EXCITED and nervous pupils in the district picked-up their GCSE results yesterday (Thursday) but there were plenty of reason to smile.
Pupils at Stratford Girls’ Grammar School followed in the footsteps of the A Level students last week by helping the school record its best ever GCSE results.
Over 83 per cent of pupils at the Shottery school secured A*/A grades, and just under half the girls achieved a clean sweep of all A*/A grades.
A record 92.6 per cent of pupils achieved five or more A*/A grades, and the A*- C grades – including English and Maths – pass rate was 100 per cent.
Headteacher Kate Barnett said, “These amazing results continue our trend of excellent achievement and reflect the hard work and effort put in by each and every one of our girls.
“All of our staff and students work extremely hard for days such as this, and we are so well supported by our parents as well that the pleasure of the results are shared by many. We are now looking forward to the coming year. There has never been a better time to join our sixth form – with our new buildings opening from September as well as record results.”
The girls received their GCSE results in the school’s new assembly hall and were the first to use the school’s new £3.5million facilities.
Ms Barnett said: “The contractors are still working on the final details, but the new building will be formally handed over to the school on Friday, and will therefore be ready for the first day of term, with a new dining room and kitchen, full-size sports hall, fitness suite and changing rooms, drama studio, classrooms and offices, as well as the splendid new hall.
“And the good news for the sixth form is that this development work has freed up the beautiful fifteenth century manor house to be a dedicated Sixth Form Centre, so there really is a lot to look forward to for Shottery girls.”
STRATFORD School was celebrating across the board improvements in results.
English grades A*-C were up seven per cent at 82 per cent, maths was up three per cent at and 74 per cent, with just under 65 per cent of pupils achieving A*-C in English and Maths, up three per cent on last year’s results.
Headteacher Neil Wallace said: “As a comprehensive school it is important that students make good progress from their respective starting points.
“These results show our students have achieved really well with an impressive ten per cent improvement in the number of top grades in GCSE English and GCSE Maths seeing the majority of our students achieving A*-B in both core subjects for the first time.
“This strong performance across the board is best reflected in a 15 per cent increase in the number of students making 3 levels progress and a ten per cent increase in the number of students making 4 levels progress, regardless of their ability on intake.
T”hese results are particularly pleasing against a backdrop of changes nationally which mean that the number of early entries has been vastly reduced and students are no longer able to resit courses in order to improve their grade.
Star performers include Breton Day obtaining nine A*s, Miriam Zouhou achieving sevn A*s and Liberty Arundel, Anna Caruso and Emily Huggins achieving six A* grades each.
“We would like to commend the hard work put in by students and staff that have made these results possible. We wish every one of our students the very best for the future and look forward to welcoming many of them back into the Sixth Form.”
At King Edward VI School there was a 100 per cent pass rate with three-quarters of papers graded A* or A.
And 36 boys achieved ten A* and A grades or better.
Among them were Maninder Dhami who secured 12 A*s grades, Kit Gallagher, Oliver Gardner, Rory Gopsill who scored 11 and William Richards, Jonah Swain and Xander Van Der Poll who each collected ten.
The GCSE results come only a week after record A Level results were announced by the school.
Headmaster Bennet Carr said: “With university places becoming increasingly competitive it is pleasing that so many of our boys will enter the Sixth Form with a string of A* and A grades at GCSE.
“I am particularly pleased for our Year 11 who have not just worked hard to achieve these results, but have also dedicated themselves to a vast array of extra-curricular, enrichment and community activities.
They have not done so in isolation and I would therefore also like to pay tribute to the work of the staff and parents in supporting them to achieve this success.”
Full data will not available until later in the year, but headteachers and Warwickshire County Council were anticipating the county’s results again being above the national averages.
County education spokesman Coun Colin Hayfield said: “This is a really important time for pupils who will be full of nervous excitement as they open up their exam result envelopes.
“I congratulate all students on their achievements and wish them luck for the future, whether that will be in continued full-time education, employment or training.
“The long hours of hard work and dedication of all the teaching staff, plus the support of parents, that contributed to the students’ success should also be celebrated today.
“It will be some time before we know the full validated results for Warwickshire but we are optimistic that the vast majority of Warwickshire pupils will have reached their target grades.”
