There were tears of joy across north Norfolk as students opened their GCSE results. We asked students and a couple of parents at Cromer Academy their thought on their results, and on studying throughout the pandemic.
"I got seven 9s including in maths, chemistry and biology, one 8 and one 7. I can only thank my teachers. In lockdown it was hard to keep up your motivation, but they really and I wouldn't have been able to do it without them. At the end of the day you just have to motivate yourself to keep working. I'm planning to go to Sir Isaac Newton Sixth Form to do biology, environmental studies and maths." - Amy Wright, 16, from Thorpe Market
"I was surprised I did so well in science - I had an ungraded at the start of the year and I got a double 7. When I came back from summer school I had a lot of support, but it was a struggle to motivate myself. I'm going onto Oaklands College in St Albans to do a double BTec, and to play rugby with the Saracens' junior squad." - Beth Cass, 16, from Mundesley
"Supporting Beth was really a whole family thing - making sure she had the peace and quiet she needed. She also went to stay with her grandparents so she could have a block of time to study. As soon as she could get back into school, that's where she could really focus. Their teachers really helped them realise it's not a rush and they don't need to panic and their teacher assessments will be fair." - Lucy Cass, 42, Mundesley (Beth's mum)
"It was very different, working at home in much different surroundings and trying to study with family noise around you. I don't have a favourite subject. I'm going on to study health and social care at City College in Norwich. I want to go into working with younger kids." - Grace Bastow, 16, from Sheringham
"It's been strange. We spent a long time away from school and lost some of the experience of our childhood. But we still enjoyed it and worked hard and did what we needed to do. I'm going to go to Paston College and do biology at A-Levels, and then uni after that." - Harry Secker, 16, from Bacton
"I passed everything, and I did better than I thought in some subjects. I got a distinction star, a 9 and some 8s. I’m going onto A-Levels at Paston College. I want to do sport, geography and business. A lot of the online learning wasn’t as good as being in the actual lessons, so that was a challenge. - Alfie Tupper, 16, from Mundesley
“There were ups and downs, the first lockdown had its moment, the second lockdown he knuckled down and did really well. They would have been better being in school, but he got into a routine and worked incredibly hard.” - Jen Tupper, 47, from Mundesley (Alfie's mum)
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