GCSE results day: John Ferneley College

Natalie Teece said there had been major challenges for staff and pupils when lectures had to take take place online for the first year because of the coronavirus restrictions before everyone returned to school for the second year.

She told the Melton Times: “We are really pleased with this year’s GCSE results, we’ve seen real improvements.

"It has involved a lot of hard work from the students and they didn’t even know if they would be sitting their exams this year at one stage.

"We’ve had strong results in both English language and literature, in particular, and we’ve narrowed the gap in results for disadvantaged students compared to other students, as well as seeing good grades for our SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) students.”

Ms Teece added: “It’s a bit like being a parent on results day because it means so much to see what grades they’ve got.

"They have been nervous coming in today but we’ve supported them as much as we can.

"We’ve got careers staff in school today to help them and there are a few extra options this year with Brooksby College offering A-levels for the first time, as well as MV16 and places like Loughborough.”

Samuel Culy was happy with his results, with two at grade nine, five grade eights and a seven.

"I was really pleased to see what I got this morning – the results are super good,” he said.

Another content student was Kayleigh Rowles, who had a mix of eight and seven grades when she opened her envelope this morning.

She commented: “I wanted a nine but I’m happy with these. Learning at home was alright for me. I plan to study biology and animal management.”

Amelia Whitehouse attained three grade nines in her GCSE subjects and all her results were no lower than a six.

"I was very happy with my grades this morning,” she said. “It was difficult learning at home for the first year but my exams went well.”