Kate Ferdinand and Kerry Katona led the list of celebrity parents who showed their support for their children on GCSE results day on Thursday.
Hundreds of thousands of teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have opened their GCSE exam results in a year when grades were due to be reset to 2019 levels across all three nations.
And on Instagram, Kate shared a photo of the envelope containing her stepson Tate’s results and gushed that she is “super proud” of him.
Meanwhile, Kerry excitedly shared the moment her daughter Heidi found out her grades and said she couldn’t be more proud of her little girl.
This comes after Kirstie Allsopp and Jamie Oliver shared inspiring messages of hope and support ahead of GCSE results day on Thursday.
Kate Ferdinand and Kerry Katona led the list of celebrity parents who showed their support for their children on GCSE results day on Thursday
Kerry excitedly shared the moment her daughter Heidi found out her grades and said she couldn’t be more proud of her little girl.
In an interview with X, formerly known as Twitter, on the big day, Kirstie noted that a parent’s reaction will make a huge difference to their child as she spoke about the importance of containing their emotions.
The presenter, 59, tweeted: “These aren’t our exam results, they’re theirs, so please wait for your child’s reaction to their GCSE results before jumping up and down happy or sad, how we react will matter and could make a difference, but the rest of their life isn’t defined by these grades, this too shall pass.”
While Kirstie, who recently came under fire for allowing her 15-year-old son to travel around Europe on Interrail for three weeks, received mostly positive responses, there was one follower who criticised her for “preaching” to people.
Kirstie Allsopp and Jamie Oliver have shared inspiring messages of hope and support ahead of GCSE results day on Thursday.
Jamie Oliver shared an inspiring message about not letting results “define you” as he opened up about his struggles with dyslexia growing up.
They wrote: “Please stop preaching what people should do. You are elitists out of touch with reality, trapped in a privileged bubble and know nothing about the real world. Honestly, everyone.”
The star was clearly unimpressed by the criticism and responded: “Fuck you.”
Meanwhile, Jamie Oliver shared an inspiring message about not letting results “define you” as he opened up about his struggles with dyslexia growing up.
The chef, 49, was diagnosed with dyslexia in primary school and has previously been candid about his experience with the condition.
Jamie wrote: “Best of luck to everyone receiving their GCSE results today… I hope you get the grades you want. And if not, trust me when I say it’s not the end of the world and it doesn’t have to define you either.”
“I learned this firsthand being dyslexic and that’s why my Billy children’s books hold such a special place in my heart. What it means is that maybe you need to find a different way to get to where you want to be… and you know how fun it is to be unconventional!
“Intelligence comes in many forms and I (and Billy!) have complete faith that the rest of the world will see your brilliance as I do xx x.”
Dyslexia is a learning disability that primarily affects the accurate and fluent reading and spelling of words. It affects people of all intelligence levels and can result in poor or inconsistent spelling and writing.
In an interview with X, formerly known as Twitter, on the big day, Kirstie noted that parents’ reactions will make a huge difference to their children as she spoke about the importance of containing their emotions.
The presenter, 59, tweeted: ‘These aren’t our exam results, they’re yours, so wait for your child’s reaction to their GCSE results before jumping happy or sad.’
While Kirstie, who recently came under fire for allowing her 15-year-old son to Interrail around Europe for three weeks, received mostly positive responses, there was one follower who criticised her for “preaching” to people.
Along with his kind words, Jamie posted a photo of himself posing in a promotional photo for his books.
The proportion of GCSE entrants achieving top grades has fallen for a third year running but is higher than before the pandemic, national figures show, as the final cohort of the Covid generation receive their results.
More than a fifth (21.8 per cent) of UK GCSE entrants achieved the highest grades (at least a 7 or an A) this year, down 0.2 percentage points on last year.
This figure is higher than the corresponding figure for 2019 (before the pandemic interrupted schooling), which was 20.8 percent. Most of the students receiving the results today were in seventh grade at the start of the pandemic.
This summer’s exams saw a record number of GCSE grades awarded, up 4.8 per cent on 2023, or more than 6.1 million, compared with a 4.6 per cent rise in the number of 16-year-olds.
More than 372,000 Technical Vocational Qualifications, or VTQs, were also awarded, bringing the total number of results to more than 6.5 million.
Jamie wrote: “Best of luck to everyone receiving their GCSE results today… I hope you get the grades you want. And if not, trust me when I say it’s not the end of the world and it doesn’t have to define you either.”
The chef, 49, was diagnosed with dyslexia in primary school and has previously been candid about his experience with the condition.
The increase was driven in part by an increase in the number of students aged 17 and over taking exams, particularly in mathematics and English.
The figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), cover GCSE entries by students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The proportion of applicants who achieve at least a grade of 4 or C (considered a “standard pass”) has fallen from 68.2 percent in 2023 to 67.6 percent this year (a drop of 0.6 percentage points, but higher than the 67.3 percent in 2019).
This summer’s exams saw a record number of GCSE grades awarded, up 4.8 per cent on 2023, or more than 6.1 million, compared with a 4.6 per cent rise in the number of 16-year-olds.
The overall rate for grades 1/G or higher is 97.9 percent, down from 98.0 percent in 2023 and 98.3 percent in 2019.
In England, exam regulator Ofqual said it expected national results this year to be “broadly similar” to last summer, when grades returned to pre-pandemic levels.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, exam regulators had aimed to return to pre-pandemic grading this summer, a year later than in England.