Healing School GCSE Exam Results 2009
It’s exam results time which means the teenage yoofs of Grimsby will be out of bed before 3pm 
Healing School, that centre learning and advanced thinking, is the one local to me and at 9am this morning pupils can go and collect their results.
When I say 9am I mean 9am for some - it’s 8.30 for a select group of others . . .
Why would that be ?
My spies on the ground tell me that the local organ, The Grimsby Telegraph ( formerly Grimsby Evening Telegraph ) will be at the school for a photo op’ at 8.30.
Surely after 9 would better - that’s when all the students will be there and you can get your tired clichéd old shots . . .
It seems there will be some there though - by special invitation - personally telephoned no less to get their results half an hour before the others.
Now, I’m nothing if not an old cynic . . .
Please tell me that this will be a random cross-section of students
Please tell me that teachers were not in school on Wednesday going through the results
Please tell me that they haven’t just picked the ones with the best results
I’ve heard plenty of anecdotal evidence on how the school do their utmost to make sure they get the best possible results to send into the government - nothing’s too much trouble when it comes to performance figures - sorry I mean the pupils education.
So if you go to Healing School and were hoping for a fistful of A*s and you were still in bed at 8.30 this morning perhaps you’ve already got a clue as to how you got on.
I won’t rant about the education system as I’m already on record as saying that pupils get in the way of running a school like Healing efficiently. Nobody seems to actually care that the student is a person being prepared for the rest of their lives . . they have become nothing more that a statistic on a chart.
We’ve never spent so much on education and never done so poorly !
Oh you’ll see record GCSE passes this year but the only league tables we climb are those devised in this country - compared to the rest of the world we continue to slide back - check out the soberly titled Monkeys are More Intelligent than Students article I wrote a while ago and check out the first comment which lists our world standing !
Anyhoo, there we go - what’s the full story with Healing Schools GCSE examination results ?
Did the press just have a tiny window and need a few random pupils for a quick photo opportunity ?
Or were the highest performers picked to show the school in its best light ?
Only you can decide - is there any truth in it or is it a conspiracy theory
If you know or have any info they drop a comment and let us know
Educationally Yours
Rod
Rod said,
August 27, 2009 @ 8:37 am
As a matter of further interest it seems the local paper has advanced information as they are already reporting on exam successes - presumably they’re party to information before the pupils and parents.
Here is a quote from a story published online at 6.30 am - emphasis mine
“Students at Healing School, Specialist Science and Foundation College were also celebrating.
The school’s results this year were its best ever, with 90 per cent receiving five or more A* to C grades, and with all pupils achieving their personal targets.”
Quite how the students are celebrating remains a mystery as they’ve yet to receive their results !
Quality reporting - you can’t beat it !
Tom C. said,
August 27, 2009 @ 11:02 am
Hey Rod, it’s unfortunate to say, their is no conspiracy at all. The select few who got a personal phone call yesterday were all in the top set judged by their ability to take exams, not common sense (hense they were expected to get good results). G.C.S.E.’s are a bit of a joke, but that’s not really the fault of the students who have worked hard to earn their results. (BIG SMILEY FACE) Whilst G.C.S.E.’s are challenging to their merit, they are also unfortunately very unpractical. Who knows maybe a complete reform of the education system is needed? Oh well…
Product of a broken education system
Rhymin Simon said,
August 27, 2009 @ 2:04 pm
As a former hack I can confirm that this is a fairly common occurence, and it is to do with those pupils the school knows will do well, rather than knowledge of specific grades. I believe the schools are told what their percentages are, but specific results are not made known much in advance as I understand it. Furthermore there is a lot of cynical choice on the media’s behalf, regarding how photogenic the student is, so young Anna may have got straight A’s but if she’s obese,tatooed, cross-eyed, spotty or just plain ugly, she aint getting in the paper. The whole thing is disgusting.
Rod said,
August 27, 2009 @ 2:47 pm
Tom,
thanks for that info - really appreciated. So we can say at least that only those deemed most likely to succeed were asked in !
Those select few will forever now be known as The Eight Thirties
I think I’d sooner have a good mind and common sense rather than a fist full of GCSEs any day.
I know somebody who can barely read and write and he’s making a fortune right now - bang in the middle of a recession !
I also know of somebody who has a degree and works on the checkout in Tesco - come to that I also know somebody who has 2 1st class degrees and works as a storeman !
All that said I do feel sorry for those who slogged their guts out to get really high pass marks and find themselves amongst a group of over a quarter of the school - they should be seen to be top 5% or 10%
Nothing’s more important the education and it’s criminal that it is even in a position to be mocked and derided.
All the best
Rod
Rod said,
August 27, 2009 @ 2:50 pm
Simon,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site - hope you’ll return.
Thanks for the inside griff and frankly it doesn’t surprise me - the depressing thing is where are all the ‘kids’ in this - we’re talking about the path the rest of their lives will follow !
Cheers
Rod
Annie Flinn said,
August 27, 2009 @ 6:07 pm
Schools face an uphill slog, at best, when working with adolescent students. With far too many students, education has never been stressed in their homes, so they try to cruise through with minimal effort. They have little interest in tests and their resulting results. To demonstrate their disdain, they often just fill in the blanks without reading the questions, nor without putting thought into their responses. Until everyone stresses that hard working, diligent effort, and personal respinsibility are all essential to securing a truly excellent education, student performance (or lack thereof) will continue to be a discouraging effort.
Rod said,
August 27, 2009 @ 6:10 pm
but specific results are not made known much in advance as I understand it
The above comment makes sense in retrospect - however I have just been told . . .
that the results were not sealed in envelopes and were printed yesterday so anybody handling them at the school would in fact, if they chose to look, have been aware of individual results.
Tom C. said,
August 30, 2009 @ 11:30 am
Interesting update on this front Rod… Turns out my geography teacher new my result before I did. Being lucky enough to have enjoyed dining out at the Harvest Moon with my Granddad and family etc I happened to see my geography teacher (Mr McCrae) working behind the bar. After the general banter that comes with placing an order for drinks and a meal, I was kindly congratulated in my achievement in geography. However, suprisingly he let slip that he’d known the results before me.
I think now it’s probably fair enough to presume their was no lack of haste in selecting the best achieving for that Grimsby Telegraph photo. That to me is slightly worse that gathering information and picking the presumptive best, slightly more manipulative.
Rod said,
August 30, 2009 @ 12:08 pm
Tom,
many thanks - that’s double confirmation then - I’ve heard the same via email from another pupil.
I think it wold be fair enough to invite the paper back on another day to say look here are our 10 star pupils who all got A* in every subject or whatever - I’m all for celebrating achievement.
But inviting selected people in first simply doesn’t sit right - hence the original post.
Cheers
Rod
PJD said,
October 1, 2009 @ 7:57 am
ill ask some fellow students tomorrow that i believe will be part of the eight thirties group and see if they were invited in early. (i attended healing school and received my gcse’s this year) will be interesting to see if these rumours are fact
Rod said,
October 1, 2009 @ 8:00 am
PJD,
thanks for the comment, much appreciated.
There not rumours at all as I’m sure you’ll find out. Unquestionably a hand-picked group were invited in early and teachers also knew individual pupils results before they did.
I’ve had numerous confirmations of both and no denials
Cheers
Rod