Lancashire GCSE results day: many schools in Preston and Chorley surpass the national average boasting exceptional top grades

It was the first year that GCSE examinations had been sat in summer since 2019, as the world attempts to return to post-pandemis normality.

As the government expected, nationally, GCSE results were lower this year compared to 2021, but higher than the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

However pupils in Preston and Chorley actually bucked this trend, with many secondary schools telling the Post that they had maintained their high standards, whilst some had even exceeded them!

Corpus Christi Catholic High School, All Hallows Catholic High School and Worden Academy all received their best results yet.

At Corpus Christi, 75% of pupils achieved grade 9-4 in English and 65% achieved grade 9-4 in Mathematics; the highest attainment on record.

This was the same story for All Hallows, where 85% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or better in both English and maths, with 72% gaining a grade 5 or better, and 26% grade 7 or better.

Compared to 2021, Worden pupils achieved a 25% increase in grade 7 and above, and a 10% increase in grade 5 and above in English and Maths.

GCSE results at Penwortham Girls’ High School remain consisent to the previous two years, where, in contrast to the national average of 27%, almost 40% of all the grades awarded this year were a Grade 7 or higher.

Meanwhile, at Hutton Grammar School, 30% of grades awarded were grade 7 or higher.

Preston Muslim High School for Girls said they maintained their very high standards, for instance over 220 grades 8 and 9 were achieved and all subects had a high pass rate.

Penwortham Priory Academy also showed marked improvement from the pre-pandemic years, with the number of pupils achieving a grade 4+ in English and Maths, two sciences, and a language, increasing by 14%, 21% and 13% respectively.

Other schools seeing an improvement from 2019 include Brownedge St Mary’s Catholic High School, who said the percentage of pupils achieving 5+ in English and maths “significantly” increased.

Fulwood Academy, Lostock Hall Academy, Southlands High School and Holy Cross Catholic High School (whose Head Boy and Head Girl receved 16 grade 9s and three Grade 8s between them), also expressed pride in their pupils.

County Councillor Jayne Rear, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for education and skills said: "Our ambition in Lancashire is for all children and young people to reach their full potential, regardless of where their starting point is.

"Maintaining those high standards was always going to be a difficult task for this year group, who are the first to sit formal exams since the start of the pandemic.

"Our GCSE results this year demonstrate the incredible resilience our pupils have shown throughout the pandemic, and they deserve to be justifiably proud of themselves.

"I'd like to congratulate and thank our pupils for all their hard work, and I would also like to thank our teaching staff for supporting our children through this immensely challenging period."