Blackburne House celebrates exceptional GCSE Maths results – around two-and-a-half times the national post-16 rate
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Women studying at Blackburne House in Liverpool are celebrating exceptional GCSE Maths results today, with 41.1% achieving Grade 4 or above – around two-and-a-half times the national rate for post-16 GCSE Maths learners.
The results represent an outstanding achievement for learners and staff at the specialist education provider, which has supported women to transform their lives through education for more than 40 years.
Nationally, achieving GCSE Maths at Grade 4 or above after the age of 16 remains a significant challenge, with approximately 16.5% of post-16 GCSE Maths learners achieving Grade 4 or above. At Blackburne House, that figure is 41.1%.
Behind those statistics are individual women whose journeys to the examination room have often been far from straightforward.
Many Blackburne House learners have returned to education later in life and some experience multiple and intersecting barriers to learning and progression. For some, English is an additional language. Others balance their studies with caring responsibilities, financial pressures or significant challenges in their personal lives. Some arrive at Blackburne House having had difficult previous experiences of education and believing that academic success – particularly in Maths – may simply not be for them.
Today's results tell a very different story.
They demonstrate what women can achieve when high expectations are combined with excellent teaching, encouragement and the right wraparound support.
Andrea Rushton, CEO of Blackburne House, said:
"I could not be prouder of our learners today. A 41.1% Grade 4+ achievement rate, compared with approximately 16.5% nationally for post-16 GCSE Maths learners, is an exceptional achievement. But the percentages only tell part of the story.
"Behind every result is a woman who made the decision to invest in her education, to keep going when it was difficult and, in many cases, to challenge what she had previously believed about her own ability. For some of our learners, simply returning to a classroom takes enormous courage. To then achieve a GCSE Maths qualification is something they should be immensely proud of.
"These results demonstrate something that we have believed at Blackburne House for more than four decades: talent and potential are everywhere, but opportunity and the conditions in which people are expected to succeed are not.
"When women are taught by excellent tutors who believe in them, when barriers to learning are understood rather than judged, and when education is surrounded by the support people need to succeed, extraordinary things can happen.
"I also want to pay tribute to our Maths tutor and our wider education and learner support teams. Results like these don't happen by accident. Their expertise, commitment, high expectations and determination to see every woman succeed have been instrumental in what we are celebrating today.
"There is also an important message here about the contribution of smaller, specialist independent training providers. We know our learners. We understand their lives and the barriers they may face, and we can create an environment in which women feel safe, supported and, importantly, expected to succeed. Today's results demonstrate just how powerful that model can be."
Achieving Grade 4 or above in GCSE Maths can be transformational, opening doors to further and higher education, apprenticeships, training and employment opportunities that may previously have been inaccessible.
Blackburne House's approach combines high-quality teaching with personalised learner support, recognising that educational achievement cannot always be separated from the circumstances affecting a learner's ability to participate and thrive.
We believe these results provide powerful evidence of the contribution that smaller, specialist education providers can make to skills, social mobility and economic participation – particularly when provision is designed around the needs of the people it serves.
Andrea Rushton added:
"Today belongs to our learners. Whatever their individual starting point, they have earned this moment. I hope every one of them takes time to recognise not only what they have achieved, but what it says about what they are capable of achieving next.
"At Blackburne House, we believe a woman's previous experience of education should never define what she can achieve in the future. Today, our learners have demonstrated that beautifully."
If you want to achieve amazing things at Blackburne House, come to a Summer 2026 open day; book your place here.
