FWednesday night was a sleepless one for 16-year-old Thomas O’Mahoney. With just hours to go until his GCSE results were due, he spent the time strategizing about what he would do with various hypothetical grades.
When he received his white envelope at Sandymoor Ormiston Academy in Runcorn, Cheshire, on Thursday morning, he had ended up with loads of 7s and 8s.
“I’m really happy,” he said. “Relieved, definitely relieved. I spent all of last night weighing up options as to what would have happened and when the grade boundaries were announced at 8am this morning I was already checking online.”
Now he’s going to college to get his high school diploma – which one, he hasn’t decided yet – and his ultimate goal is a career in finance.
For 16-year-old Grace Elder, waiting for results was one of the biggest challenges of her GCSE exams this summer.
“The preparation was exciting, I’m not lying, it was the waiting that got to me,” she said. “I thought to myself: I just need these numbers now.”
When the wait was finally over, she received an eight and several sevens in both her English subjects, biology and psychology. But she was most pleased with the sixes in maths and statistics, after hoping for a four or five.
Grace will next study A-levels in English Literature, Psychology and Law and hopes to pursue a career in criminal psychology.
“I’m really, really proud,” she said. “It’s been difficult, I’m not going to lie. The hardest part for me was coming back after Covid, I wasn’t in school for a while, but I think that just proved to me that even though I’ve struggled, I’m still myself and I can still do it. I just needed that.”
She added: “Everyone always says it’s just a number on a piece of paper, which is true, but I can see my whole journey to school in it.”
This group of students were in Year 7 when the country went into lockdown due to the coronavirus. They had just settled into school when they left the classroom again.
“It was definitely difficult going out during Covid,” said 16-year-old Sophie Grice, “because I went from primary school to Year 7 and then into full lockdown.
“It was hard for me to go back to school, but the teachers, and one teacher in particular, definitely helped me through everything. The teachers here are a huge support.”
Despite the challenges, her hard work paid off. She was pleased with the results and will now study animal management in college.
“Honestly, it went better than expected,” she said. “I achieved most of my predicted grades and even exceeded some.”
As students arrived to collect their results, many with their parents in tow, there were hugs, cries – and a few tears. Some ripped open their envelopes immediately, while others held them waiting for friends – or took them home to open in private.
“I think I did well, I got quite a mixed bag,” said 16-year-old Eoin Hughes, adding that he was happy with his results. “I didn’t expect to score so high on some and so low on some others, but that’s OK.”
He wants to study economics, mathematics and sports at high school and pursue a career in banking.
This morning he said: “I was super excited because we’ve been waiting so long, I just wanted to know. It’s just annoying to have to wait so long, you keep thinking about it more and more.”
Evelyn Carroll, 16, attends the Fowler Football Academy in Liverpool. After an exciting morning, she was delighted to have passed everything, with distinction in PE.
“I was really nervous but also excited and couldn’t wait to get the results,” she said. “I was really nervous because I needed a couple of 6s to get into college and I got them, so now I’m happy.”
Sandymoor Ormiston Academy is a small school with only around 120 pupils per year. Pupils in Year 11 take GCSEs or BTecs, with a preference for GCSEs at around 70/30. In 2018 the school was rated inadequate by Ofsted, but in April it was upgraded to good.
Headteacher Sally Jones, who took over as head of the school in 2018, said: “I am really, really confident. Sandymoor has a bright future ahead of it. The children make me absolutely proud.”
“They were in year seven when lockdown came and the resilience they showed was incredible, which is why I am so, so proud of them today.”
She added: “I love results day, it’s my favourite day because it’s when all the hard work comes together. We go through the ups and downs of the five years together and for me results day is the day when you can see that all the hard work has paid off.”
While Jones and her school leadership team spent the rest of the day analyzing and reflecting on the results and planning for next year, some of her students had bigger plans.
“I’m on my way to the Leeds Festival,” said Thomas. “I’m bringing these (results) home and then I’m heading straight to Leeds. I can’t wait to see Gerry Cinnamon and also Catfish and the Bottlemen. I’m really excited.”
