Suffolk schools were celebrating their results yesterday, with one recording its highest grades in history and another the best results since non-Covid times.

National data suggested the proportion of pupils awarded the top grades had dropped slightly from 2023, but remained higher than pre-pandemic levels. 

Figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications showed more than a fifth (21.8%) of UK GCSE entries had been awarded a grade 7 or higher this year, down 0.2 percentage points on last year. 

This was still higher than the figure for 2019, before the pandemic interrupted schooling, when 20.8% got the top grades.

In England, exams regulator Ofqual said it expected this year's national results to be "broadly similar" to last summer, when grades were brought back in line with pre-pandemic levels.

Covid-19 saw an increase in top grades in both 2020 and 2021 when results were based on teacher assessments as exams were not taken. 

Several Suffolk schools announced impressive results and praised students and staff for their hard work. 

The Royal Hospital School in Holbrook, near Ipswich, announced its year 11 cohort had achieved the highest GCSE results in the school’s history with more than half of the exams taken (50.4%) receiving the highest possible grades of 9 to 7 and 97.1% of grades at 9 to 4.

Meanwhile, students at Sybil Andrews Academy in Bury St Edmunds were praised for achieving the school’s "best ever set of results in non-Covid times." 

There, grade 5 figures for English and maths increased by 10% to 50% while the grade 4 percentage for English and Maths increased by 9% to 71%.

Ipswich School's head Nick Gregory, who started at the school this week, has said he was "delighted" with the GCSE results achieved by this year's cohort.

He described them as "best-ever GCSE exam results" following record A-Level results the previous week.

Ofqual figures showed the attainment gap in GCSE results between private and state schools in England had widened at the top grades. 

Nearly half (48.4%) of private school entries scored a grade 7 and above compared to 19.4% of those at comprehensive schools.

This is a gap of 29 percentage points, and an increase on last year's gap of 28.2 percentage points.

The gap has narrowed slightly compared to 2019, when it was 29.3 percentage points.