Manx GCSE results revealed after 'year unlike any other'

Isle of Man pupils have received their GCSE results after what a head teacher called a "year unlike any other".

It was announced in late March that grades would not be based on exams, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, grades have been based on a "portfolio of evidence" and teacher assessments, in line with A Level results revealed on Tuesday.

Sue Moore, of Peel's Queen Elizabeth II High School, said she felt "immense pride" for pupils and staff.

Island schools were closed to all pupils for seven weeks from early March as the island went into its third lockdown.

Sixteen-year-old Harvey Callister, who plans to go on to sixth form, said he was "happy" with his results, but online learning was "not as good as being here".

"I much preferred having a teacher in front of me, being told what to do, being on my own was quite difficult", he added.

Fellow student Heather Spiers said the one-to-one lessons as part of online learning had "really helped".

The 16-year-old, who achieved an A in music and double A*s in science, said she was "glad that it's over now".

She said the pandemic had made her "consider my other options".

"It made me double check that I would be pushing really hard with my grades to get what I wanted," she added.

Ms Moore said she did not see the point of overall figures, explaining that "because this year is unprecedented and hopefully unique", statistics would not be helpful.

She agreed with other teachers that assessments can be a fairer process than exams, because "you can have a bad day... when you're doing just one or two exams for a subject".

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