'Shrieks of delight' as Chapel-en-le-Frith High School pupils open their GCSE results

More than 200 students received their results from their GCSE examinations today at Chapel High School.

Headteacher Simon Grieves said: “Our year 11 students really impressed us with their approach to the GCSE exams this summer. Their lives and education had been disrupted by the pandemic in a way none of us could have possibly imagined.

"Despite this, they have shown remarkable resilience, working hard, revising effectively and approaching the exams in calm and mature manner.

"As a result, they have been rewarded today with superb results.”

This cohort are the first students since 2019 to take ‘normal’ GCSE exams.

Nationally, to take account of the impact of the pandemic, exam boards have marked the exams normally but have adjusted grading.

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Mr Grieve said: “Students, parents and staff weren’t quite sure what to expect this morning.

"Judging by the shrieks of delight, group hugs and smiles we have seen today, things have worked out very well for our students.

"We have an exceptional record of successful progression to sixth forms, colleges and apprenticeships and I am delighted that these students have all they need to move on to the next stage of their education or training.”

The school says against a national picture of narrowing subject choices, it continues to value the arts and creative subjects as well as offering students a choice of three modern foreign languages.

Mr Grieve said: “We have always been a highly inclusive school and as such success will mean different things for different students.

“I am always especially proud of the young people who study in our learning support provision for students with complex special educational needs. “They leave us with a wide range of qualifications and employability skills.

“We have also had a number of students this year who have faced some significant personal challenges, often linked to the pandemic.

We have been able to support these students with teaching at home, in some cases they sat their GCSEs at home, many of them have done very well indeed.

“We have really enjoyed working with these young people, I am sure they will go on to do wonderful things.

"We wish them all the best of luck.”

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