The 2019 GCSE results achieved in the Academy are once again extremely impressive. Of the 195 pupils who sat GCSE examinations this year, over half of all entries resulted in the top grades A*/A, and when B grades are included this figure rises to three quarters of all entries achieving grades A*-B. An outstanding 99% of the year group achieved 5 A*-C (including English and Mathematics) and 92.3% achieved 7 A*-C (including English and Mathematics); both figures are significantly higher than the Northern Ireland Grammar School average.

There were many superb individual performances, a total of 59 pupils obtained 8 A* or A grades and especially noteworthy were those 18 pupils who obtained 7 or more A* grades:

Malcolm Bailey, Jake Davidson, Leah Donnelly, Susanna Elliott, Sophie Hawthorne, Karis Humphries, Jude Kennedy, Julia Knox, Myah McDonald, James McElroy, Kathryn McGrath, Ruby McNiff, Suzanne Neill, Bethany Nixon, Kayla Orr, Harry Patterson, Andrew Pollock and Alanna Stafford.

Congratulations to Jude Kennedy and Kathryn McGrath, who obtained an outstanding 10 A* grades in each of their chosen subjects.

These results were achieved through the talent, industry and commitment of our pupils, supported and encouraged by parents who today can feel justifiably proud of these accomplishments. We are delighted for all our pupils as these results reflect tremendous strength in depth and we congratulate our young people on their outstanding achievements and wish them well for the future. The academic attainment of our young people involves a partnership and I want to pay tribute to my colleagues in our primary schools who have created the foundation for the success our pupils enjoy today.

I should like also to commend my teaching colleagues who through their dedication, commitment and skill have produced these excellent results at GCSE, as well as our outstanding A Level results released last week. Once again the examination results reflect the excellent standards of teaching and learning that exist in the Academy and I pay tribute to the professionalism of my colleagues.