North Antrim DUP Assembly Member Mervyn Storey has praised Northern Ireland’s GSCE students as they once again outperformed the rest of the United Kingdom. Statistics published today by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) show that 74.5% of Northern Ireland pupils gained A* – C grades compared to a figure of 65.7% for the mainland. Mr Storey said: “Firstly, I wish to place on record my congratulations to our Northern Ireland GCSE students who have once again turned in the best results in the United Kingdom. To those pupils who achieved the results they were hoping for I offer my heartiest congratulations and to those who were disappointed with the outcome of their exams I would urge them not to panic there are lots of options available.
These results are a vindication of the hard work and dedication of our secondary and grammar schools. They demonstrate the importance of protecting those parts of the education sector which are delivering top results whilst at the same time focusing our attention on those parts which are not doing so well. The DUP is committed to the delivery of a truly holistic educational sector which delivers the best for all of our children. A blanket ban upon academic selection as proposed by the Education Minister will not help to achieve that.
I also welcome the fact that we have seen an increase in the number of pupils undertaking Biology and Chemistry at GCSE level. Increasing the number of pupils taking so-called STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics has been identified as a priority in the Programme for Government and it is good to see we are making progress in this field.”