School pupils in Bangor have collected their GCSE Results today and after the anxious wait, most have been celebrating.

The pass rate edged up to 67.3% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – up 0.4% on last year – despite concerns about the difficulty of exams.

Ysgol Friars headteacher Neil Foden said: “We’re really pleased with our performance again this year, with a continuing rise in performance against a number of key national indicators”

There was special praise for one pupil at Ysgol Friars, who only joined the school last September.

Loredana David joined the school after moving from Romania and, despite having only limited English and no Welsh when she arrived in Wales, she achieved an A grade in English and a B in Welsh.

Gwyn Tudur, headteacher at Ysgol Tryfan in Bangor, said: “Outstanding results have been achieved by the vast majority of students at all levels, and this is testimony to the school’s drive for constant high standards.

“I was particularly pleased again this year with the inclusivity of our performance with all our pupils achieving creditable qualifications.

“But I was particularly pleased with the number of students achieving the 5A*-A benchmark.

“This is an indicator that Ysgol Tryfan pupils anually achieves highly but an unprecedented 37% of this year’s group achieved this target.

“These examination results are the result of a great deal of hard work on the part of students and staff alike. I am extremely proud of all the pupils, particularly at a time of national change and volatility in education.

“I am particularly grateful for the tremendous support that has been given to the pupils by our dedicated staff at Ysgol Tryfan and by wonderfully supportive parents.”

At St Gerard’s School in Bangor GCSE pupils have gained an excellent set of results today with 63% A/A* and 96% A*- C overall.

Top achiever was Gwyn Owens achieving A* in all eleven GCSE subjects, Jacob Alexandrou and Elizabeth Dawes achieved 6 A*s and Shenona Mitra, Daniel Pigott and Elodie Edwards achieved 5 A*s. Joseph Hooton will be going forward to Myerscough College, Preston, to specialise in Basketball Studies

Gwynedd Council has also congratulated the county’s pupils on their success in their GCSE results.

Councillor Cemlyn Rees Williams, Gwynedd Council Cabinet Member for Education said: “These results are very good; the pupils are to be warmly congratulated.
“We want to see every pupil succeeding. I would like to thank the teachers for their hard work throughout the year.”

Congratulating the pupils on their success, Garem Jackson, Gwynedd’s Head of Education added: “GCSE results are very good this year and reflect the commitment of our young people. Many congratulations to them for their hard work and success.

“These good results reflect the emphasis placed in our schools on inclusion, equal opportunity and the success of pupils as individuals.”

Garem Jackson referred to the performance in some individual subjects. He added: “The results are good in a number of subjects but especially in the following subjects: Welsh Language, Science, Design and Technology and History.

“It is also pleasing to note that many of our young people have been very successful in vocational subjects.”