Was anyone else sickened to see Caitriona Ruane smiling like a Cheshire cat when the exam results were released yesterday, revealing that Northern Irish pupils were once again top of the class when it comes to getting A grades at A-level? (I'm not sure if she was congratulating the students or herself!) This is only the woman is doing her damnedest to single-handedly end that trend after all!

35.4% of grades awarded to Ulster's students were As, compared to the UK-wide figure of 25.9%. In terms of A-E passes, Northern Ireland's figure was 98.2% compared to the national rate of 97.2%.

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