Well done to pupils for GCSE results

THE GCSE results highlight the resilience and determination of our country’s young people, who on average have missed 14 weeks of learning.

At Nacro, our Further Education and Skills Centres teach some of the most disadvantaged 16–19-year-olds.

Around 50 per cent of our students started the pandemic without a digital device or wifi to study on.

Yet today, despite coming to us without GCSEs in English and maths, they have gone to achieve great re-sit results, with an increase of high passes 4 and above.

For them this is the golden ticket to a good job or further education.

This success has been a result of the hard work and determination of our learners, with support from our staff.

But it has been bolstered by the use of the Government’s recovery tuition funding.

Early analysis of our data shows that those who took part in the scheme achieved 15 per cent higher pass rates compared to those who did not participate.

We now need this funding boost to become permanent for those who need to fill gaps in learning or faced multiple barriers to education and skills.

Well done to all those who are celebrating their achievements this week, in a year to remember.

Lisa Capper MBE

Director of Skills and Education, Nacro

Prince Charles isn't the only one using helicopters

QUENTIN Macdonald wrote he was concerned that Prince Charles had travelled in an helicopter to an engagement at Cambridge University.

He suggested that trip had emitted 12.5 tons of carbon dioxide. An average family car probably weighs around two tons, so according to him, that trip in the helicopter was equivalent in weight of carbon dioxide to six cars!

The fuel on the helicopter would I guess weigh less than one ton, so how did one ton convert into 12.5 tons?

Never mind, this is irrelevant playing around with statistics. If Mr Macdonald is concerned about helicopters, I wonder what he thinks about the dozens of horse race jockeys who travel in one day to several race meetings around the country.

We see and hear these over York Knavesmire on race days, I would suggest like the jockeys, Prince Charles was using his time to the best advantage.

Now, whether helicopters are contributing to climate change, I am sure they are, an argument for another day perhaps.

Stuart Wilson,

Vesper Drive,

York

History repeating itself over "too high" buildings

READING Matthew Laverack's letter in Friday's Press (Too late to act on height of student blocks): many years ago in the grounds of The Croft Upper, Poppleton, a building was found to be built a foot or so over height and YCC planning officers spoke of literally throwing the book at the builder's and house owner.

On being challenged the house owner replied that as a solicitor/ barrister he would be "at no cost to himself " represent himself in any appeal, where as the council "at great cost to the council and ratepayers" would be responsible for any challenges against the height of the building.

The challenge was dropped and retrospective planning agreed.

The cost of any legal challenges to us all far outweighs the slight increase in height and should have been addressed before the work started.

D M Deamer,

Penleys Grove Street,

Monkgate,York

It's news to us!

ALTHOUGH I knew of the fire at the Bilsdale transmitter that had blanked out a million viewers in North Yorkshire and the North East, I was surprised to see that it only made a two-inch column of news on page 26 of the Daily Mail.

If it had been a London or southern region transmitter it would have been headlines.

A Clements,

Windmill Way,

Haxby, York

 

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