Head hails ‘hard work and resilience’ of GCSE and A-Level students

The head of Derby Grammar School has paid tribute to his pupils following the release of their A-Level and GCSE results last month.

At A-Level, half of the grades were at least A* to B and at GCSE, 40% of students earned grades 9 to 7.

For head Paul Logan, the personal achievements of many of the pupils were as important as their academic grades.

He said: “Here at Derby Grammar School, we know exam results and academic excellence are not enough to prepare pupils for the world of tomorrow.

“I would like to pay tribute to the service and contributions to the wider life of the school these pupils have made in sport, co-curricular and leadership roles.”

Paul also  reflected on the fact that students who took their A-Levels this year had never sat public exams before, with their GCSEs cancelled due to Covid-19.

He said: “Year 13 pupils have performed so well in what is their first set of public examinations, having missed taking GCSEs due to the pandemic.

“I would like to thank their teachers for going above and beyond in helping them prepare for these exams where we knew grading would return to pre-pandemic levels.

“Parents have worked with us to ensure pupils were as well-prepared as possible, and these efforts are borne out in the grades gained.”

Paul also acknowledged that those collecting their GCSEs this year has also had their studies disrupted.

He said: “Congratulations to all our pupils on their GCSE results.

“They performed so well, especially as they were the last year to be directly impacted by the pandemic during their GCSE courses.

“This year, pupils did not benefit from the more lenient grading as recent years did.

“I would like to pay tribute to their hard work and resilience over the last two years, and to the huge amounts of support given by our dedicated teachers and parents.

“These results show the success of our small class sizes and treating each pupil as an individual, as well as the benefits of continuity of education.

“Many joined Derby Grammar School in Primary School, and we look forward to welcoming them to the 6th Form.”