Well done everyone!
There were wild celebrations across Greater Manchester this morning as thousands of teenagers got their A-level results. Overall, four in five sixth form pupils have secured a place at their first-choice university, with another 12 per cent heading to their insurance option.
That’s despite top grades falling, which was part of a push to bring A*s and As back into line with pre-pandemic levels. In all, 27.2 per cent of A-level grades were A* or A, which puts the rate of top achievement in line with 2019 levels . However, incredible achievement in Greater Manchester is not synonymous with top marks — as the M.E.N. discovered this morning.One pupil who has overcome the extraordinary to secure a place at university is Mercy Kalu, a student at Pendleton Sixth Form College. The 18-year-old will be going on to study Children Nursing at University of Manchester — despite moving to the UK on her own aged just 16. "I moved to Manchester two years ago from Spain,” she explained. “I moved here alone and I'm living with my aunty at the moment. I moved for better opportunities, I miss Spain sometimes but it's okay. "I feel like I made the right decision, I don't think I would have gotten into nursing in Spain if I was still there, also I love Manchester, I've made so many friends since coming." Mercy got ABC grades in psychology, physiology and financial studies, and faces a nervous wait to see if she’s passed GCSE maths next week — and then she’ll be at a Russell Group uni. Another success story in the face adversity came from Orla Raftery, who is from Sale. Now a student at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford, the ex-Sale Grammar pupil has got a prestigious university place in spite of her eye conditions achromatropsia, amblyopia and Conversion Syndrome. “I’m thrilled that I have achieved the grades to get into my first choice university,” she said on finding out she’s got a place to study for MSci in Natural Sciences at York University. “The course specialises in mathematical bioscience and in the future I would like to go into research in this field.” Having earned AAB in maths, biology, and physics, Orla had to learn a huge amount alongside her A-levels to get to this point. She added: “When I arrived I didn’t know Braille and I hadn’t had much access to tactile diagrams, which is obviously key in all of the subjects I was studying. “I didn’t have access to a talking calculator or a laptop to use screen reading software. My Mobility Teacher at RNC gave me the routes to have a successful partnership with my guide dog, Bobby. I’m now much more confident and independent and in the past week I’ve done four or five independent train journeys.” Closer to home, Aquinas College in Stockport had plenty to celebrate. Lottie Barton earned three A*’s in Fine Art, English Language and Literature and an A in EPQ and Psychology. She said: “I’m really pleased with my results and it’s also nice because it’s my 18th birthday tomorrow. I’ll be celebrating in Manchester and then going to London at the weekend - it makes the birthday celebrations even more exciting now.” Similarly, Lewis Brown got an A* in Art and Design, a Distinction * in Business and an A in photography, while Joey Bissell received an A* in Physics and Maths and an A in Further Arts. What makes their efforts more remarkable is this year group did not do GCSE exams because of Covid-19, as Lewis explained: “We didn’t get to do our GCSE exams and it was really hard to concentrate during that time and study. “So going straight to college and being part of classes, interacting and studying was a big change for a lot of us. Our GCSE results were based of mock exams and class work so to have your results solely on exams was different.” Joey added: “I agree it was a big difference and though we studied for our GCSE’s I don’t think people did to the extent we needed. So to have to study hard for even harder exams was a bit stressful but we’re pleased to be here and celebrating good results.” Lucy Dalzall was also unsure of how it was best to tackle the exams. She and Adam Wieczorek both received A*’s in Maths and Computer Science and an A in further maths and will be heading to Sheffield University to study Computer Systems Engineering. Lucy said: “I’m really pleased with my results! It was pretty stressful these exams compared to our GCSE’s but it was a massive relief for us to be able to be back in classes during college and receive that one on one support and help in person than online. “We also got to study courses we cared about so it just made that process so much easier. I don’t know if I would have done as well if we hadn’t been able to learn in person.” Over in Salford, Pendleton students overcame personal struggles to get to uni. Lara Zeno, 18, will be studying creative writing at Brighton Uni, said: "I got a place in my uni so I'm quite chuffed about that. The first year was hard, the second year was the worst year of my life, it was awful. "I had difficult family circumstances, I had to move out of home in second year and I was feeling really bad about my course. I was considering dropping out, then I actually did my exams and I'm happy I did." Corey Hindley, 18, who got BCC and is going to study psychology at Edge Hill University said: "I'm happy, I've got what I needed to get into uni. If I was to get more that would have been good but I'm quite content with what I got. My plan is to study psychology and then do a three year doctorate in clinical psychology as well. "It has been a tough two years. First year I was failing. I was getting Ds I was just passing, I was stressing out. My teacher in second year, Hannah, she massively bumped my grades up. "These results mean a lot because if I didn't get into uni I don't know what I would have done. If I didn't get into uni there's nothing else I would have wanted to do other than what I've planned."
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