Huntingdonshire students celebrate GCSE results success

THE anxious wait for GCSE results came to an end for students across Huntingdonshire this morning (Tuesday, August 24).

It was another successful year for pupils with many schools matching or improving their results from last year.

ST PETER’S School in Huntingdon enjoyed a record year as 70 per cent of students achieved five A*-C grades.

The figure was up on 2009’s return of 69 per cent, and headteacher Val Ford said she was proud of all the hard work students at the school had put in.

She added: “It’s an exciting time for the school as, once again, our students have achieved excellent results. It’s been a record year for St Peter’s, with 70 per cent of students achieving five A*-C grades and 95 per cent gaining five or more qualifications.

“We are also very proud that every single one of our students gained at least one qualification. Congratulations to everybody.”

St Peter’s School pupil Ross Oliver was shocked after achieving three A* and eight A grades in his exams.

He said: “I couldn’t quite absorb what was happening when I saw my results – my heart was going when I opened them. I knew I could do well, but not this well.”

Ross is planning to stay on at St Peter’s for sixth form, and is considering a career in the media or teaching after that.

Another high achiever who will stay on to study at sixth form was Baylee Ross-Harwood, who collected an A* and nine A grades. Luke Cawley achieved 10 A grades, and Steph Hill one A* and seven A grades.

• IT was another year of high achievement at Kimbolton School where 97 per cent of the pupils achieved five or more passes at A* to C grade, including Maths and English.

A total of 50 per cent of the grades awarded were at A or A* with 24 pupils (over a quarter of the year group) receiving at least nine A*/A grades.

Included in the results were those for international GCSEs in Mathematics and Physics, a first for the school.

Top performers included Katherine Lee, from Bolnhurst with 10A*s, Madeleine Stokes, from Ramsey with nine A*s and one A and Danni Belbin, of Kimbolton and Sam Johnston of Great Paxton who obtained eight A*s and one A.

Jonathan Belbin, headmaster 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.”

• RESULTS were up again at Longsands College in St Neots where 78 per cent of students gained five or more A*-C grades compared with last year’s 76.5 per cent. The overall pass rate was also increased from 98.5 per cent to 99.6 per cent.

Several individuals obtained five or more A* grades including Nathan Austin, Shane De Silva, Huw Jarman, Jack McConnell, Victoria Nicholas and Amy Woolf. Another star pupil was Katherine Armstrong who added a grade A in AS level Russian to her 11 GCSEs.

Robert Whatmough, principal said: “We are delighted by these results. Last year’s breakthrough in terms of Mathematics and English has been repeated, with English (81.3 per cent A*-C) and English Literature (95.5 per cent) having a truly exceptional year.

“Many subjects obtained over 80 per cent A*-C, with some reaching 100 per cent. These figures represent excellent effort on the part of students and their teachers.

“This year group especially demonstrated high standards of commitment and conduct. As ever, we also want to thank parents, who have encouraged and supported their sons and daughters through thick and thin. For all involved, study at this level for two years is always very demanding.”

• THE hard work and commitment of staff, students and parents paid off at St Neots Community College where the college recorded its best results ever.

A total of 50 per cent of students gained five or more grades at A*-C compared to last year’s 44 per cent.

Acting principal Scott Preston said: “I am very pleased with these results. They are the best results in the college’s history, by quite some way.

“The hard work from staff, students and parents has really paid off, and we have together achieved a significant improvement in performance.

“After a very hard year, these results clearly indicate that the college is heading in the right direction. We are confident that this is just the start, though, and indications are that our performance will continue to improve.

“These results will help us to emerge from special measures, hopefully, sometime this year.”

Notable performances include English Literature where 60 per cent of students achieved a C or better and media where 71 per cent of pupils gained a C grade or better.

• AT Sawtry Community College 86 per cent of students achieved five or more grades at A*-C. In addition, 42 students (18 per cent) achieved at least seven GCSEs at grade A or A* with 11 students gaining A or A* grades in all of their subjects.

Deputy principal Nigel Smith said: “These are an exceptional set of results with a huge increase in the number of students achieving five higher grades and an even larger increase in the proportion of A*, A and B grades. Results have risen across the board with particularly noteworthy success this year in ICT and Science.

“We would like to congratulate all of the students and staff for their achievements this year and recognise the enormous effort they have put in to achieve these results.”

• ST PETER’S School pupil Ross Oliver was shocked after achieving three A* and eight A grades in his GCSE exams.

“I couldn’t quite absorb what was happening when I saw my results – my heart was going when I opened them. I knew I could do well, but not this well,” he said.

Ross is planning to stay on at St Peter’s for sixth form, and is considering a career in the media or teaching after that.

Another high achiever who will stay on to study at sixth form was Baylee Ross-Harwood, who collected an A* and nine A grades. Luke Cawley achieved 10 A grades, and Steph Hill one A* and seven A grades.

Overall, 67 per cent of St Peter’s students gained five A*-C passes, and 41 per cent achieved five A*-C grades including English and Maths.

The 2010 figures is slightly down on the 2009 figure of 69 per cent for five A*-C grades, but headteacher Val Ford said she was proud of all the students in the year group.

She added: “Once again our students have achieved some excellent results. We are also very proud that almost 99 per cent of our students gained at least one qualification. Congratulations to everybody.”

• RECORD breakers at St Ivo School achieved their best ever GCSE results after teachers declared: “Failure is not an option.”

Perfectionist staff refused to take second best from students as they rigorously monitored classwork and attendance for signs kids might slip off-target.

Determined to ensure they made the grade, they organised busy extra-lesson timetables and pumped their students full of detailed books and revision notes.

Yet despite getting an unprecedented five A*-C pass rate of 83 per cent, Martin McGarry said: “The very worst thing we could do now is be complacent or take our foot off the gas.”

The deputy head teacher at the school in High Leys, St Ives, where 66 per cent of students got five A*-C grades in subjects including English and maths, added: “This has set a new bar.”

And he predicted: “The Year 10 group coming through should be even better.”

Mr McGarry revealed that “focused intervention” was the secret behind students’ success.

In what he described as an Apollo 13-style warning to students and teachers, he said: “We didn’t accept failure.”

Teachers were meticulous about pupils’ performance and called them in for a chat if it looked like they were falling behind.

Persistent absence also reached a stunning low of just 2.6 per cent after staff took direct action when a student’s attendance dropped below 90 per cent.

But the school’s exacting standards were matched by tremendous levels of support as staff gave pupils extra lessons and guidance through the stresses and strains of exams.

It certainly worked Francesca Morgan, who got two As in English despite being predicted a double B.

The Somersham student was full of praise for her tutors, saying: “The revision sessions certainly helped a lot. The teachers were so helpful.

“I’m so happy and ecstatic. I didn’t expect to do as well.”

Friend Rebecca Morris, from St Ives, added: “They made revision things for us like a colourful book for dance. It made a big difference.

“I feel so proud to get these results.”

Rebecca, who got As in dance and drama and Bs in English, child development and maths, is now considering doing an extra subject at A-Level thanks to her better-than-expected grades.

Other notable achievers included Alex Forrest and Dan Enzer, who both got straight As and A*s, and Kate Newman, who got five 5*s, three As and a couple of Bs.

Mr McGarry added: “We have a very child-centred approach and an extremely close focus on teaching and learning.”

He said head teacher Howard Gilbert had banned meetings which did not discuss children’s tuition and that the school focused on “little things” such as punctuality and smart school uniforms,

“We have very talented and dedicated staff at the school that work on behalf of the children,” Mr McGarry said.

• AT HINCHINGBROOKE School in Huntingdon, students maintained high GCSE results for the third year in a row.

The percentage of students achieving five A*-C grades was 77 per cent, with seven students gaining eight or more A* grades. This included Andrew Bunting, who found out about his 12 A* grades by text from his mum, as he is currently in Malawi with the school’s education programme.

Other Hinchingbrooke top performers were high achievers at the school included Jonny Lusha, Katie Thomas, Sam Green, Rachel Crosby, David Sweetenham and Marwan Hassan.

Many students overcame challenges during the year, including Sasha Greenland, who spoke little English when she arrived from Russia at the beginning of Year 11, but managed gain six GCSEs, including an A* grade in Russian.

Headteacher Keith Nancekievill said: “We have high achievers here with numerous A and A* grades, but there are also many other students who achieved their own personal best, whatever grade is on the certificate. To all of them I give my heartfelt congratulations.

“This is a phenomenal achievement for these young people, but at the same time I want to congratulate all those students who achieved creditable results.

• AMAZING students at Abbey College topped the class with an outstanding set of GCSE results.

Head teacher Wayne Birks said this year’s marks were “the best the school has ever seen” after nearly three quarters of students scored five A*-C grades.

But staff at the school in Abbey Road, Ramsey said they were particularly proud that 63 per cent of students got five A*-C grades in subjects including English and maths - a 16 per cent increase on last year.

The pick of the bunch included Hannah Butson, who wowed examiners with nine A* and four A grades.

Michael Ruddlesden scored a stunning 11 grades at A* level and one A, whereas Imi Procter bagged nine A*s and two As.

Meanwhile Laura Smith celebrated a haul of six A*s and nine As.

Mr Birks said: “These are fantastic results and the best the school has ever seen. I want to congratulate all the students and staff on another record year.”

The head also praised his school’s “scale of improvement” which means four out of five students get a grade C or above in maths.

At the same time 74 per cent of students get a C or better in English, whereas the school’s five A*-C rate has increased 20 per cent in the last three years.