The wait finally ended for Year 12 pupils of The Royal School, Armagh as they collected their GCSE results from staff in the Assembly Hall from 08:30 on Thursday 22 August.

As the envelopes were ripped opened hushed nervous conversation quickly turned to sighs of relief and screams of delight as the full extent of pupil success became apparent. Attainment this year has been historically high. At RSA 60% of all grades awarded were A* or A, compared to 31% across Northern Ireland generally, and almost 82% of all grades awarded to the school’s pupils were within the A* – B range. Overall, the percentage of pupils achieving at least 7 GCSEs at the top grades, A*-C including English and mathematics, was 91.%. Almost half the pupils gained seven or more GCSEs with A* or A grades!

An impressive 48 pupils achieved at least 8 A* or A grades in the courses they studied. This group included 1 pupil who attained a magnificent 11 A* grades and two who achieved 10 A*s, and two who gained 9 A*s and one or two A grades each.

Referring to this remarkable exam success Mr Montgomery said, “We are delighted with the achievements of all our pupils. They have performed magnificently. We need to remember that these results were reset to the 2019 standards following all the adjustments required by the pandemic and there was a lot of expectation that they would show a dip in performance. These young people faced a skills deficit through interruption to their education and yet they have performed magnificently. They thoroughly deserve this success because they have earned it by their hard work.

“GCSEs are a key stage in the educational journey of individuals. Education is about opening up life opportunities for young people and behind each batch of statistics is a young person who has worked really hard for two years. The support of families is crucial in helping our young people to achieve their potential, as is the input of well qualified and enthusiastic teachers. It’s a community effort with the young people placed front and centre, and we are delighted for them.

“This impressive achievement will provide an excellent platform for each of these young people to build on as they start their A Levels.

“The success was shared equally across day and boarding pupils, many of whom speak English as a second language. The fact that the pupils have done so well will ensure that they have a greater range and quality of career pathways, with the vast majority moving seamlessly onto A Level courses that will support their future aspirations”.