Teacher praises resilient Isle of Man A-level students on results day

Manx students got their grades after the first in-person exams were held since 2019

A-level students on the Isle of Man have shown "great resilience" after a period of "crazy" disruption to their education, a Manx teacher has said.

About 600 students have received their results following the return of end-of-year exams for the first time since the Covid pandemic began.

Ballakermeen High School Sixth Form director Richard Karran said fewer top grades had been awarded overall.

It had been expected amid efforts to "claw back" grade boundaries, he said.

Mr Karran said he was proud of students after the return of end-of-year exams

Despite this, student averages at the Douglas high school were in a "healthy place", and teachers were pleased with the results after a "turbulent" time, Mr Karran said.

"These students have gone through everything, they had GCSEs disrupted and weeks of education taken away, but they are such a resilient bunch", he added.

The results followed trends across the UK, where fewer A* or A grades were achieved compared to the past two years when results were based on teacher assessments.

Brintha Yasodaran said the pandemic had made the transition from GCSEs to A-levels difficult

Brintha Yasodaran said she was "really happy" after being accepted to study at Cambridge University.

The disruption of the pandemic had caused "lots of fragments in what should have been a smooth path", which had been difficult, she added.

Abbie Harrison said it was nerve-wracking taking A-levels without having done GCSEs

Abbie Harrison said she had been "walking laps around my house" earlier in anticipation of her results, which saw her get a place at the University of Chester to study acting.

"I am really excited, the course offers a lot that I am interested in," she said.

Prince Tsigo, who has been offered a place at Bournemouth University to study business, says his "head is a bit scrambled" as he had planned to get a job in the island's finance sector.

"I am happy to have options, and it would be good financially to stay here, but the experience of university is something else too", he added.

Prince Tsigo is weighing up his options after receiving an offer from a UK university