Press Release
Date: Tuesday 24 August 2010 (NR/12/10)
Northern Ireland GCSE Results 2010
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) publishes Northern Ireland GCSE examination performance figures on behalf of all the awarding bodies operating in Northern Ireland.
The 2010 highlights are:
- ‘Increase in achievement from A* - C by 1.2%’
- Sustained popularity of GCSE STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Subjects
- The figures show that the percentage of entries gaining grades A* - C have increased by 1.2 percent to 76.3%. Entries achieving Grades A*-A show a 0.4 percent increase to 27.5% of all grades awarded in Northern Ireland, however achievement at the top A* grade has dipped slightly by 0.2% to 8.9%.
- In Northern Ireland there were 183,899 grades published for GCSE this year which represents a small decline of 0.5 percent in overall entries. The overall decline in entry throughout England, Wales and NI was 1.7 percent.
- The most popular GCSEs in Northern Ireland are the core subjects of Mathematics, English, and Science Double Award. Religious Studies, English Literature, History, Geography, ICT and French remain popular choices attracting more than 6000 entries each.
- Girls achievement has increased by 1.5% at A*-C and boys achievement has increased by 0.8%.
STEM Subjects
Overall entries for STEM Subjects have remained steady with increases in Mathematics (0.9%) and ICT (3.3%). There were also rises in entry for Biology and Physics with Biology increasing by 2.8% to 4265 and Physics by 1.9% to 2915. Chemistry has seen a 4.2% decrease to 2830 entries. Although experiencing a 1.3% decline in 2010, Double Award Science remains the most popular Science choice with almost 15,000 entries.
Modern Languages
In Modern Languages there has been a fluctuation in entries. Spanish (+1.8%) and German (+2.2%) have seen slight rises in entry. Irish has remained relatively constant with 2161 candidates in total. Overall, there has been a decline of 3.7 percent mainly attributable to French (-6.9%). However, it remains the most popular language choice with 7243 entries.
Applied Subjects
Entries for Applied Subjects remain steady at 7.5 percent of the overall entry. In Applied Single Award GCSEs the results have improved at A*-C from 70.2% to 75.0% of the total entry. In Applied Double Award there has been a 1.3% decline in achievement from A*A* to CC.
GCSE Short Course
The Short Course entries have increased by 453 or 6.8% per cent (from 6678 to 7131). ICT and Religious Studies are the most popular choices comprising 96% of the total entry. The Short Course results show an improvement in achievement of 1.7% at A*-C.
Revised GCSEs
2009/10 has also seen the successful introduction of revised GCSE specifications with approximately 50,000 entries from year 11 students. Their achievements in these units will contribute to their overall GCSE grades in 2011.
Congratulating students on this year’s results CCEA’s Director of Qualifications, Anne Marie Duffy said:
This is a day of celebration for students in Northern Ireland and they can be proud of what they have achieved. The results are a testament to their hard work and dedication and to the commitment of carers, parents, and teachers who support them.
This has also been the first year of unitised GCSEs which were introduced to increase flexibility for teachers and students and lay the foundations for the assessment structures that are available post 16. We have seen a number of students complete GCSE units in year 11 which will contribute to their overall GCSE grades next year.
Helpline
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
Additional Information
GCSE Full Course - Headline performance figures 2010 (2009 figures in brackets)
| 2010 prov | Overall | |
|---|---|---|
| NI | England, Wales and NI | |
| %A* | 8.9 (9.1) | 7.5 (7.1) |
| %A* - A | 27.5 (27.1) | 22.6 (21.6) |
| %A* - C | 76.3 (75.1) | 69.1 (67.1) |
| %A* - G | 98.7 (98.6) | 98.7 (98.6) |
| Entries | 183,899 (184,748) | 5,374,490 (5,469,260) |
GCSE Full Course - Results broken down by gender
| 2010 prov | Boys | Girls | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NI | England, Wales & NI | NI | England, Wales & NI | |
| %A* | 6.9 (7.2) | 6.3 (6.0) | 10.8 (10.8) | 8.6 (8.2) |
| %A* - A | 23.4 (23.6) | 19.5 (18.7) | 31.3 (30.5) | 25.5 (24.4) |
| %A* - C | 73.1 (72.3) | 65.4 (63.6) | 79.3 (77.8) | 72.6 (70.5) |
| %A* - G | 98.5 (98.3) | 98.5 (98.3) | 99.0 (98.9) | 99.0 (98.8) |
GCSE Applied Courses Results 2010
Single Award
| 2010 prov | Overall | |
|---|---|---|
| NI | England, Wales & NI | |
| %A* | 4.0 (3.1) | 3.4 (3.2) |
| %A* - A | 24.0 (20.5) | 19.3 (16.8) |
| %A* - C | 75.0 (70.2) | 72.0 (65.6) |
| %A* - G | 98.5 (98.0) | 98.8 (98.0) |
| Entries | 11,369 (11,299) | 18,663 (20,950) |
GCSE Applied Courses Results 2010
Double Award
| 2010 prov | Overall | |
|---|---|---|
| NI | England, Wales & NI | |
| %A*A* | 2.0 (2.1) | 1.6 (1.3) |
| %A*A* - AA | 13.5 (11.4) | 8.9 (7.3) |
| %A*A* - CC | 65.9 (67.2) | 53.3 (49.2) |
| %A*A* - GG | 96.9 (97.0) | 97.4 (96.8) |
| Entries | 1254 (1,284) | 76,319 (96,117) |
GCSE Short Course Results 2010
| 2010 prov | Overall | |
|---|---|---|
| NI | England, Wales & NI | |
| %A* | 10.4 (11.4) | 4.8 (4.9) |
| %A* - A | 26.6 (26.7) | 15.9 (15.9) |
| %A* - C | 67.4 (65.7) | 54.5 (54.2) |
| %A* - G | 92.7 (90.7) | 96.4 (96.6) |
The five most popular subjects at GCSE are
| 2010 | Overall | Boys | Girls | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NI | UK | NI | UK | NI | UK | |
| 1 | Mathematics (14.7%) | Mathematics (14.2%) | Mathematics (14.6%) | Mathematics (14.3%) | Mathematics (14.7%) | Mathematics (14.1%) |
| 2 | English (13.3%) | English (13.1%) | English (13.5%) | English (13.5%) | English (13.1%) | English (12.7%) |
| 3 | Science DA (8.2%) | English Literature (9.6%) | Science DA (7.6%) | English Literature (9.2%) | Science DA (8.7%) | English Literature (9.9%) |
| 4 | Religious Studies (6.4%) | Science (8.4%) | Religious Studies (6.1%) | Science (8.4%) | Religious Studies (6.7%) | Science (8.3%) |
| 5 | English Literature (6.1%) | Additional Science (6.6%) | English Literature (5.4%) | Additional Science (6.5%) | English Literature (6.8%) | Additional Science (6.6%) |
Media enquiries to Ruth Maguire on (028) 9026 1216, Mobile 07796947993. E mail rhmaguire@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.
