GCSE results day at All Saints RC School, Mill Mount, York

The school revealed that 78 per cent of grades awarded this year were at Grades 9-4 (A* - C), a fact that had both students and teachers jumping for joy upon seeing that their hard work had paid off.

Head teacher Sharon Keelan-Beardsley thanked staff, governors, and families alike in how they supported their students and shared her delight at the progress made by the cohort that saw their academic journey interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sharon Keelan-Beardsley, head teacher at All Saints (Image: Frank Dwyer)

She said: “Individually, there were numerous outstanding results, where students achieved top grades in all of their subjects. We also saw a large number of students who made significant progress across their suite of GCSE’s.

“There were four students who achieved an average progress score of over 3 grades above what they would be predicted to achieve nationally in all their subjects.

“We are very proud of all our young people, and this year we are especially delighted that our students who under government measures are classed as disadvantaged have achieved particularly well. In fact, this group has made significantly more progress than their non disadvantaged students nationally.

Staff celebrate great results at All Saints (Image: Alice Kavanagh)

“What this shows, is that hard work, combined with excellent teaching and a caring and aspirational environment really do make the difference. Our mission statement is that we are ambitious to educate the whole person to thrive personally, academically and spiritually.

“We believe that by delivering on these aspirations, our young people are well placed to face the future with confidence.

Adam Pearson and Cerys Cartmell plan to celebrate their grades tonight at a party (Image: Alice Kavanagh)

“We have a record number of applicants to our successful sixth form this year and we look forward to welcoming back many of the young people who have performed so well whilst at All Saints.”

After receiving their results in the sports hall, students filtered through to the courtyard and the main hall where they celebrated their results with friends and confirmed their re-enrolment to the school’s sixth form centre.

Evie and Sophia both achieved better than they expected and are off to sixth form! (Image: Alice Kavanagh)

One of these groups of friends was Maurice Berland, Adam Porter, and Steven Langhamer – all of whom achieved the grades that they wanted and will continue on to sixth form at All Saints.

They’ll be joined by Evie Barnes, who did better than she thought she would, and Sophia Brandreth, who said "yes, I’ll be back at All Saints" after achieving better grades than she expected after a "dip" in her scores earlier in the year.

Josh Sandwell, Dom Gledhill, Alex Gledhill, and Zikora Agusiegbe all achieved the grades they needed. (Image: Alice Kavanagh)

Other students who achieved what they were looking for were Adam Pearson, who literally leapt for joy after finding out that he’d passed his GCSE maths, and friend Cerys Cartmell who plans to throw a party to celebrate her success.

Josh Sandwell, Zikora Agusiegbe, and brothers Dom Gledhill and Alex Gledhill were also delighted to have achieved the necessary grades to continue on to sixth form and Isaac celebrated with his favourite teacher Mr Stabler.