'Fantastic' GCSE results in Blackburn with Darwen

Students across Blackburn with Darwen are celebrating their GCSE results.

Early indications show that results have improved again in the borough - with several schools showing a big boost compared to previous years.

Blakewater College saw an amazing 11% rise in its results compared to 2010, and Pleckgate Mathematics and Computing College's GCSE results jumped by 10%.

Councillor Maureen Bateson, Blackburn with Darwen Council's executive member for children’s services, said the results were worth celebrating.

Cllr Bateson added: “These results are testament to the hard work and determination of our young people and their teachers in this borough and they have a right to be proud of themselves.
“Our schools have risen to the challenge of continuing improvement and in some cases exceptional improvement and that is something that really needs to be celebrated.
"The reputation of young people across the country has been damaged due to recent events - however, today has shown our young people have what it takes to fulfil their future hopes and aspirations."

Alan Chambers, head teacher at Blakewater College, said everyone at the school was "completely thrilled" with the results: "We are absolutely delighted with the results and I think it is a tribute to the hard work the staff and students have put in, and the support of the parents, governors and the local authority.

"I am thrilled that the students are really starting to believe they can achieve wonderful things and we have some particularly outstanding individual results. The maths results in particular were absolutely outstanding and we have really turned the results around in this area. We have far more of the higher grades this year than we have ever had in the past and this is a great stimulus for when we move into our fantastic new BSF school in 2012."

Robin Campbell, head teacher at Pleckgate, added that the GCSE results were a great start to a new era, as students and staff prepare to move into the very first BSF school in the borough next month: "I am both delighted and proud of this outstanding level of achievement as it demonstrates the commitment of both staff and pupils during an exceptionally busy year as we prepared for the new school," Mr Campbell said.

"Our aim has always been to ensure that the education of our pupils did not suffer during the BSF process and these results are testament to that. Within these results are some exceptional individual pupil results but the key message is one of overall pleasure that we have set such a superb foundation on which to build as we enter the new school."