Speaking on his success, Joe said: “I’m really chuffed. It’s hard to tell how you’ve done when before you’ve got your results so I’m absolutely delighted. We’ll be going out tonight to celebrate!”
He was speaking alongside Dylan, who will be going on to study dentistry at Newcastle University, following his three As in maths, biology and chemistry.
Headteacher Steve Wilson said: “These results are a fantastic tribute to the incredible hard work of our students and the efforts of our staff who are committed to supporting and helping students to achieve their personal best grades. Our students and their families should be very proud of their achievements.
“These grades will allow our students to progress on to their chosen future degree and career ambitions all over the country, including three students who will be going to Oxford our Cambridge University.
“We are very proud of our students who have coped with the more challenging linear A levels to achieve this success while at the same time taking part in a huge range of extra-curricular and enrichment opportunities. We wish our students the very best in the future.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The figures given relate to results from Burnside Business and Enterprise College, Churchill Community College, George Stephenson High School, Longbenton Community College, Monkseaton High School, St Thomas More Academy, Seaton Burn Community College, Whitley Bay High School.