GCSE results 2021: Oulder Hill principal praises students' 'resilience'

Date published: 12 August 2021

Students at Oulder Hill Community High School are celebrating today as they received their GCSE results after a challenging year.

Exams were cancelled this summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic and exam boards issued qualifications based on grades decided by teachers following tests completed in school.

Zahraa Haq achieved the top grade 9 in eight subjects. She will be going on to study A Levels in Biology, Chemistry, Psychology and English Literature at Rochdale Sixth Form. Zahraa said: "I am hopefully going to study Medicine at Manchester University. I am so happy with my results!"

Matthew Eddleston also achieved the top grade 9 in four subjects. He is going on now to study A levels in English Language, History and Chemistry at Rochdale Sixth Form.

Amongst the many successful students, other stand-out results came from Henna Azhar, Susannah Myles and Farah Rana.

Over the past few years, new tougher exams have been introduced for all GCSE subjects – assessed using a 9-1 grading system. A grade 5 or higher is considered a ‘strong pass’ whilst a grade 4 is considered a ‘standard pass’.

John Watson, principal of Oulder Hill, reflected on the achievements of students, he said: "This year students were assessed differently to ensure that the disruption to education over the last two years has been taken into account.

"Our students have worked very hard in extremely challenging circumstances and deserve the grades they have earned through their hard work and effort. They have shown resilience and have dug deep to keep going and remain focussed during these unprecedented times and as a school, we are extremely proud of them."