Press Release
Date: Thursday 16 August 2007 (NR/19/07)
Steady improvement driven by mathematics, languages and sciences
Northern Ireland ’s awarding body, the Council for the Curriculum. Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has released figures for the performance of Northern Ireland students in this summer’s GCE examinations.
The headline information is:
- The percentage of entries gaining an A grade has risen by 0.8% to 33.2%
- This improvement has been driven by excellent performances in mathematics, languages and sciences
- For the second year running there has been a slight decrease in A level entries – dropping to 30,815
- Girls have maintained the performance gap over boys
- Once again Northern Ireland students have outperformed their counterparts in England and Wales
Commenting on the figures CCEA Chief Executive Neil Anderson said:
Having had a close look at the detail of the results it is clear that the steady improvements we’re seeing across the grades has once again been driven by exceptional performances in subjects such as mathematics, languages and sciences. Well done to all the young people receiving results this morning. I hope your hard work and application has been rewarded.
I would also like to recognise the work of CCEA’s many examiners and markers. Together it has been our job to ensure standards have been maintained and appropriately rewarded, and I firmly believe they have.
This year’s 0.8% rise in entries gaining the grade A was the smallest increase in Northern Ireland for more than ten years. However Northern Ireland performance remains well ahead of the rest with 33.2% of entries gaining a grade A as set against the equivalent national figure of 25.3%. The overall A-E pass rate in Northern Ireland is 98.0% compared to 96.9% nationally.
Class acts – CCEA Chief Executive, Neil Anderson
(centre back) joins Principal of Ballyclare
Secondary School, Uel McCrea to congratulate
students receiving their GCE results. The
students are from left to right: Thomas Taylor;
Chris Hopkins; David Caldwell; Laura McAlpine;
and Andrea Parks.
Girls have maintained the gap over boys at GCE A level, performing better in the great majority of subjects. At Grade A girls outperform boys by 3.9 % (34.9 % female, 31.0% male), while across the A – E grade range the gap is narrower with girls outperforming boys by 0.6 % (98.2 % female, 97.6 % male).
The good news for Northern Ireland boys is that at the top grades they outperform girls and boys in England and Wales .
This summer saw Northern Ireland A level entries drop slightly by 1.4% to 30,815. This compares to an overall national entry of 805,657.
The five most popular subjects for Northern Ireland students were: Biology, English, Mathematics, History and Religious Studies. Notable among those with rising entries were Mathematics, PE, ICT, Religious Studies and Physics.
Students or parents with concerns over GCE results should contact
By telephone
Tel No. (028) 9026 1260
By website
Search for answers from the Frequently Asked Questions section.
By e-mail
Northern Ireland GCSE results statistics will be made available on Thursday 23 August 2007 .
Detailed tabulations for Northern Ireland GCE results are being sent along with this news release.
GCE A Level results at a glance 2007 ( 2006 figures in brackets )
Please note the figures below are provisional and subject to enquiry and appeal
| 2007 | NI ONLY | NATIONALLY |
|---|---|---|
| ENTRIES | 30, 815 (31, 237) | 805,657 (805, 698) |
| % A | 33.2 (32.4) | 25.3 (24.1) |
| % A - B | 62.8 (61.0) | 49.7 (48.1) |
| % A - C | 83.8 (82.4) | 72.8 (71.3) |
| % A -D | 93.9 (93.3) | 88.8 (87.9) |
| % A - E | 98. 0 (97.7) | 96.9 (96.6) |
Top five most popular A Level Subjects in N Ireland
| OVERALL | MALES | FEMALES | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biology (10.5%) | Mathematics (10.1%) | Biology (11.2%) |
| 2 | English (8.7%) | Biology (9.6%) | English (10.9%) |
| 3 | Mathematics (8.2%) | History (9.4%) | Religious Studies (9.0%) |
| 4 | History (7.9%) | Geography (7.2%) | History (6.7%) |
| 5 | Religious Studies (7.0%) | Physics (6.7%) | Mathematics (6.7%) |
GCE AS Level Results at a glance 2007 (2006 figures in brackets)
| 2006 | NI ONLY | NATIONALLY |
|---|---|---|
| ENTRIES | 38,886 (38,099) | 1,114,424 (1,086,634) |
| % A | 32.8 (32.6) | 18.5 (18.4) |
| % A - B | 57.6 (57.2) | 37.2 (36.9) |
| % A -C | 77.2 (76.7) | 57.6 (57.3) |
| % A - D | 89.0 (88.4) | 75.2 (74.8) |
| % A - E | 95.1 (94.7) | 87.8 (87.5) |
The five most popular AS subjects in Northern Ireland:
| OVERALL | MALES | FEMALES | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biology (11.0%) | Biology (10.0%) | Biology (11.7%) |
| 2 | English (8.1%) | Mathematics (9.7%) | English (9.9%) |
| 3 | Mathematics (8.0%) | History (8.3%) | Religious Studies (7.6%) |
| 4 | History (7.5%) | Physics (8.2%) | History (6.9%) |
| 5 | Chemistry (6.9%) | Chemistry (7.2%) | Mathematics (6.8%) |
Media enquiries to Frances Logue on (028) 9026 1298, Mobile 07747 560516. E mail flogue@ccea.org.uk
ENDS
Note to Editors
CCEA is the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.
CCEA places learners and those who have a concern for their educational and personal development at the forefront of its thinking. CCEA's mission is:
"To enable the full potential of all learners to be achieved and recognised"
What we do
CCEA is a unique educational body in the UK , bringing together the three areas of curriculum, examinations and assessment.
Advising Government – on what should be taught in Northern Ireland ’s schools and colleges.
Monitoring Standards – ensuring that the qualifications and examinations offered by awarding bodies in Northern Ireland are of an appropriate quality and standard.
Awarding Qualifications
– as Northern Ireland’s leading awarding body we offer a diverse range of qualifications, such as GCSEs, including the new GCSE Double Award specifications in vocational subjects, GCE A and AS levels, Entry Level Qualifications, and Graded Objectives in Modern Languages.
- CCEA also offers a range of Awards and Certificates in Education, Training and Skills (ACETS) targeted at learners who want to get
the knowledge, understanding and skills needed
to hit the ground running in the world of work.
