Pupils across the Lancaster and Morecambe District have been collecting their GCSE results today.
Hundreds of thousands of pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are getting GCSE, BTec Tech Awards and other Level 2 results on August 22.
The pass rate across England, Wales and Northern Ireland has fallen for a third year running – with 67.6% of all grades at 4/C and above.
However there were positive results reported in local schools.
At Lancaster Royal Grammar School, almost two-thirds (62%) of all exams were graded 9 to 7, 42% were grade 8 or 9 (the old A* grades) and 22% gained the very top grade 9s.
Twenty-two students are celebrating seven or more GCSEs at grade 9, including five students who achieved 10 GCSEs at grade 9.
“It is wonderful to see the hard work of our pupils today celebrated in today’s excellent exam results," said Dr Chris Pyle, headmaster.
"Our students’ results represent the culmination of a huge amount of energy and dedication. We look forward to seeing their next steps as they build on these qualifications at A-level and beyond.
“We are proud of every single one of our pupils. Congratulations both to the highest achievers and to all who have worked hard for such well-deserved results. Some of them have come through considerable personal challenges.
“It is a privilege to work with such motivated young people. I am very grateful to all our teachers and support staff at Lancaster Royal Grammar School who have helped our pupils towards these achievements.”
Here are photos from GCSE Results Day at Lancaster Royal Grammar School.
Ripley St Thomas C of E Academy in Lancaster said they had seen an increase in attainment across the school.
A post on the school Facebook page said this was "a testament to the pupils’ excellent attitude to learning, resilience, and positivity".
"Our gratitude goes out to staff at Ripley, which includes teachers and pastoral staff, who have supported pupils to navigate the unprecedented five years at secondary school.
"We would also like to thank all of our parents and carers for their continued support.It is very difficult to single out any individuals amongst such a high achieving cohort, however, a special mention to the following pupils for their achievements:
"Elena O’Reilly, Thomas Horton, Finley McDaid, Lily Tall, Ethan Wilcock, Patrick Gallagher, Rose English, Ella King, Allan Sumner, Jemima Tully, Phoebe Walmsley, Patrick McCarten-Bevington, Harvey Burns and Andras Nemeth.
"We wish ALL of our pupils the very best as they embark on their next chapter. We have confidence that they will continue to flourish and uphold our values of faith, love, hope, and service."
Sally Kenyon, executive headteacher, said: "It has been lovely to celebrate our pupils’ successes with them this morning and staff have been supporting them in their enrolment into the Sixth Form at Ripley St Thomas.
"We are looking forward to welcoming pupils from other schools over the coming days."
Here are photos from GCSE results day at Ripley St Thomas.
Here are photos from GCSE Results Day at Lancaster Girls' Grammar.
A post on the Carnforth High School Facebook page said: "We are proud of the results achieved by Year 11 at Carnforth High School this summer.
"Our students have undertaken a wide range of academic, creative and vocational subjects. Particularly noteworthy are the achievements of pupils in Art, GCSE PE and Religious Studies. The vocational subjects at Carnforth have continued to perform well.
"A number of pupils achieved fantastic results, with up to 10 GCSEs obtained, and a strong range of GCSEs collected across our cohort. This reflects the ambition and commitment of our pupils. We are delighted that our highest attaining pupil achieved an amazing eight GCSE grade 9s and one GCSE grade 8. An exceptional achievement.
"Congratulations to our students, who we wish every success in the future. It would not be possible for our students to achieve strong results without the hard work of the staff at Carnforth High School, along with the support and encouragement of their parents. We would like to thank everyone who played a special part in the success of Class of 2024."
County Councillor Jayne Rear, cabinet member for Education and Skills, said:
"Good luck to everyone receiving their GCSE results today.
"You should all be proud of your achievements after many years of hard work and all those hours spent revising.
"I would also like to say a huge thank you to all the education staff always go above and beyond for their pupils.
"I sincerely hope you receive the grades you have worked so hard for.
"I'd like to remind pupils that there are always lots of opportunities to consider, even if might be a different path to the one you originally planned.
"Whatever your next steps are, I wish you every success.
"Don't forget that our fantastic advisors at Talkzone are available to talk confidentially about anything from results, to feeling low, relationships, finding work or training."
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