O’Dowd welcomes continued improvement in exam performance
Education Minister, John O'Dowd, has welcomed the continued improvement of pupils at both GCSE and A-level.
~ Tuesday, 27 November 2012
The Minister was commenting on the publication of statistics today on the achievement of year 12 and 14 pupils in examinations. The figures show that 77.7% of year 12 pupils achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, an increase of 2.4 percentage points from 2010/11. There has also been improvement at A-level with the percentage of pupils achieving 3 or more A*-C grades rising to 64.7% (up by 0.2 percentage points).
Commenting on the statistics the Minister said: “It is very encouraging to see that the percentage of our pupils achieving the top grades at both GCSE and A-level has continued to rise. There has been a particularly significant increase in the percentage of pupils achieving five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and I welcome that. It is a testimony to the combined hard work and dedication of the young people and their teachers and I congratulate all involved.”
The Minister continued: “It is disappointing that the current figures show a slight decline in the percentage achieving at least five A*-C grades including both English and Maths. However, it is worth noting that these figures are provisional and may be subject to change.
“Following the issue of this year’s GCSE results, concern was raised by a number of schools about some of the results received by pupils who had taken their English exam with the AQA Awarding Body. I offered pupils affected the option of an early re-sit opportunity. The results of these re-sits may have an impact on the overall statistics. The report issued today will therefore be re-issued when the results of the re-sits are known.
“Given this I do not want to rush to judgement on the significance of these figures before they are finalised.”
The Minister continued: “While it is right to commend those who have achieved the top grades, I also acknowledge that we still have far too many young people in our education system who are underachieving. I am determined to do all I can to tackle this.
“Earlier this month I announced that we will be participating in a major in-depth review of our education system led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the OECD). This review will be carried out by independent experts and will provide valuable information to help us further improve the quality, equity and efficiency of school education. This work will help us to build on the progress being made through the implementation of my Department’s school improvement policy and literacy and numeracy strategy. I look forward to welcoming the OECD expert team in the New Year.
“I also believe that more immediate and direct interventions are needed to help support our young people. The Executive recently announced additional investment in teaching to support literacy and numeracy. At post-primary level this will involve the employment of 150 graduate teachers on short-term contracts to assist as many pupils as possible to achieve at least a C grade pass in English and maths. My officials are currently progressing this important piece of work and further details will be provided in due course.”
