732 pupils get clean sweep of 9s in their GCSEs

[HPFA]

Remember that thread about only a tiny handful of pupils getting all 9s?

According to one local newspaper (unfortunately they don't give a reference):
There were only 732 pupils across England who scored a clean sweep of top 9 grades in all their GCSE

www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/16594185.gsce-results-day-2018-get-the-latest-live-updates-from-schools-across-bucks/

Brighton College say five of their pupils gained 10 Grade 9s so the overall figure sounds roughly correct.

www.theguardian.com/education/2018/aug/23/gcses-boys-close-gap-on-girls-after-exams-overhaul

One boy not one not - stupid phone!

Argumentative I agree, while the results are amazing they do not tell the full picture of the pressure and future expectations of success. Some will cope better with this than others.

I wonder how many subjects the ones who scored highly with 9's actually took. My son took 14 subjects and ended up with 5 nines, 7 eights and two sevens. I'm wondering if the school stretched him too thinly by making him do 14.

Bertrand, not really. This year was a record year, so belies the fact that the exams are harder. If they were indeed harder, the number getting the very top score (9, not 8. A* not A) should have been lower, instead it was higher.

The point of the harder exams was that differentiating at the top levels was non-existent. These exams were supposed to address this problem, and they did not achieve this.

It seems at least 6 state secondaries in our county have at least one straight 9 but the swanky private school is being a bit coy 😂. Since they are very into their marketing there would have been several photos.

14 is a daft number to take with the new specs. At our school each pupil took ten full subjects and a good wodge of them also took the FSMQ Add Maths.

The measure being given in the papers appears to be seven grade 9s and above - that's the 732 number. It goes sharply down for those getting eight or more (476) and I don't know the figure for nine or more, ten or more, eleven or more etc and also no idea about the indies taking a mix of IGCSEs and GCSEs - I assume we're talking state school only.

Another non selective comp here...
www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/16595067.gcses-2018-dorset-pupils-collect-their-results/

Just been playing with this analytics.ofqual.gov.uk/apps/2018/GCSE/County/

Interesting website noblegiraffe

Sunnymeg - 14? Why does the school do that many? Most schools here do 8-10 since the new GCSEs. Thought that was the recommendation. Surely nobody needs 14!

Bugger off 'like Smarties'! The kids who got this - one was almost there who I know- worked incredibly hard and were very very clever.

Yes and for those people who toss out these silly comments - you might like to know that some DC achieve these results not simply through making the most of their ability by working steadily and hard but in spite of serious problems, domestic and otherwise. Such ignorance and so belittling, quite apart from so sour.

So over half a million students took GCSEs and just over 700 got straight 9s. So about one in a thousand. Not quite sure how that counts as "giving them out like smarties". I can't tell you how cross that sort of statement makes me!

Agree with this ^

Every single year people say exams are getting easier. These students getting 9’s doesn’t take away from whatever you got, stop belittling their hard work. You sound petty and bitter.

DD1 is one of the 732. She attends a genuinely inclusive state comprehensive which many people around here avoid in favour of the "naice" school down the road. I am both surprised and delighted for her and for her excellent teachers who don't get enough recognition.

I can also definitely confirm that there were no smarties in the envelope.

Congrats to your DD AChicken. From my experiences at 6th form and uni I can tell you that in my opinion, a genuinely inclusive educational experience at secondary really benefits people as they progress into higher education. You can definitely spot the ones who haven't had that 😂

Thanks for your feedback about DS and his 14 subjects. They are all what I call proper subjects He did triple science, English Language, English Literature, Maths, Further Maths, Spanish, Latin, History, Geography, RE, Computer Sciences and Statistics. I think he has done amazingly, but think he would have been better off not doing so many.

Just looked at the local high performing private school - 36 girls got straight 9's....... therefore can definitely confirm these figures are only for state schools.

No. These figures have to include all schools, whether maintained or independent, who took only the new GCSEs - but perhaps not those where there was a mix of IGCSEs and GCSEs. Plenty of indies opted out of the new exams and stuck to the known quantity of IGCSEs in at least some subjects.

My DD's best friend got all 9s today! State school and all!

The 732 figure are for those who got straight 9s in at least 7 subjects. On that basis, I assumed they included independents which did a mix of GCSE and iGCSE, but where at least 7 subjects were on the 9-1 system. But would be interesting to know if that's wrong.

Thoughts on remarks for CIE German? DD 1 Mark away from next grade. Nothing turns on the result but wondering if it’s worth it? Thanks

I am amazed that any school insists on 14 subjects. That’s insane.

I don't think they are handed out like smarties and to make such a comment is pretty insulting to those students who habe worked their butts off for results on what ARE harder papers, without a doubt.

I do agree with a PP that the aim to differentiate at the top end those who just got an A and those who aced the paper and got a top A (and there could potentially have been a difference of 20-30% between such students) has not worked but this is a grade boundary issue in my opinion and does not indicate that the papers aren't any more difficult. They indisputably are.

Smug mode! I said on the previous thread that there would be a lot more straight 9s than the 2 some pundit had predicted by number crunching at the time

goodbyestranger Apologies, I just rechecked, and yes, they did a mix of GCSE and IGCSE so probably weren't included in the figures.

Official Ofqual data here. It’s from all entries for 16 year olds only for schools in England. So it’s not just state schools, the student just had to get 7 or more 9s to be included in the 732.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/735678/GCSE_Infographic_23.8.18.pdf