Team GB gymnast twins Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova, 16, awarded distinctions in their GCSEs

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Team GB‘s gymnast twins were jumping for joy this morning as they led the way on GCSE day by being awarded distinctions – just days after scoring bronze medals in Tokyo.

Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova, both 16, explained how they had to juggle months of studying like every other teenager – while also training for the Olympics.

The sisters had their first taste of glory at the Games last month, when they teamed up with Alice Kinsella and Amelie Morgan to clinch an improbable team bronze – Great Britain’s first podium finish in that event for 93 years.

The Dublin-born pair, who now live in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire – where they appear in the ‘Hall of Fame’ at the local gym academy – insisted they plan to build on their performance at future competitions, despite already achieving what millions of athletes around the globe aspire to throughout their careers.  

And while the memories of their early success will last a lifetime, today they were back in the shoes of millions of other students as they arrived at school to pick up their BTEC results on GCSE day.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Jennifer said: ‘I got a Level 2 distinction star in business, and we both got a Level 2 distinction star in health and fitness so we’re very pleased.’

Her sister said: ‘We just wanted the pass and that’s what we got so we’re happy to move on. We’re not sure what the plans are [for celebration] but I’m sure there’ll be one.’

The twins also revealed how they tried to balance the pressure of delivering both academically as well as in the gym. 

They added: ‘It was quite difficult because we tried to fit training in as much as possible and tried to get those extra hours but at the same time we needed time to study for our GCSEs. 

‘But with the school’s help and everyone’s help we managed to juggle it quite well.

‘When we were at the Olympics we tried to not put any pressure on ourselves, and just focus on enjoying the moment and not worry about ‘I’m not doing this right’. 

‘Whatever happens, happens, you can’t go back and change it, so we just tried to enjoy the experience.’

It came as students across the country today recorded record grades, with some 30% of entries achieving grades 7 and above – equivalent to A and A* – compared with 27.5% in 2020 and 22% in 2019.

Joy Israel Mbengo, a 16-year-old student at City Academy in Birmingham, leapt in the air as he opened his results with a grade 6 in physical education and strong passes in English language and literature.

The grades are enough to get him a spot at Solihull Sixth Form College, with hopes it will ‘open doors’ to go to the US or elsewhere overseas with a scholarship to play basketball.

He said: ‘I am very over the moon. You don’t understand how. I can’t describe it in words, I’m very shocked, because I had low expectations for myself.

‘Coming into this, I was very nervous, but once I opened my results I got so happy.’ 

Joy – who described himself as ‘not a model student, but a very nice kid to talk to’ – said the pandemic had been tough, especially from a schooling perspective.

The basketball prospect said: ‘I can’t really cope learning at home because I can get very distracted easily. I thought I had lost knowledge because when I’m at home I get so distracted.

‘When I came back to school I had help off teachers, actually teaching me face-to-face. It helped me a lot to actually get the grades I needed. The staff have worked so hard. I can credit the teachers a lot.’ 

There were a number of success stories at Rodean independent school in Brighton, East Sussex today, including Isla Binks, 16, who is interested in outer space and especially how physics and maths can help bring greater understanding to it.

She was delighted to scoop 11×9’s and wants to continue her explorations in the theory behind astro-physics.

‘I am interested in how it bring greater understanding to it and I want to continue to pursue the theoretical side of it.

‘I’m absolutely delighted with my results in what has been a difficult year. I’m going on to study Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths at A level.’ 

Jemima Venturi, 16, was all set to take part in a cross channel relay to France with with five other Roedean pupils when the Covid pandemic scuppered their plans.

But the competitive swimmer, who also loves drama and musical theatre, aims to resurrect the ambitious feat.

‘It’s something we really still want to do. It was a pity the pandemic wrecked the plans but we’re definitely still aiming to do it. It’s a challenge we’re hoping to do next year.’

She achieved 11×9’s and is pleased with her results which will see her go on to study Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Drama next year. 

Born and brought up in Tel Aviv, Alma Samocha, 16 and her parents moved to Brighton. A keen singer, she has delighted staff and classmates at the school with renditions of traditional Israeli folk songs and also passed her Grade 8 in singing.

Alma, who achieved 12×9’s in her GCSEs, said: ‘I do love singing, it’s a passion of mine so I do want to continue with that. As well as traditional Israeli folk songs I like singing classical pieces by the great composers as well.

‘I also sang a song in Hebrew to the school on Holocaust Memorial Day which was special for me.’

She will go on to study English, Maths, Music and Latin at A level.

Roedean headmaster Oliver Blond paid tribute to his pupils’ ‘exceptional work ethic and focus’ after the Brighton independent school saw 40% of its Year 11s achieve strings of 8s and 9s.

This year’s GCSEs have been generated by teacher-assessed grades after the government cancelled formal exams due to the pandemic.

Mr Blond said: ‘Some 1,250 GCSEs were taken here at school and we are very proud that the students have done so well. There can be no doubt that they have succeeded under very difficult circumstances, particularly given that they were expecting to sit their examinations as normal until early January, when they were cancelled. 

‘They did not know the precise nature of how they were going to be assessed until March. Throughout, the students have shown themselves to be incredibly resilient and determined to succeed, and we are very proud of what they have achieved.’

He added: ‘Particular congratulations go to many students who have achieved unbroken strings of Grade 9s – ten were awarded a remarkable clutch of eleven or more Grade 9s. 

‘Furthermore, 21 students were awarded ten or more Grade 9s and 40% of the year group achieved Grade 9 or 8 in every one of their subjects, and this includes one who took 13 GCSEs in total. These achievements are simply outstanding, and a testament to the girls’ exceptional work-ethic and focus.

‘They have shown themselves to be very adaptable, and this has been particularly evident this year, when some students have had to learn in a hybrid online fashion for the majority of the year. 

‘Some have covered the material for the two-year GCSE in one year, and some have undertaken practical subjects remotely and sometimes without all of the necessary equipment. They thoroughly deserve their success.’

He added: ‘We are proud that very many of the girls have worked hard to maintain our holistic ethos, despite numerous restrictions, by playing sport, producing recorded performances on stage, taking virtual music and LAMDA exams and completing their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. 

‘It is precisely this commitment to a varied educational programme which created the environment in which the girls could excel academically.

Meanwhile, at Lewes Old Grammar School, despite suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Aidan Ashcroft, 16 from Lewes got 1×9, 4x8s, 1×7,1×6,1×5. He has suffered from the condition since 2019 so is delighted with his results.

He said: ‘My condition means anything I do, like get the train and go into town, can be a bit exhausting and it takes me ages to recover so managing to get these grades feels like a real achievement.

‘I’ve struggled to be in school all day every day so the school have been amazing and only asked me to come in for certain key lessons. They’ve really helped me work around it.’ 

Dylan Ford was over the moon this morning to discover he had achieved 7x9s, 2x8s and 1×7, despite the worry about catching Covid.

His father suffers from an immuno suppressive condition so he has had to be ultra careful about mixing with schoolmates during the pandemic.

He said: ‘I guess I have had to be more careful than many people but the school and my mates understood that and have been brilliant.

‘I also struggled with motivation during online learning when the whole pandemic started as I was in my room with loads of distractions but I managed to knuckle down in the end.’ 

Evie Bailey from Lewes Old Grammar got 2×9, 6×8, 2×7. She is adamant that teachers assessed her fairly and feels the grading system this year was the right system.

She said: ‘My teachers know me so well and know what I’m capable of. I also know they are scrupulously fair and would never give higher grades than people deserve. Everyone has had a chance to show their abilities in the 40 assessments we all had to do across our subjects and these grades are the outcome. You are looked at as an individual and not just a number on an exam paper so that’s got to a good thing.’ 

Shortly after securing their historic bronze, the Gadirova twins then went head-to-head, putting on an impressive display in the women’s all-round gymnastics despite falling short in their quests for another medal.

Despite a fall on the beam, Jessica scored 53.965 to eclipse the previous British best of 12th place by Becky Downie in Beijing in 2008. Her twin sister Jennifer finished 13th with a score of 53.533. 

The duo had arrived at their debut Olympics admitting they were in awe of stars like Simone Biles, but proceeded to underscore their tremendous potential in the Japanese capital.

Their performances were all the more impressive for the way in which they rebounded from their minor errors, with Jessica scoring a lowly 12.033 on beam, and Jennifer also mistiming an element of her routine on the uneven bars.

Jennifer said after the event: ‘I didn’t want to put any pressure on myself so I put it (my medal) to the back of my mind and just restarted and told myself it’s just another competition, and nothing has happened.

‘I do feel like I belong a bit more now, but I still feel a bit like, wow, I’m still competing with the best gymnasts in the world.’ 

Private school pupils get DOUBLE proportion of top grade GCSEs than academy peers after exams were axed – laying bare ‘unacceptable’ gap between rich and poor youngsters that risks ‘legacy of inequality’

The educational gap between rich and poor was laid bare today as 61 per cent of GCSE entries from private schools in England received one of the top three grades this year – compared to 28 per cent at academies.

Some 61.2 per cent of GCSE entries from private schools got a grade 7, 8 or 9 this year, compared with 57.2 per cent in 2020 and 46.6 per cent in 2019, according to analysis by exams regulator Ofqual.

Independent schools also saw the largest absolute rise in the top grades compared with other types of schools and colleges – up four percentage points in a year. 

Some 28.1 per cent of entries at academies got at least a grade 7 this year, a 2.2 percentage point increase from last year, when 25.9 per cent were awarded top grades. 

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the attainment gap between privileged and poorer children is ‘not acceptable’ and admitted the pandemic had ‘amplified those inequalities’, while former schools’ catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins told of a ‘huge risk’ that the ‘education legacy of Covid could be growing inequality’. 

Traditional A*-G grades were replaced with a 9-1 system amid reforms which happened in three stages between 2017 and 2019, with 9 now the highest. A 4 is roughly a C grade, and a 7 broadly equivalent to an A.  

It comes as the overall proportion of GCSE entries given top grades across England, Wales and Northern Ireland surged to an all-time high after exams were cancelled for the second year in a row due to Covid-19.

Hundreds of thousands of youngsters got results to help them progress to sixth form, college or training which were determined by teachers, with pupils only assessed on what they were taught in the pandemic.

Overall, 28.9 per cent of UK GCSE entries were awarded one of the three top grades this year, up by 2.7 percentage points on last year when 26.2 per cent achieved the top grades. In 2019, when exams were last held, only a fifth (20.8 per cent) of entries achieved at least a 7 – the equivalent of an A grade.

Girls have pulled further ahead than boys – with the gap between the two sexes achieving one of the top three grades having risen from eight percentage points in 2020 to nine percentage points this year.

According to figures from Ofqual, the number of 16-year-old students in England who entered seven or more GCSEs and received a 9 – the highest grade under the numerical grading system – in all subjects has risen.

Some 3,606 students in England received straight 9s, compared with 2,645 in 2020 and 837 in 2019.

More than three in four (77.1 per cent) of UK entries were awarded at least a 4 last year, which is up by 0.8 percentage points on last year when 76.3 per cent achieved the grades. 

In 2019, just over two in three (67.3 per cent) entries achieved at least a grade 4. The figures from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) also found 28.1 per cent of entries at academies achieved at least a grade 7 this year, a 2.2 percentage point increase from last year, when 25.9 per cent of entries were awarded top grades.

Last summer, the fiasco around grading led to thousands of A-level students having their results downgraded from school estimates by a controversial algorithm before Ofqual announced a U-turn.

The proportion of GCSE entries awarded top grades rose to a record high last year after grades were allowed to be based on teachers’ assessments, if they were higher than the moderated grades given, following the U-turn. 

This year, teachers in England submitted their decisions on pupils’ A-level and GCSE grades after drawing on a range of evidence, including mock exams, coursework and in-class assessments using questions by exam boards.

On Tuesday, the proportion of A-level entries awarded top grades reached a record high after exams were cancelled, with 44.8 per cent achieving an A or above. No algorithm was used this year to moderate grades.

Instead, schools and colleges in England were asked to provide samples of student work to exam boards, as well as evidence used to determine the grades for the students selected, as part of quality assurance checks.

Random and targeted sample checks of evidence were also carried out after grades were submitted.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: ‘These results show a small increase in top grades compared to last year, but a more pronounced difference in the distribution of grades compared to 2019, when public exams were last held.

‘It is important to emphasise that the system of teacher assessment under which these pupils have been assessed is different from public exams and is therefore not directly comparable.

‘The GCSE grades awarded to these young people are a fair and accurate reflection of their performance under the robust system used this year, which will allow them to progress to post-16 courses and apprenticeships in the normal way.’

Rekha Shell-Macleod, head of school at CORE Education Trust’s City Academy in Birmingham, said it has been ‘a difficult year’ for students and staff, but that pupils have ‘really risen to the challenge’.

Turning to the teacher-assessed grading system which this year replaced the normal system of exams, she said it was ‘a challenging process’.

‘Our results haven’t been inflated – they are broadly in line with what they were and have been in previous years as well, which is reassuring,’ she said.

‘It just goes to show that everything we have done has been completely robust and, most importantly, it’s about the students – making sure that they get the results they deserve and are able to move on to the next place in their learning.’

Dr Philip Wright, director-general of JCQ, said: ‘On behalf of JCQ and the exam boards, I would like to congratulate all students receiving their results today.

‘The impact of Covid has undoubtedly provided a difficult chapter in their education journey and their resilience is to be applauded. We wish them all the best as they take their next steps in life.’

He added: ‘Teachers used their professional judgment and submitted the grades and evidence in good time for us to check and award grades today. Their efforts will allow students to swiftly progress on to the next stages of their education or training.’ 

Speaking before the results were announced, Mr Barton said he was expecting pressure to be placed on admissions teams at sixth forms colleges and schools if grades were inflated this summer. 

Mr Barton warned that some young people could be ‘turned away’ from courses if centres cannot increase capacity due to limited space and staff.

He added: ‘I think what we’ll see admissions tutors doing on Thursday, and heads of sixth form, is doing their best to make sure that irrespective of grades a young person moves on to what they had wanted to do in terms of their course and the course best suited to them.

‘Because what we don’t want is young people euphoric that they got higher grades than they had hoped for on results day, and then three or four weeks into a new term feeling out of their depth on a course which actually isn’t the appropriate course for them.

‘I think there’ll be quite a lot of work going on behind the scenes, sometimes persuading young people and their parents to stick to what their course of action was.’

If more students achieve higher grades than anticipated – and they want to study A-levels rather than attend an further education (FE) college – it could cause logistical issues for sixth forms, he warned.

Mr Barton said: ‘That will leave some courses struggling to be able to run and some courses oversubscribed and definitely a need for further resources.

‘Or some young people just simply disappointed and turned away because there is no way you could increase capacity because of the accommodation and number of teachers you’ve got.’

Sixth-form colleges are calling for more funding from the Government to cope with another likely surge of pupils who will be able to meet entry requirements.

James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said: ‘Our members certainly saw an increase in the number of students that met the entry criteria last year, and we expect a similar increase this year.

‘The Government has provided some welcome additional capital funding to help sixth forms expand, but that was only for one year, so we would like to see that extended for the longer term in this year’s spending review.’

He added: ‘Additional in-year revenue funding to meet the anticipated surge in demand would also be very welcome, particularly as sixth forms are funded based on the number of students they recruited the previous year.’ 

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research (CEER) at the University of Buckingham, had already suggested more top grades could be awarded to GCSE pupils this year.

In a report, he had warned: ‘Plentiful top grades make pupils and parents happy, but they are less helpful for those using the grades for admission to the next stage of education or recruitment to employment.’

Meanwhile, Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, is concerned that poorer pupils without ‘sharp-elbowed parents’ could be disadvantaged by a ‘wild west’ post-16 admissions system.

He said: ‘I’m worried about those pupils who may have just missed out on GCSE grades, who will now see their options for a sixth-form place and the A-level subjects they can study limited.

‘Sixth-form admissions are the wild west of the education system, with every sixth form determining its own selection criteria.

‘Pupils will face a different fate depending on where they happen to be educated. These fine judgments at such a young age can have impacts that last a lifetime.

‘A particular concern for me are the prospects of poorer pupils who will not necessarily be backed up by sharp-elbowed parents fighting their corner.’ 

Students receiving GCSE results in England will get numerical grades of 1-9 for all their subjects as all courses have moved over to the new grading system.

Addressing concerns about possible grade inflation, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: ‘Grades have been arrived at in a completely unique way, so it would not be sensible to compare this year’s results with any other, and any talk of ‘grade inflation’ is unhelpful to students.’

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: ‘Students should feel proud of their achievements and will now be looking forward to taking their next steps.

‘I am also hugely grateful to teachers and school leaders for their hard work to ensure students get the grades they deserve and need to progress to the next stage of their lives.

‘There have never been so many great options available for young people, whether that’s going on to study A-levels, our pioneering T Levels, starting an apprenticeship or a traineeship.

‘Whatever option young people choose, they can do so with the confidence it will give them the skills and knowledge to get on in life.’

In Scotland, the national results for the National 5 qualifications were published on Tuesday, which showed that the rate of students receiving between an A and a C – known as the attainment rate – fell.

Students in Scotland have known their individual grades since the end of June.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said pupils receiving their GCSEs had been through an ‘exceptional year’ because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Gibb said: ‘This is an exceptional year, designed to make sure that despite the pandemic, despite the fact we had to cancel exams, because it wouldn’t have been fair for children, young people, to sit exams when they’ve had such different experiences of Covid – the different levels of self-isolation and so on – so a teacher-assessed system was the best alternative to make sure they can go on to the next phase of their education or careers.’

He said the Government wanted examinations to return next year, adding: ‘We’ve already announced the adjustments to the exams – we expect all young people to be taking exams in 2022 but we will be making adjustments to those exams to reflect the fact that this cohort will have had disruption to their education as well.

‘And the regulator Ofqual will be saying more about the grading standard that will be used for those exams in the autumn term.’

He said there will be a push to get back to pre-pandemic achievement levels in the ‘longer term’ following grade inflation during the pandemic.

Asked whether there would be changes to the grading system next year, Mr Gibb told Sky News: ‘No, what I said was we will be talking about what the grading standard will be for the 2022 exams.

‘We are also looking at, in the longer term… how to make sure we get back to the system we had before the pandemic broke where we had year-on-year no grade inflation.

‘We want to get back to that system in the longer run but we have to make sure that when we do that, that we are fair between different years, different cohorts – the ones who took their exams in 2020 and 2021, and the students who take their exams in the future.

‘It is fairness that lies at the heart of any decisions about grading.

‘These are very difficult decisions to make and we will be doing so in conjunction with the regulator, with the exam boards and indeed with teachers and parents and students up and down the country before we come to a firm decision. The issue about the grading system is for the longer term.’  

Meanwhile Mr Williamson was defended by Mr Gibb following calls for the Education Secretary to be sacked.

Sir Keir said Boris Johnson should fire Mr Williamson amid reports the Prime Minister is considering replacing him with equalities minister Kemi Badenoch at the next reshuffle.

Mr Gibb, asked on Sky News why Mr Williamson should keep his job, said: ‘Because he is a very effective Education Secretary.

‘I’ve worked with Gavin Williamson for the last two years and he is driven to make sure that no student will suffer long-term damage to their prospects as a consequence of the pandemic.

‘He is driven to continue the reform programme in our education system where we saw, up until Covid, that attainment gap close in primary school and in secondary school.

‘And he is driven to do more to make sure we continue to drive up standards in our education system so that background does not matter in terms of the opportunities available for young people.’

Mr Gibb also praised teachers for their efforts to ensure that teacher-assessed grades worked this year to deliver GCSE results, but said the system will not be used in the long term.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We should be congratulating those hundreds of thousands of young people getting their GCSE and other grades today, enabling them to go on to T-levels or A-levels or an apprenticeship.

‘They have worked hard in very challenging circumstances over the last 18 months.

‘And also to say thank you to the teachers who have administered the teacher-assessed grades system, with all the guidance they have received and the evidence they have needed to compile and send into the exam board, so thank you to those teachers for administering that difficult and challenging system this year.’

Asked whether the Government is ruling out using teacher-assessments for GCSEs in the long run, Mr Gibb replied: ‘Yes. We did have controlled assessment, teacher assessment in GCSEs prior to 2010 and they took up a vast amount of teaching time that should be better spent on teaching young people.

‘And, also, the regulator did not feel that they were a fair way of assessing young people’s achievements.’

Meanwhile Labour is calling on the Government to do more to address lost learning during the pandemic, with the party estimating that more than half a million Year 11 students receiving their GCSE results will leave secondary school without receiving catch-up support.

On a visit to a school in Swindon to meet students receiving their GCSE results, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to say the current plans to catch up on lost learning ‘risk holding back a generation of kids’.

Sir Kevan Collins, the former education catch-up commissioner, quit his role in June over the Government’s proposal of a £1.4 billion fund to help children recover missed lessons, describing it as ‘a bit feeble’ – he had proposed a £15 billion recovery package.

The Labour Party says that face-to-face teaching lost this year amounts to more than eight weeks per pupil, in addition to an average of 14 weeks last year, with some groups such as pupils on free school meals and those in the north of England being disproportionately affected.

Labour estimates 560,000 year 11 students are leaving secondary school this summer without catch-up support, and says that is set to rise to 1.9 million children by 2024.

The party is calling on the Government to match Labour’s children’s recovery plan, which it says would provide a £15 billion package, including small group tutoring, breakfast clubs, mental heath support, more professional development for teachers, and extra investment to support the pupils who struggled the most with lockdown learning.

On his visit to a school in Swindon, the Labour leader, Sir Keir, is expected to say: ‘These young people are excited for their futures and every one of them must be allowed to reach their potential.

‘Yet the Conservatives are failing to give children the support they need to catch up on lost learning. They risk holding back a generation of kids.

‘Labour’s Children’s Recovery Plan would give every child the support to learn, play and develop after this pandemic, delivering them a brighter future.

‘It’s time for the Conservatives to get behind Labour’s plan and match our ambition for children’s futures.’

Labour’s shadow education secretary, Kate Green, said the Government’s recovery plan for students is ‘inadequate’ and ‘will leave millions of children without any additional support, showing a shocking lack of ambition their future ambitions and life chances’.

A Government spokesperson said: ‘We have committed to an ambitious and long-term education recovery plan, including an investment to date of over £3 billion and a significant expansion of our tutoring programme, to support children and young people to make up for learning lost during the pandemic.’

Writing on Twitter, Sir Keir said pupils collecting their GCSE and BTEC results on Thursday should be proud after they faced learning in ‘exceptional circumstances’.

He tweeted: ‘Good luck to students receiving their GCSE and BTEC results today. Young people across our country are hugely talented and should be proud of all they’ve achieved in such exceptional circumstances. Thank you to their teachers and support staff who have worked so hard this year.’