Some UAE schools were yesterday celebrating their best ever set of GCSE results. At Dubai College, 80 per cent of entries in the tests for students aged 16 were awarded A* or A, compared with the average for England, Wales and Northern Ireland of 20.7 per cent. The private school achieved an A* to C pass rate of 99.6 per cent, which is well above the UK average of 65.7 per cent, itself a record and 2.4 per cent higher than last year's figure. The UK result was the biggest increase since 1990.
Courses usually last two years and a good result is generally considered to be five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C. Students take GCSEs in up to 11 subjects, and universities use the results to determine whether to offer students places. Entry is usually conditional on A-level performance. Graham Penson, a Dubai College teacher and the school's spokesman, said a string of youngsters had secured A* in all subjects. The results reflected "the continued development of the school", he said.
"Our students work extremely hard and we're delighted with the success they've achieved." Mr Penson said some students could even receive higher results after an error was discovered in the marking of science papers. Kalyani Nedungadi, 16, from India, was among the college's highest achievers with 10 A* grades. "I didn't expect so many. I was hoping for it, but I hadn't thought the exams had gone that well. I was really surprised," said Kalyani, who is likely to return home for the next stage of her education.
James Armstrong, another college pupil with 10 A* grades, did not let his studies interfere with his sporting schedule. "I had good teachers, but I still had to work hard. I quite liked the course work - it means you are ahead when you come to the exam," he said. "I would do my homework and revise before exams, but I would just do what was needed for the course. I had rugby tournaments on quite a lot of weekends and sometimes they would take the whole day."
Among the other British curriculum schools where pupils took GCSEs this year was Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi, where 42 per cent of entries were A or A* and 90 per cent A* to C. About 30 students visited the British school yesterday morning to collect their scores, although it is becoming increasingly common for students to look them up online. "We're delighted for the students. They deserve their success," said Paul Coackley, the principal of Al Khubairat.
"There are always one or two who will be disappointed, but overall we are very, very pleased." The same 90 per cent A* to C pass rate was averaged by the 106 students at the English College in Dubai, giving the school its best result. "We've regularly achieved about 80 per cent, but in recent years we've been staggered by the improvement. I'm a very happy head teacher," said Allan Forbes. Mr Forbes said he could understand when people said high grades were now easier to get.
"It's also a reflection of how hard the teachers and students are working," he said. "The English College has made great strides in making the students and teachers more aware of what they need to do to achieve." @Email:dbardsley@thenational.ae
