Students celebrate GCSE success

20th January 2021 11:41am - Return to press releases

Amidst the third lockdown, over 100 East Riding College students celebrated success in their English and Maths exams.  The results were released for exams sat in November, the first opportunity to retake GCSEs after exams were cancelled in the summer of 2020.    

Kelsey Ellerington aged 16 from Market Weighton didn’t achieve GCSE Maths at school and re-sat the subject alongside her Public Services course. She achieved a grade 4.  Kelsey said “I felt nervous when I started on the course as maths wasn’t my strongest skill. My tutor was very supportive and helped me achieve my goal. I am so relieved that I have now gained my GCSE Maths qualification but I am continuing with studying maths to see if I can improve on a grade 4”.

Antonia Taylor from Bridlington had been out of education for a while and needed to achieve GCSE English in order to meet the entry requirements for the course she wants to study.  She received a grade 7.  She said, “After being out of education for so long I was very anxious, however seeing the other older students made me realise we all shared the same goal. I knew I would have to work very hard in order to achieve the grade I needed. The support I received from the tutor was immeasurable, no other tutor has ever shown the confidence in me that she seemed to have. She supported my learning but equally made me see my potential and ultimately, raised my self- esteem. I feel very proud of myself”.

Ben Conduit aged 17 from Driffield was disappointed with his centre-assessed grade 3 in his GCSE Maths.  He re-studied Maths alongside his level 3 Diploma in IT because he wanted to prove that he could do better. Ben said “I thought I could get a grade 4 but was ecstatic when I got a grade 5.  I am considering going to university and I will need GCSE Maths to be able to apply.  I have so many more options now”.

Amy Goodall aged 18 from Beverley re-sat her GCSE English exam to gain a better grade and give her more options when she leaves College.  She achieved a grade 5. Amy said, “I wasn’t very confident, English was my worst subject and I hated it. As I progressed with my learning and with the support from the tutor I realised I could achieve my goal. I was delighted to get a grade 5.  I am now considering university or looking for employment and having achieved the qualification, more options are now open to me”.

Head of Higher Education, English and Maths at East Riding College Teresa George said, “Our students worked hard to prepare for their exams and our English and Maths team who have continued to deliver excellent teaching, learning and assessment throughout this challenging time are very proud of their results.  For some students, this is a very satisfying end of a long journey with us, after starting at entry level functional skills and working their way up to excellent GCSE grades.  I am proud of every one of our learners, who work hard to get the results they want in their English and Maths GCSEs, often alongside their main programmes of study”.