A-level results day 2021: Recap the updates and reaction as students in Portsmouth, Gosport, Fareham, Havant and Waterlooville collected grades
There were plenty of smiles and sighs of relief as students found out what grades they have achieved this morning.
Once again exams have been cancelled due to the on-going Covid pandemic and the results are based on teacher assessments – drawing on a range of evidence, including mock exams, coursework and in-class assessments using questions by exam boards.
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Results day has also been moved slightly earlier in 2021, taking place on a Tuesday instead of the normal Thursday in mid-August slot, with GCSE’s being collected then instead.
Ofqual interim chief regulator Simon Lebus told the BBC that pupils in England awaiting their A-level and GCSE results can “feel satisfied” that their grades are fair this summer.
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Hide AdHe said there have been three stages of checks to ensure students can feel they have been “fairly treated”, including Ofqual checking the policies that schools have for awarding grades and exam boards looking over them.
Our reporters and photographers will be out at colleges and sixth forms in Portsmouth, Gosport and Fareham this morning to speak to teachers and students.
Follow our live updates in our blog below throughout the day!
You can subscribe here for unlimited access to our online coverage, including Pompey, for 27p a day.
Recap updates from A-Level results day in Portsmouth and Hampshire
Key Events
- Students collecting grades
- A-level grades surge to record high
- Record number of students accepted on to degree courses
Here are some of our best pictures from Portsmouth school’s this morning
UTC Portsmouth students celebrate ‘strong set of results’
Almost half of all A-levels awarded to students at UTC Portsmouth Sixth Form today were marked at A or A* grades.
Delighted and relieved students hugged and fist bumped as they collected their certificates from the college.
UTC Portsmouth reported that 45 per cent of all A-level grades hit the top marks, or Distinction*-Distinction for diploma students.
Staff at the college are pleased with the ‘strong results’, saying the average set of grades for each student continues the college’s trend of students achieving top grades.
HSDC is celebrating a bumper crop of good A-level results
Havant and South Downs College is celebrating a bumper crop of good A-level results thanks to the hard work of ‘resilient’ students.
HSDC has seen a large increase in the proportion of ‘justifiably proud’ students gaining top grades.
They achieved an overall pass rate of 99 per cent, with 67 per cent securing A* to B grades - and 41 per cent achieving the highest A* or A grades.
In the interest of safety, results were viewed online for the first time, meaning that students are celebrating their successes at home with loved ones as they plan their next steps including university, apprenticeships and employment.
Portsmouth teenager vows to become child trauma counsellor after bagging incredible A-level results
An inspirational teenager, who overcame a turbulent upbringing to bag her dream set of A-level results, has vowed to become a counsellor to help distressed children cope with traumatic experiences.
Portsmouth College student Shazia Dongola is now off to study psychology and counselling studies at the University of Brighton after scooping an A* in criminology and two As in psychology and politics.
And the 17-year-old from Baffins said she is committed to devoting herself to young people, with ambitions of becoming a child trauma therapist.
Shazia said: ‘I had a lot of trauma in my childhood and I know how kids can really struggle with it. So if I can stop other kids suffering, I would love to be able to do that. I really want to make a difference in the world.’
School’s ‘excellent’ work supporting students throughout pandemic online learning praised
Happy tears were shed by hugging friends and family as students at Portsmouth High School received their A-level results.
Youngsters with top grades spoke of their relief after the challenges they have faced to their education during the pandemic.
Jane Prescott, headmistress of Portsmouth High, said: ‘We’re very pleased, the results reflect hard work and dedication.
‘It’s been hard for them to learn online - we phoned all our pupils every week.
High pass rate for A-level students at Oaklands Catholic School in Waterlooville
Students at a Waterlooville sixth form are celebrating ‘tremendous’ A-level results following ‘hard work, grit and determination.’
Pupils of Oaklands Catholic School, in Stakes Hill Road, were rewarded for their studying with a 99.2 per cent pass rate during results day yesterday. And the number of grades between A* and C remained high at 88 per cent.
Headteacher, Matthew Quinn said, ‘Over the last two years A-level students have experience unprecedented challenges as a result of the pandemic.
‘The grades awarded today are a result of the hard work, grid and determination of our students over a period of time that has been punctuated by lockdown and online learning; this period has been enormously challenging.
‘I must also pay tribute to our talented staff who have had to manage the delivery of the curriculum whilst students were often on-remote.’
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