News
GCSE and Vocational outcomes at Southgate School, 2023
Posted on: August 24th 2023Congratulations our Year 11 students who received their results today – they have done so well!
Students have shown incredible perseverance and resilience in completing their courses, despite the disruption to their learning that they have had to cope with over the years. To see lots of happy students today was just fantastic; so many of them have done remarkably well at a time when nationally results have dipped and it is harder to get one of the highest 9-7 grades. There will be many celebrations taking place across the Southgate catchment area today I’m sure and even those who may be slightly disappointed with their results should be applauded and acknowledged for completing their courses.
It is important that people understand the context of this year’s student outcomes and why they cannot be compared with previous years. The following explanation is taken from the Association of School and College Leaders website and I hope that it is of use:
In 2020 and 2021, grades were awarded by centre-assessed grades (CAGs) and teacher-assessed grades (TAGs) respectively. This different form of assessment meant that grades were higher than in normal exam years. In 2022, there was a transition year that meant grades were roughly a midpoint between 2019 and 2021.
In 2023, grades are expected to be similar to the 2019 profile. Even if the quality standard of exams is lower than in 2019, the government and Ofqual have put protections in place to ensure that grades are not lower. In other words, a candidate (student) has the same chance of getting a A*, a C, a 9 or a 7 as they would have done in 2019.
This means that national results will be lower than the three previous years. This is not unexpected.
This should put your child’s performance in perspective. The fact that our school results have significantly improved on those of 2019 is a testament to the efforts of our young people and teachers and I am immensely proud of them all!
