Key features of the provisional 2015 GCSE results
The provisional GCSE results given to pupils today in the Department of Education and Children’s five secondary schools are strong. This has been a more settled year for GCSE results, with few surprises. It has included a slightly larger entry in the International GCSE as the Island’s schools move towards IGCSE as the main 14-16 qualification.
More than 900 Year 11 students were entered for GCSEs and equivalent qualifications in the DEC’s five secondary schools in 2015. There were entries in approximately 50 separate examination titles ranging from Spanish to economics and from computer science to product design. Nearly every student was entered for maths and English and also had at least one entry in science.
The total number of full GCSE (or equivalent) entries was just under 8,000. Approximately 900 of these were International GCSEs (more than 11% of the entries). A further 8% of the entries were BTEC First Certificates, First Diplomas or Certificates in Digital Application. In addition, there were over 520 entries for short course GCSEs (worth 0.5 of a full GCSE).
Provisional analysis shows:
- The A*-G pass rate for full and short course GCSEs at 98.8% was in line with recent years, which have consistently been above 98%
- 72.6% of the GCSE entries were passed at the higher grades, A*-C which is higher than in any previous year and is the first time that the passes at this higher level have exceeded 70%.
- 18.8% of the entries produced A or A* grades – slightly up on last year’s figure of 17.7% but in line with previous years.
- The average number of subjects entered, 9.1 GCSE (or equivalent) entries per student, was slightly below recent years.
- The GCSE points score per student at 371 was slightly down on previous years reflecting the slightly lower entry per pupil (A*=58 points, A=52, B=46, C=40, D=34, E=28, F=22, G=16).
- The GCSE points score per entry, at 40.9, was higher than last year (40.4).
Paul Craine, Co-ordinating Adviser for 11-19 Education, said:
‘This is strong set of results, perhaps even stronger than some of the headline figures suggest. Maths and English results held up well and when our schools have calculated the percentages of students attaining five or more A*-C grades including English and maths, we expect this to be a higher Island figure than in previous years. This will help to open doors for pupils as they look to continue in education or enter the workplace.
‘Once again there are reports from the schools of students attaining 11 A* or a mixture of all A* and A grades. One headteacher spoke of a pupil who had attained 9 A* - B grades despite struggling with significant health issues and of another pupil who has 10 passes at A* - C despite having to cope with extremely difficult home circumstances.’
The results published today are not comparable with results released in the UK this week. The UK results include all exam entries, including those from students in the Isle of Man as well as UK selective schools, independent schools and further education colleges, where some of the candidates may be adults sitting just one GCSE. The Isle of Man data relates solely to 16-year-olds in Year 11 in the DEC’s secondary schools.
Tim Crookall MLC, Minister for Education and Children, said:
‘The Island’s pupils and our schools have built on the successes of previous years and have increased the percentage of passes at higher grades. I would like to congratulate our young people on their achievements and thank the teachers and school leaders for their continued hard work and, especially, for their determination to improve outcomes further. This is a crucial time for schools but I am confident that the move to the IGCSE will serve pupils well and enable us to secure further success.
‘Whether our young people are looking to undertake post-16 courses in schools, at the Isle of Man College of Further and Higher Education or, for a smaller number, seeking to take up employment, I wish them well for their futures.’
