Hundreds of pupils and parents filled the school hall at Christ the King High School in Southport this morning as GCSE results were opened, with tears and hugs shared after the brown envelopes were ripped open.
At 9.02am the doors opened and students quickly signed in to collect their results. Sixteen-year-old Jude Owens was delighted with his grades, achieving five 9s, two 8s, and the rest 7s. Flanked by his mum, Sam, and dad, Andrew, the aspiring RAF pilot coolly shared his results while his parents beamed with pride.
Student Reactions and Achievements
Jude said: "I would say it's probably not [been too stressful]. I would say it's probably been pretty decent as far as things go. There was never really a time that I was like under a lot of stress, because I just made myself as calm as I could be and then, I think that's how I got all this."
Andrew said: "I couldn't be prouder of him. He's worked so hard to achieve this and he set out a goal, to be honest, I thought it was quite unrealistic. Not that I didn't think he'd achieve it, but to put the work in that he's put in, to dedicate himself for a full year and a half. It just shows that if you put the work in, it pays off." Jude said he was off to Pizza Express with his friends to celebrate their results this evening.
Another student, Monika Zemanek, moved to Southport from Poland just two years ago, having originally grown up in the Merseyside town. She moved to the country with her family when she was 10 years old before returning at the age of 14, starting her GCSEs as soon as she arrived back in the UK.
Headteacher's Pride and School Performance
The 16-year-old said: "I got a 5 in biology, a 6 in chemistry, an 8 in history, a 5 in maths, a 6 in physics, a 6 in RE, a 9 in Polish, an 8 in [English] language, a 7 in [English] literature, and a 7 in computer science. I joined in Year 10 after living in Poland for like four years so I had a lot of stuff to catch up on and I'm decently happy with the grades I got." She added: "I lived in Southport for most of my life before I moved away for a bit. Coming back, it was a bit stressful, obviously I didn't have that many friends here when I joined, but I've become friends with most of the year group. It was amazing and I think, even joining in Year 10, it was fine because I got to focus on the subjects that I picked."
Headteacher Erin Wheeler said: "It's pretty unbelievable, really, if that's the word I could use to describe it. It's been a really, really exciting few years, and we've actually got some big, exciting news that we're going to launch in September about the school as well, and we became 60 years old this year, and we had numerous celebrations. But it's on days like today, when you look round the room, and you feel the excitement in the room. You feel the pride from parents and I stand back and say, 'This is what the job's all about.' There's so many hard times in this job, and when you come into a room like this, and see our pupils crying, see the parents crying, and them jumping up and down and hugging each other because of their fantastic results, it really does make me emotional."
National Context and Future Plans
A spokesperson for the school said: "Almost a quarter of the grades achieved by pupils were at 7+ and we have seen a significant increase in the number of grade 9s achieved in comparison to last year. Another great success is the overall attainment 8 score has once again improved, and we are extremely pleased to announce the increase in the number of grades 7-9 achieved in Maths and English. Standout subjects include separate sciences, Computer science, History, Geography, Media and Art."
Monika will attend Runshaw College in Lancashire in September as she pursues a career in computer science. Nationally, more than a fifth (22.0%) of UK entries were awarded the top grades – at least a 7 or an A grade – this year, up by 0.1 percentage points on last year, when 21.9% achieved the top grades. This was higher than in 2019, the last year before the pandemic, when 20.8% of entries achieved the top grades. The figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), cover GCSE entries from students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The proportion of entries getting at least a 4 or a C grade – considered a "standard pass" – has fallen from 67.4% in 2025 to 67.3% this year – a drop of 0.1 percentage points, and the same as in 2019.
