For around 26,000 students, it was a morning that helped shape their lives. Collecting their A-level results was the final act of their school career and the roadmap to the future.
And for many, it was a day of joy and celebration.
Almost a third (30.3%) of students here got the top A/A* grade.
We remain one of the UK’s best-performing regions – above England as a whole (27.6%) and Wales (29.9%).
Of the English regions, only South-east England (30.8%) and London (31.3%) fared better.
While our 30.3% headline figure is a drop from 37.5% last year, it had always been expected as grades returned to pre-pandemic levels.
In 2020 and 2021, summer exams were cancelled due to the Covid-19 emergency.
Schools calculated grades for their pupils, and one of the key effects was a significant rise in results.
In 2019, the last directly comparable year, about 29.4% of A-level entries here were awarded the top two grades.
So, today’s figures can be viewed in a more positive context.
For students, it was an emotional day as the results of years of work were revealed.
Some were nervous, fearing the worst. Some took it in their stride with a ‘whatever will be will be’ attitude.
Some said ‘God would guide them’ and they would accept what lay ahead.
Some smiled as their parents looked on, waited in the car or stayed at home to wait for the phone-call, more nervous than their children would ever be.
Society is made up of individuals. All different, all with their own paths in life and all achieving success in being the best they can be.
And that’s something that must be remembered, even as we celebrate another year where we set the standard for much of the UK.
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At Belfast High School where he joined pupils and staff on results day, Education Minister Paul Givan revealed how he took a “very different path” to his career from the traditional university route.
“My results had taken me down a different path to what I had thought, because I had hoped to go straight into university, but I didn’t quite get the grades that I needed,” he said.
“But I persevered. And that’s one of the messages today: maybe not everyone has got the results that they wanted, but there are other pathways open to you, and if you just keep working hard you will get to that end destination that you want.
“Some people might not want to go to university as well. They might want to go straight into an apprenticeship or employment.”
But the fact remains that when it comes to academic success, Northern Ireland is still receiving top marks.
While this year’s pupils move on to other things, there is one group who will remain in schools, and who will be back here again with their students, doing it all again next August – the teachers.
Many of the pupils speaking about their own excitement on results day took the time to mention the support, guidance and often friendship that had seen them through with flying colours.
Others know the staff will be there for them in the next few weeks if they haven’t quite gone down the path they expected.
It remains the case that teachers have helped their students succeed despite the critical condition the education sector has found itself in.
The problems are all too clear, and have been for some time.
The dedication of teachers helping their students be the best person they can be when they leave school isn’t one of them.
Watch: Pupils at St Dominic’s celebrate with their A-level success