We Are Tyrone

A-levels

  • Dungannon students bid fond farewell to school life

    Dungannon students bid fond farewell to school life

    Year 14 pupils from St Patrick’s Academy in Dungannon marked their final full day at school with a special Leavers’ Mass last Thursday.

    The celebrations for the students, who are about to sit their A-Levels, also included a complimentary lunch and concluded with refreshments, bringing together students, parents and staff.

    Paying tribute to all those whose journey at the school was coming to an end, principal, Colin Holmes, said, “We wish them happiness in their future endeavours and every success in their forthcoming exams. We would like to thank them for their hard work, dedication, and commitment to our school.

    “They have been a wonderful cohort to work with.”

    Head Boy, Christo Thomas, and Head Girl, Maria Donaghy, looked back on their seven years at the school.

    Maria said, “Being Head Girl has inspired me, given me confidence and helped me to understand the true definition of leadership. Responsibility, teamwork, and dedication are the key to success in life.”

    Christo added, “Throughout my years at the Academy, I have really come to find myself, as well as many people that I will consider friends for life. I will treasure these memories for life.”

    Other students also shared fond memories of their time at the Academy.

    Conall McGee said, “The past seven years have been the most memorable and important years in my life. The lessons that I have learnt will stay with me forever. I wouldn’t change a single moment. I’m grateful for the teachers who challenged me, the friends who supported me and the opportunities that shaped me.”

    Niall Sheeran said, “Seven years of school, a journey that began with nerves and ended with joy. A journey with highs and lows and one that taught us to the value of hard work, perseverance and resilience. It filled our hearts with memories and our minds with knowledge. We can look back with pride and look forward with hope knowing that everything we learned will serve us well in the years to come.”

    Beth Jones said, “I don’t think I could have gotten through the past seven years without playing sport. It helped me clear my mind and enabled me to spend time with friends inside and outside the classroom. Building connections with the coaches and teammates was so beneficial.”

  • Pupils urged not to panic over A-Levels results

    Pupils urged not to panic over A-Levels results

    DEPENDING on the house you were in this morning (Thursday), you may have heard shrieks of relief or sobs of bitter disappointment, as, across the county, thousands of A-Level students tore open their exam results.

    For many successful students, all the insomnia-inducing anticipation of last night will have evaporated without a trace the second they glanced upon this morning’s page.

    For others, however, all their worst fears will have been realised after extracting their results from the envelope.

    But the majority, hopefully, understand that, in spite of the all the purported significance of these exams, their life still lays wide open before them.

    The UlsterHerald spoke to a few local principals who gave us their outlook on the results.

    First, we heard from James Warnock, principal at Dean Maguic College, Carrickmore.

    “I wish the students the very best on receiving their results this morning,” said Mr Warnock.

    “It is a very anxious time for all concerned, and, indeed, this cohort of students have had a very challenging time in getting to this stage of their education, when one considers the impact of Covid-19 on school life since March 2020.

    “Today will have seen many of these students achieve their full potential, and get the grades necessary for their preferred choice of course at third level education. Yes, there may be some disappointment, but advice and help is always available within the school setting.”

    We then heard from Ruth Maxwell, principal of Omagh Academy.

    “Firstly, congratulations to everyone who got their results this morning,” began Ms Maxwell.

    “This cohort have shown great resilience and tenacity to get to this stage and deserve full credit for that alone.

    “Whatever you got his morning, speak with your parents and teachers, explore all your options, and, hopefully, you can make the best decision for you.”

    Ms Maxwell then took the opportunity to put these exam results into perspective.

    “But this is only the beginning of a life of learning. If you make a decision that turns out to have been wrong for you, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from changing your mind down the line.

    “This is the start of a bright future.”

  • Students left frustrated over A-levels results

    Students left frustrated over A-levels results

    ANGER and frustration mounted in schools across Tyrone today as many students were left disappointed after receiving their A level results.

    Many pupils will not have received the A Level grades they had expected this morning as the teachers’ predicted grades have not been upheld by the NI examinations body, CCEA.

    This year’s results were estimated after exams were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but there has been a big discrepancy with the grades teachers submitted for the students and those they have been awarded. 

    A-level grades were based on previous AS results, resit data and teachers’ predicted grades for their students.

    Principal of Omagh High School Mr Gaitatzis said it has been a difficult day for some of his students.

    He explained, “The predicted grades were well ignored and a significant number of our grades were downgraded – not just by one grade but in some cases by two grades.

    “The awarding body has used a statistical model which took into account the ranking that was given to the grade rather than the grade itself.

    “This has been deterimental to the students and I am very disappointed with the whole process.

    “The students are upset and they feel their future has been taken away from them.

    “I have tried to put things into perspective for them because there will be more oppurtunities in life but they are disappointed because they know what they deserve,” said Mr Gaitatzis.

    The chief executive of examination body CCEA told the BBC if teacher judgement had been used on its own, results would have risen “considerably”.

    Justin Edwards said often teachers “over-predict” or are “over confident” when it comes to predicting the lower C-E grades in particular.

     

     

  • Students prepare to receive A level results

    Students prepare to receive A level results

    A-LEVEL results day will be an extremely different experience for the leavers class of 2020 thanks to the ongoing Covid19 outbreak.

    Today (Thursday), thousands of Tyrone students will receive their A-level results after their final year in secondary school was thrown into turmoil after school doors closed in March.

    With the removal of exams and the decision to give students predicted grades, it has been a stressful and emotive time for those awaiting exam results.

    It will be far from the typical results day as majority of schools throughout the county have advised pupils to receive their results online unless they have results to collect that are not issued online.

    Acknowledging the special circumstances surrounding this year’s exams, a group of career teachers from nine different schools have come together to form Omagh Learning Community Heads of Careers and are advising students not to panic about their results.

    Applied for University?

    You can access your CCEA results at 8am using your PIN Number your UCAS Track will also update at that time. 

    Have your CCEA PIN handy to check results online and your UCAS personal ID number (UCAS and universities won’t talk to you without it).

    Try not to panic if your decision is pending on UCAS, it may be because they are waiting on a result or you have missed your offer by a grade, so they have not made a decision yet.

    If you are interested in a course in clearing,  you can check on university websites and contact the university directly.

    Unconditional offer

    Unconditional offers can be exciting to receive, but try not to get carried away.

    Do not rush into accepting unconditional offers already given prior to results. Consider that if you do not have the grades usually required for the course, you may have difficulty meeting the challenges of the course.

    Before you decline any unconditional offer from a university, please seek advice from your careers teacher before you press the button! QUB and UU have enquiry forms online for you to ask about transferring your offer. They have also planned to increase their online and telephony capacity. They will not be holding their usual information events in campus but they will be available online.

    Clearing

    Clearing is the process by which universities make available their unfilled courses.

    If you are not holding any offers in UCAS, you can enter clearing. Use the clearing search tool on UCAS to see what courses are available.

    Talk to the universities offering courses in which you are interested and when they give you permission, add the choice to your UCAS application. There will still be entry requirements to meet for these courses, so make sure you read those carefully. Now is also the time to carefully consider the clearing courses and to ask yourself if this is a genuine choice, as you will be paying back the fees.

    Applied for SWC?

    If you have already made an application, you can upload your results to the SWC application portal.

    If you need assistance, call into the college where they will help you to upload them. Check first before going in person to the college, they may have procedures in place that you will need to follow. Check your emails, they may have emailed you already with arrangements and what to do on results day.

    Have a look at the courses available and make a list of the courses that you would be interested in. Get in touch with the college by telephone/email and have your GCSE and A Level results to hand.

    Apprenticeship?

    Get in touch with your employer and confirm your start date and arrangements to begin your apprenticeship.

    Given the current situation, there may be fewer apprenticeships available in some areas, however, it could be worth exploring areas such as health and social care, technology and telecommunications, business, research and administration professionals.

    CAO applications

    The first round of offers for CAO applicants will be released on 11th September 2020.

    This is because the Irish Leaving Cert results have been delayed to 7th September. This is not ideal, especially if you are considering an institute in the Republic of Ireland, as your first choice of university. UCAS and CAO are two separate systems and you can hold offers on both systems. Please seek advice from your careers teacher if you are in this situation.

    There are implications for your student finance arrangements if you go ahead and register with a University through UCAS, but then change your mind and want to accept your offer through CAO. Be careful making your decision, as you may be liable for fees if you have registered with a university and then later withdraw from the course.

    It is important that you don’t despair if the results are not what you expected.

    This is a year which may be unlike any other, in the fact that you did not get to sit your examinations, but you have worked hard and earned your results. Very little has changed in terms of the processes of application and registration.

    • Discuss your options and investigate alternative pathways, you might surprise yourself!

    • Don’t make any decisions without thinking it through. You have 5 days to reply to unconditional offers and this will give you time to weigh up the pros and cons.

    • Be prepared to wait. If you place a query with a university, it is unlikely they will reply immediately. You will need to be patient, but also you will need to be ready to keep seeking updates and getting in regular contact.

    USEFUL CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBERS AND WEBSITES

    UCAS HELPLINE SERVICE  www.ucas.com 0371 468 0 468                 

    UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER               www.ulster.ac.uk 028 7028 7028                                                                                                           

    QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY, BELFAST   www.qub.ac.uk 028 9097 3838                                                                      

    STRANMILLIS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE  www.stran.ac.uk  028 9038 4263

    ST MARY’S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE www.smucb.ac.uk 028 90268320

    CAFRE www.cafre.ac.uk 0800 0284291

    SOUTH WEST COLLEGE www.swc.ac.uk 0845 603 188

    CAREERS SERVICE NI www.nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/careers

    APPRENTICESHIPS www.nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/apprenticeships

    HIGHER LEVEL APPRENTICESHIPS www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/higher-level-apprenticeships