Students across Huntingdonshire collected their GCSE exam results on Thursday
ABBEY COLLEGE, RAMSEY
Abbey College students are celebrating their best ever GCSE results, with a 14 per cent increase on last year’s results.
Some 68 per cent of students at the college achieved five or more A*-C grades, including English and maths, this year.
The college’s provisional Progress 8 score, the new government headline measure that will determine the school performance tables from this year, came in at 0.36 meaning that students are on average making greater than expected progress. This figure will be confirmed later this year in line with the Department for Education’s national adjustments.
Principal, Andy Christoforou, said: “I am very proud of both my staff and students for all the hard work and dedication that has gone into achieving these record-breaking results.
“These results reflect the success of the changes that the college has undertaken over the past few years, and are testament to the way that our members of staff really know each individual pupil so they can achieve the very best results.”Both maths and English results beat national averages. More than two thirds of students made greater than expected progress in English and more than 50 per cent of students also achieved two sciences at A*-C, up 14 percentage points on last year.
Among the school’s highest achievers were Will Alden who attained an impressive seven A* and 5As, Charlotte Moss who achieved seven A*’s, four As and a B and Betty Davey who achieved five A*s, five As and 1 B.
ERNULF ACADEMY
At Ernulf Academy, there were particularly strong performances by Lewis Pitchford (5A*, 3A, 1B), Bailey Shipp and Callie-Anne Glass (both with 7A and A* grades), and Hannah Holton and Rebecca Moorbey, both of whom gained 6A* and A grades.
More than 88 per cent of Ernulf students achieved five or more A*-G grades and 96 per cent achieved at least one GCSE grade. In all, 42.4 per cent of all students achieved five or more A*-C grades and almost 40 per cent achieved five or more A*-C grades including English and maths, an improvement of three per cent on last year. Subjects which achieved particularly good results included Btecs in business (96 per cent pass or above) and sport (65 per cent), whilst media studies achieved an excellent 97 per cent pass rate.
Rick Carroll, chief executive of the St Neots Learning Partnership, which oversees both schools said: “Staff and students at both academies have worked extremely hard to make progress this year, strongly supported by parents and the wider community. “The year has been particularly challenging for Ernulf Academy as it has been adapting to many changes; we hope to see the progress made this year contributing to further success in future.
“I am proud of all of our students in both academies and I wish them every success in the future.”
HINCHINGBROOKE SCHOOL
This year’s results revealed that 68 per cent achieved five or more A*-C grades, including English and maths, up slightly on last year’s results, which saw 65 per cent achieve the same standard.
About three quarters of the year group were awarded five or more A*-C grades, and 27 per cent of all grades were A or A*.
There were strong performances in English and maths, with 84 per cent and 75 per cent of students respectively gaining C grades or better in these subjects. 41 of our students secured 8 or more A and A* grades.
This was an exceptional cohort for many reasons and their results are testament to all their hard work.
Among the highest achievers were Annie Smith, who each gained nine A* grades and 4 As. Cameron Campbell was awarded nine A* grades, two As and a B.
After opening the brown envelope 16-year-old Cameron felt “relieved” after putting in months of studying.
One student who received outstanding results was Brampton teenager Adam Steel who awarded nine A*s and four As after sacrificing playing his favourite sport to study.
“I am very happy that the work has paid off as I sacrificed playing golf at the weekend to revise but it was worth it. I gave up a lot of free time to put hard work into the exams - 100 per cent effort,” Adam told The Hunts Post.
Adam will be staying at Hinchingbrooke and will move onto the school’s sixth form but first will play a few rounds of golf to celebrate.
Evie Andrew and Rosie Thompson gained eight A* grades and three As. James Ireland achieved eight A*s, two As and 3 B grades. Sophie Stamford achieved seven A* grades and four As. Harshith Chittoor Satish was awarded seven A* grades, four As and a B grade
Harriet Winterlich gained a starred Distinction in her dance BTEC along with six A* grades and five As.
“It feels great to have got these results, there was a lot of anxiety but now I am so relived,” Harriet said.
“It was a lot of hours revising in the run up to these but it was worth it now.”
Harriet will be moving to Connecticut, in America, with her family, and will be going to high school in the state.
In addition, Poppy Leech managed to juggle her national swimming commitments with her studies and achieved six A* grades and five As.
Lee Walker, school vice principal, said: “A number of students have overcome various challenges to achieve some truly exceptional personal results. Our congratulations to them, and we wish the whole cohort the very best of luck as they move on to the next stage of their educational journey. Our thanks must also go to staff and parents for all their hard work and tremendous support which has played such an important part in achieving these excellent results.”
KIMBOLTON SCHOOL
Pupils at Kimbolton School have again achieved a fine set of GCSE results, with 56 per cent of the grades awarded at A* or A.
Twenty-seven pupils, more than a quarter of the year group, received at least 9A*/A grades. Ninety-six percent of the pupils achieved five or more passes at A* to C grades (including maths and English), the government’s standard measure of GCSE attainment.
Included in these results are those for International GCSEs in French, mathematics, physics and Spanish. Leading the way were James Clements from Brington and Fiona Denton, from Ellington, with nine A*s and an A each. James achieved these top results despite spending the entire examinations period in a full leg brace, having broken his kneecap just a few weeks before.
Other top performers were Josh Smith (Needingworth) with eight A*s and two As, Isobel Tang (Offord D’Arcy) with eight A*s and one A, and Olivia Gerard-Pearse (Aldwincle) and Kiana Stokes (Ramsey) with seven A*s and three As.
All of the above plus the vast majority of the rest of the year group will be continuing in Kimbolton School’s Sixth Form next month where they will be joined by a number of students from other schools.
Pupils with all A*/A grades and at least five A*s included Zoe Campbell-Butcher (Thurleigh), Olivia Fleming (Roxton), Ella Giles (Kimbolton), Eleanor Kirkpatrick (Brington), Chloë Neal (Eaton Ford), Jessica Staplehurst (Potton) and Henrietta Woods (Hamerton).
Jonathan Belbin, the head master, said: “We are very pleased with this strong set of results which again demonstrates the ‘added value’ that we provide. Our pupils represent a relatively broad ability range and their dedication to hard work, alongside the support of all our staff, has shone through once more.
“These results include many IGCSEs of course, a qualification that we believe prepares students well for the challenges of A Levels and beyond, even though they are no longer included in the government’s spurious ‘league tables’.”
LONGSANDS ACADEMY
At Longsands Academy, a number of subject areas achieved notable results which contributed to the overall 66 per cent figure for students achieving five or more A*-C grades, including English and maths, an 8.5 per cent increase on last year.
Chemistry, physics and biology all achieved more than 96 per cent A*-C and 78 per cent of students achieved a grade A*-C in maths.
English language and literature both performed strongly, achieving A*-C rates of 83 per cent and 64 per cent respectively.
In all, 69 per cent of all subject grades were at A*-C and 98 per cent of students achieved five or more passes at A*-G.
Many students gained a number of the highest grades, but of particular note are Cade Hall (12 A/A* grades), Melissa Quail (11A/A* grades and A* at A Level maths and A at AS in further maths), Laura Collins (11 A/A*) and Ben Bazley, Emily Garratt and Joe Parr, all of whom achieved 10 A* and A grades.
Melissa Quail described her incredible exam results as “amazing”. She was awarded 11 A* GSCE grades, A* Alevel in maths, which she sat two years early and an AS in further maths. Melissa, who will go on to study maths, science and computer studies, said she enjoyed “problem solving”. Melissa has also been mentoring other pupils at Longsands, setting them maths challenges.
Harriet Tyler, who achieved six As , three Bs and one C, was delighted with her results as she will now be able to take up a place at Welbeck Defence sixth form college in Leicester where she will combine Alevels with officer training.
“I passed the officer selection in July, but my place was dependent on my results so I am really pleased and looking forward to starting in September.”
Martin Paine, head teacher of Longsands Academy, said: “I am really pleased to see how much the students have achieved and I am delighted to see that the considerable efforts made by all the staff and students have paid off in the results.
“I would also like to thank the invaluable support provided by the parents/carers. We are always looking to move forward and these are a firm foundation on which to develop further. Well done to all and good luck for the future, both to those who will be joining the St Neots Sixth Form Centre and those going on to other opportunities.”
SAWTRY VILLAGE ACADEMY
At Sawtry Village Academy 22 per cent of students achieved A*-A grades – a three per cent increase on last year, while 76 per cent of students achieved 5 A*-C grades, representing a 10 per cent increase on last year.
The academy’s positive results continued with 65 per cent of students achieving C or better in English and Maths – an 11 per cent increase on last year’s results. In both subjects there was an increase in students making at least expected progress; 78 per cent in English and 72 per cent in maths – showing increases of 16 per cent and 11 per cent respectively on 2015’s results.
Science also saw a significant increase in attainment with the amount of students gaining a C grade or higher in two sciences moving from 48 per cent to 64 per cent – a 16 per cent increase on 2015.
Sarah Wilson, Principal at Sawtry Village Academy, said: “We’re really delighted with thes results – the achievements in English and maths in particular demonstrate a significant improvement, which is testament to the hard work of our students and staff.”
There were some individual tales of particular success on the day: Leah Witney attained 11 A* and two A grades. She was joined by Jessica Baxter, Connor Parnell, Sara Bean, Madison Chilvers, Jadeon Churchman, Caitlin Park and Daniel Spencer who all achieved 10 or more A*/A grades.
ST PETER’S SCHOOL, HUNTINGDON
Head teacher, Christopher Bennet, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank both parents and staff for their support of our students. Without this support our students would not be celebrating the best year 11 examination results for many years. “With more than 100 A / A* grades being awarded, our students have clearly demonstrated that they can take advantage of the higher quality teaching now being consistently delivered here at St Peter’s to achieve the highest possible grades.
“Such achievement has only been possible due to the students themselves wanting to do well. The support of parents and St Peter’s staff has ensured that success has been achieved.”
Students have shown their academic ability, especially in physics, biology and chemistry where 100 per cent of grades were A*-C and, in French, 78% were at A*-C.
English and maths were also success stories with an increase of 10 per cent and 12 per cent respectively in the number of A*-C grades awarded. Students achieving a grade A*-C in English and maths in 2016 is 55 per cent up from 37 per cent in 2015.
There were plenty of stand-out grades awarded to individual students at the school as well with Oliver Wyatt gaining nine A*s and two As.
“I am feeling great, I am proud of my grade in history as it was my favourite subject,” said the Huntingdon teenager.
“It was worth all of the hard work now – it is great that the hours I put in have paid off.”
Another of those who was delighted with their results was Siobhan Brady who scored six A*s, three As and two Bs.
“I am really happy but I am shocked about some of the results,” said Siobhan. She will now go onto King’s College, in Peterborough, to study A Levels in a hope to get into medicine in the future.
David Peacock achieved three A*s in biology, chemistry and physics, along with one A, three Bs and three Cs.
He said: “It is a big relief but it was kind of a big shock. After looking at the grade boundaries I wasn’t expecting them to be as good as they are.”
ST IVO SCHOOL, ST IVES
There was plenty of cause to celebrate for students at St Ivo School this morning.
The school achieved a 69.3% pass rate of A*-C grades in English and Maths, and 67.8% with 5A*-C grades overall, including English and Maths.
Sam Griffin, head teacher, said: “We are delighted with this set of results. These show another year of improved performance at the school. Congratulations go to all of our students for their excellent performances and for all of their hard work in gaining these results.”
There were plenty of outstanding results too, with three students achieving nine A*s – Megan Sanders, Amelia Bircham, and Minhaj Ahmed, who also got an A* with distinction in Maths.
“I was so relieved,” Amelia told The Hunts Post.
“I was expecting an A* or two, and I felt amazed that my hard work had paid off.”
Other students were also delighted with their results, like Sabah Kusar who achieved A*s in History and Geography, as well as Taylor Murphy who got an A* in Maths, Biology and an A in History.
Kira Riding scored three A’s in Geography, History and Maths, while Sasha Marinelli got a B in Art – her favourite subject.
“I got a B in Art and it’s one of my favourite things in the world. It’s something I love and I hope to go to Cambridge Regional College for Sixth Form to study it.”
Mr Griffin added: “I would like to pass on my thanks to all the staff for their efforts and to our parents for their support.”
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