RECORDS were broken across York, North and East Yorkshire on A-level day 2018 - despite huge changes to the exam system and concerns over data protection.

City of York Council said sixth forms - All Saints RC, Archbishop Holgate’s CE, Fulford, Huntington and Joseph Rowntree - and York College are reporting strong results including ‘best ever’ performances.

This against a backdrop of students having to contend with an array of changes, chief among them, assessment is now largely exam based at the end of the two-year course. Also AS levels no longer contribute to an A-level qualification.

Results coverage this year has also been hamstrung by new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules which, though not intended to influence exam coverage, have had a significant impact with many York schools choosing not to submit their results to The Press for the first time.

Among them were Fulford School, Easingwold, Huntington, St Peter's, York College, All Saint's RC and The Mount.

Huntington School head teacher, John Tomsett said: “GDPR means we cannot publish information about students’ examination results without explicit permission from each student. This is hugely frustrating because we want to celebrate through the The Press our students’ examination successes this summer.

“In the future we will have to ensure that each student signs a declaration that permit us to publish their results. I can only apologise to our students that the change in the law means we were unable to publish results this summer.”

Overall results in York show increases in the number of students achieving the highest grades and the overall A*-E pass rate is above the national average.

Early results for the schools show that across the board students will be able to get to the universities of their choice, including those applying to Oxford and Cambridge universities and medical courses.

Cllr Keith Myers, executive member for education, children and young people said: “I’d like to congratulate all the students from our school sixth forms and York College on their outstanding A-level results.

“Ensuring York maintains and further increases its skills and education standards is critical, so we can continue to give our young people the best possible opportunities and drive our economic strategy forward. I wish them all the very best on the next stage of their journeys.”

Jon Stonehouse, director of children’s services, education and skills at City of York Council, said: “I would like to congratulate all our young people on their success today. These results not only demonstrate the hard work and commitment of our students, but the support of their parents and carers, and the skill and dedication of our teachers and school staff.

“Ensuring we achieve the very best outcomes for our young people is at the heart of what we do and central to our partnership working. I would like to send my sincere best wishes to all students.”

In the East Riding of Yorkshire Council area students are celebrating improved results this year including increases in both average points score and average grade. In recent years the average point score has risen steadily in East Riding schools and academy sixth forms and early indications are that this year is no exception.

Cllr Julie Abraham, portfolio holder for education, said: “We are delighted to join in the celebrations of so many young people who have received their A-level results.

“We wish students every success in their on-going academic studies and future careers and thank them and all of those who have supported them, for all of the hard work that has gone into their achievements.”

RESULTS coverage this year has been hampered by new GDPR data protection rules which have led some schools either to submit a reduced list of student names or simply not to submit a list at all.
Although the changes don’t stop local newspapers from sharing results, schools are now under an obligation to make sure that all pupils and their parents or guardians are aware as early as possible whether exam results will be made public and how this will be done. 
Advice from the Information Commissioner’s Office states that: “In general, because a school has a legitimate interest in publishing examination results, pupils or their parents or guardians do not need to give their consent to publication. 
“However, in a small number of cases publication may cause distress or harm and schools should consider objections from pupils and parents before making a decision to publish.”


l See The Press tomorrow our 12-page A-level supplement and look out for our GCSE coverage next week.