Hundreds of thousands of students have picked up results for 5.7 million GCSE exams today.
But behind the numbers are stories of students balancing their revision with the Commonwealth Games – and even the UK’s oldest GCSE pupil.
GCSE results live: Pupils told lower grades ‘part of the plan’
Sky News spoke to some of those celebrating today.
The 92-year-old maths pupil
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Derek Skipper, 92, has become the oldest person in England to sit a GCSE exam, and achieved a 5 in maths – the highest mark available on his paper.
Mr Skipper, from Orwell, Cambridgeshire, told Sky News he had passed and was a “very happy little boy today”.
He admitted he was frightened of not passing his exam, quipping that “this interview would have been extremely short if I’d got a failure”.
Mr Skipper said that as well as discovering more about maths, he had also learned how to use Zoom, because it was all done at home.
Top grades after just three years in UK
Maya Hatata has lived in the UK for just three years but has received a majority of 9 and 8 grades in her GCSEs.
She said she sacrificed “sleep” and “family time” and there were “no excuses”.
The pupil at Crest Academy in northwest London added: “If you are determined and consistent… if you have a dream… nothing is going to stop you.”
Maya said that studying during the pandemic had made her GCSEs a test of discipline and resilience, and she will remember this moment for the rest of her life.
Deputy headteacher Theresa Ball, below, said she was “exceptionally proud of our students”, adding that the school is in “one of the most deprived areas of the UK”.
Balancing Commonwealth Games with revising
Jade Phiri, who represented Zambia at the Commonwealth Games, has achieved six grade 9s and three grade 8s at Millfield School in Somerset.
The 16-year-old, from Lusaka in Zambia, balanced her academic studies with a rigorous training schedule.
At the Games, she finished first in the women’s 50m butterfly heat, second in the women’s 50m freestyle heat and third in the heat for the mixed 4x100m medley relay.
Such a busy schedule has been a “major challenge”, she said.
“Knowing that I would be swimming in the Commonwealth Games just a month after my GCSEs, and making sure that I was still training to the best of my abilities, whilst balancing revising for my exams, was a major challenge,” she added.
Iraqi asylum seeker wants to ‘serve the UK’
Mohammed Aalshammary came to the UK from Iraq as an asylum seeker in December 2018 and started school with what he describes as “very basic” English.
Today he is very “proud” after receiving six 9 grades at GCSE – the highest mark available – plus one 8 and two 7s.
Mohammed, a pupil at Crest Academy in northwest London, told Sky News: “I’m very happy. I worked hard and didn’t waste time. I am proud of myself!”
He added: “My family moved from Iraq three years ago as it’s unstable.
“We came to the country seeking asylum. So my parents are extremely happy. I want to make my mum proud and that’s why I study hard.”
Student fought cancer and GCSE exams
Srimukhi Kalakonda, 16, known as Sri, of Brighton College, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and went on to achieve two 9s, four 8s and one 7, having spent the year receiving treatment during her studies.
Sri was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last summer, just two weeks after her father discovered he had cancer, before she underwent surgery in August 2021.
She said: “I am so happy! I really can’t believe it. It is better than anything I could have imagined.”
Chris Fowler, head of year, said: “Sri has been absolutely incredible this year. She’s the heart and soul of her year group, and has inspired friends and teachers with her determination and strength.
“We’re so proud of her – she absolutely deserves these results.”
