GCSE records smashed at York and North Yorkshire schools (From York Press)

GCSE records smashed at York and North Yorkshire schools

10:50am Thursday 25th August 2011 in News By Haydn Lewis, haydn.lewis@thepress.co.uk

AS teenagers from across York, North and East Yorkshire turned out to collect their GCSE results this morning the signs are that it looks set to be another record breaking year.

At The Mount girls school in York students are celebrating their best results in five years, with a 100 per cent overall pass rate and 50 per cent of the girls achieving at least three A*’s. A total of 84 per cent of the grades were at B grade or above and several of the girls attained an impressive set of A* and A grades. Charlotte Stockton swept the board with a perfect set of 10 A*’s, closely followed by Flora Carr, Alice Elliott, Vicky Ellis, Francesca Smithers and Louise Webster, all gaining a combination of ten A* and A grades. Principal, Julie Lodrick said: “The staff and I are extremely proud of all the girls. They have worked very hard and these excellent results will provide them with a solid platform on which to build their A Level studies.

“The girls have balanced their GCSE commitments with full extra-curricular programmes; exam results are important but to forge a successful career, it is necessary to have a broad set of skills and interests combined with a strong work ethic and the drive to succeed.”

At Huntington School pupils got a new school record 76 per cent of pupils achieved five GCSEs at A*-C grade with 63 per cent getting five A*-C grades including English and maths – up 8 per cent up on last year.

The following students gained at least 10 A*/A grades: Noemie Powell; Ellen Yardley; Emma Alexander; Luke Charter-Reid; Catherine Lyth; Bethan Griffiths; Lydia Kim; Sophie Nuttall; Maani Aghahoseini; Benjamin Rawlins; Craig Shutt; Jennifer Anderson; Jessica Russell; Matthew Bradbury; Eleanor Johnson; Faye Rich; Laura Mackell; Sarah Ellis and Harriet Town.

Head teacher, John Tomsett, said: “We are delighted with this outstanding set of results, our best ever, which are a credit to our students and staff. Everyone has worked incredibly hard and we are delighted that our students have had this level of academic success.

“We are exceptionally pleased with our best ever GCSE performance including English and Mathematics. Here at Huntington we appreciate the value of these core life skills and we are delighted that so many of our students have succeeded in achieving highly in these crucial subjects.

“Noemie’s performance is breath-takingly good. She has done so well because she has combined her natural talent with real commitment; in the end there is no substitute for hard work. Noemie’s results are a fine example of what can be achieved in great state comprehensive schools.

“We are proud to have prepared our students well academically, with this set of outstanding results, and to know we have done this in a caring and supportive environment that seeks to see every student thrive. These results are the building blocks for future lives and careers; it is wonderful to be here at Huntington and know we’ve made a real difference to all the young people in our care.

“There are many important things that a school develops in young people, above and beyond examination results. Our school's core values are respect, honesty and kindness. We think our values are reflected in these results as our students attain impressive examination results and grow to become responsible members of the community.”

Across the city at Fulford School students had a record-breaking year with 93 cent of students getting five A*-C grades with 72 per cent of pupils getting five A*-C including English and maths is the school’s second highest ever achievement.

Pupils Chris Tune and Lucia Gomez both achieved 11 A* grades. Charlotte Lee achieved ten.

Head teacher Steve Smith said: “From a school perspective we are delighted with yet another year’s outstanding results where we have either achieved or exceeded our school targets and especially so with regard to achieving our best ever results in terms of 5+ A*-C and average points score. This is in addition to the tremendous “A” level results of last week which placed Fulford among the best performing schools in the country including Independent and Grammar schools.

“However more significant is the fact that these results provide that passport to further and higher education for so many of our youngsters and thus greatly enhance their future prospects. This is all the more important in such a difficult present economic climate. From that perspective the significance of these results is not on how well the school has done but that the school’s overall figures are underpinned by the individual successes of 205 individual young people.

“These results have been achieved through the hard work, determination and ability of our youngsters allied with teaching of the highest quality backed up by outstanding care, guidance and support from both teaching and support staff. It is an incredible team effort that Fulford maintains year in and year out!

“Finally the results at Fulford alongside those of the other York schools provide further evidence of the excellent quality of all the state schools in the City of York and demonstrate the superb service provided by the state sector. At a time when the actions of a minority of young people in cities across the nation in recent weeks have mainly produced negative images and headlines, the youngsters of Fulford and York as a whole have clearly demonstrated their positive virtues over the past week. As a head teacher I am proud and privileged to work with so many committed and positive young people and staff.”

At Easingwold School in North Yorkshire students across the year groups, and even one member of staff, are celebrating their success in this year’s GCSE exams.

Teacher Bob Ledger was one of six students who gained A*-B grades in astronomy, studied during after school lessons.

Another amazing success story at the school was Year 8 pupil 13-year-old student Sophie Partington who achieved an A grade in German.

Overall 60 per cent of pupils in Year 11 achieved five or more passes, including English and maths, at A*-C and 30 per cent of entries were graded A* or A.

Particularly high achievers included: Freddie Brewer who gained 10 A* and 2.5 A grades; Ellen Hughes who gained 9.5 A* and 2 A grades; Jessica Watson who gained 9.5 A* and 2 A grades; Hayley Downey who gained 9 A* and 1.5 A grades; Evie Jeffrey who gained 8 A* and 2.5 A grades; Jonathan Sigsworth who gained 7 A* and 3 A grades; Michael Whitehead whose results included 7 A* and 3 A grades; Olivia Attwooll whose results included 6 A* and 4 A grades; Emily Hake whose results included 6 A* and 4.5 A grades; Laura Soper whose results included 5 A* and 4 A grades; Matthew Batten whose results included 5 A* and 4.5 A grades.

Head Teacher, Carey Chidwick, said: “The fact that students from such a range of year groups have achieved excellent results reflects the school’s aim to provide challenge for all our learners.

That sometimes means enabling them to take GCSEs when they are ready, rather than waiting for Year 11.”

Scarborough College has followed its success in the International Baccalaureate examinations with some outstanding GCSE results.

Overall 93 per cent of students gained 5 grades A* to C with 48 per cent of grades at A* or A. The Head teacher, Isobel Nixon, said: “The whole year group has done particularly well, especially in key subjects like mathematics and science. The overall pass rate for three separate sciences and maths was 97 per cent. Here at Scarborough College we welcome students with a wide range of abilities, but hard work and sound teaching in academic subjects pays off.”

As you might expect with such a high proportion of A grades, certain individuals have done particularly well; Frankie Houghton swept the board with 10 A* grades as did Alexandra Consoli. Philip Adams, who won a Scarborough College sixth form scholarship in February, also did very well with 9 grades at A*.

The College’s reputation for excellence in modern languages is well known and this year, 100 per cent of the students gained a grade A* to C in at least one modern language. “The numbers of students nationally taking modern languages in recent years has fallen dramatically,” said Mrs Nixon.

“Therefore, we believe our students are at a particular advantage. However, success in academic subjects is dependent upon the development of the individual through art, music, sport and a wide range of extra curricular activities.

“Our Art department has had a fantastic year with all of our GCSE Art students passing with A* or A grades and two of our IB students going on to take up places at prestigious art colleges.”

Recently, the college was named in the prestigious ‘Good Schools Guide’ for its achievement in IGCSE Business Studies.