PENGUIN News managed to catch up with three Falkland Islands sponsored A-level students who received their results this week.

Craig Lewis told us that he achieved grades B,B,C in Maths, Economics and History. He said: “I’m a little bit disappointed I didn’t get to sit the exams because I think I probably would have done better. I will be heading to Leicester university to study History and Politics in September.”

Nikki Wilks was over the moon with her results. She managed A in English literature, an A* in film studies and a B in geography.

She will be attending the University of Warwick to study film in September.

Thomas Ford was also happy to tell us that he achieved A, B, E in Geography, Sociology and Biology and hopes very much to study Geography at Newcastle University.

The majority of GCSE examination results will be announced next Thursday however some GCSE (PE and music) results have already been released. A number of Falklands students are already known to be celebrating some excellent results in these two subjects.

Sponsorship

Falkland Islands students are sponsored by the Falkland Islands Government to undertake post 16 years education overseas because this cannot be provided in the Falkland Islands. Students must achieve a certain points calculated on their GCSE examinations to obtain the sponsorship.

Many choose to attend Peter Symonds College in Winchester or Chichester College which have close relationships with the Islands, however neither college is obligatory.

Penguin News recently published a feature celebrating the Islands latest host of 14 young graduates and their plans for their future. A high number of the students obtained First Class Honours Degrees as did those the year before.

Covid-19 impact

Worries about GCSE results appeared to be bubbling locally ahead of their delivery next Thursday, however when approached by Penguin News the Executive Head Teacher Karen Steen assured the community that the process for designating grades was robust.

Member of Legislative Assembly Stacy Bragger assured the public on social media on Wednesday evening that should it appear GCSE grades had been impacted by the exam board’s statistical modelling then appeals could be made.

MLA Stacy Bragger commented: “…we do not control the exam boards. The Ed Dept will review every GCSE outcome and take appropriate action as necessary which could include appeals. They are monitoring closely the developments in the UK around exam results.”