The Local GCSE results - are they getting easier?

It's been a hectic day for local teenagers. The GCSEs are undoubtedly with most stressful time of a young adults' life (until they get to do it all over again when it comes to A-levels, how lovely). The results were in today and it looks like the locals have fared pretty well.

How well? Alas the Greenwich schools are being rather coy at the moment (hopefully more from them soon). But, here are a few impressive results from the surrounding areas:

UPDATE: Some more local results in today:

Thomas Tallis School in Blackheath have had a 99% pass rate. The best in the school's history. 72% achieved five grade C or higher. A huge contrast with Bluecoat School in Blackheath. Just 40.3 of puils had five A-C grades. But the real star of the area is Blackheath High School. 100% of their pupils achieved 5 A*-C grades. Wowsers.

Eltham College had a 99% pass rate, as did Darrick Wood in Orpington.

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100% of pupils at Wilmington School for girls achieved an overall pass rate of five GCSES at A*-C. So did Dartford Grammar School.

Two pupils in St Nicholas Lane in Chislehurst received 10 A* grades. A staggering SEVEN girls at Bromley High School achieved 10 A* grades. Not between them, each. Clever lasses.

So how does this translate to national figures? Girls are pulling ahead of the boys (isn't that always the case?). 25.5% of the exams taken by girls we awarded with an A-A* grade according to the Telegraph, compared to just 19.6% of boys.

Girls are doing better in coursework, which is why there's been such a huge gap between the two, apparently. But a quarter of grades are now graded with an A. So if that's the case, maybe they're getting easier.

I'm not sure that's ever a fair assumption, although it's one that's going to come into question this week as it does every year. We're lucky these days that kids have access to amazing resources and information. The internet was barely used when I was doing my exams. I don't for a second believe that the questions are getting easier. Cast your mind back to when you were a kid. How scary were the exams then? Saying that they're easier than they were when I took them (11 years ago) is belittling the exhausted and stressful process that thousands of kids go through each year. Let's not take away from what they've achieved. They've been under enough pressure as it is.

I'll update with more information from local schools as and when it comes in. But we should be impressed with these kids. I certainly am.

Flickr image from dcJohn's photostream.