CISC Schools Celebrate GCSE Results in a Year of Change
CISC schools have taken the changes to the GCSE exam system in their stride and have produced an outstanding set of results under the old and new grading systems. The exam results, coupled with a spiritual and moral formation, confirm that Catholic independent schools offer exceptional value not only to individual pupils but to the wider communities they will go on to serve.
Among the many schools celebrating exceptional results, Towers Convent School girls have yet again excelled themselves in their GCSEs. They achieved a fantastic 97% A* to C grades with 44% of the grades at A* and A, at a time when there has been great concern across the country regarding a drop in exam results.
The recipe for their success is as follows: hard working pupils working closely with dedicated staff, who want nothing but the very best for them. This unbeatable combination encourages Towers pupils to think big and follow their dreams.
Joy at the Towers Convent School on GCSE results day
Not only have the girls secured some outstanding GCSE results, with a group of keen mathematicians also achieving extremely impressive grades in the Freestanding Additional Maths Level 3 examination, but 13% of the pupils’ grades in English literature, Language and mathematics were grade 9, which is being hailed as superior to an A*.
Pupils at St George’s College, Weybridge celebrated their best ever set of GCSE result. 45% of the grades were A* – 5 percentage points above last year. 45 pupils achieved straight A*-A Grades, including 18 with at least 10 A*s. 74% of the most able Mathematicians gained A* in Further Maths GCSE. Five students sat GCSEs in the following extra-curricular languages: Chinese, Greek and Turkish, gaining a total of 4 A*s and 1 A grade.
St George’s College, Weybridge, GCSE celebrations
All Year 10 pupils took Religious Studies a year early, with 88% achieving A*-B grades. The whole Year group also sat the IGCSE English Language, a year early, with 85% gaining A*-B grades. Of the 19 pupils who took French a year early, 95% achieved A*. In addition to this, three students sat GCSEs in other languages, with A*s in Chinese and Turkish, and an A in Dutch. Four of our Year 9 students took some modern languages early: German, French and Italian GCSEs, all achieving A*s, and one Year 12 student took Chinese GCSE, gaining a B grade.
Speaking on results day, GCSE students at St George’s College were asked how they felt, here are some of their comments:
“I would like to say a great thank you to my teachers for helping me grow as a student.”
“Thank you for all the teachers’ support and dedication, everyone did amazing. I’m happy that I go to such an amazing school.”
“I’m very overwhelmed and pleasantly surprised. I just want to thank all my teachers for all their help.”
“Thank you so much St George’s, I can’t wait to go to the Sixth Form.”
Mrs Rachel Owens, Headmistress, said: “I am delighted with these superb results. The students and their teachers all worked extremely hard to attain this record number of top grades.”
Mayfield School is celebrating some of its best ever GCSE results, an impressive achievement in a year where examination reforms have made it more challenging for students to reach the top grade. Over one-third of all entries were awarded either A* or 9, the newly introduced highest grade in GCSE English and Mathematics, which recognises the very best performing students. Almost three quarters of entries were graded A*/A or 9–7 and 98% A* to C or equivalent.
An outstanding 20% of the year group was awarded A*/A or equivalent grades in all their subjects and almost 20% achieved 9 A* or equivalent. Over three quarters of the year group attained 5 or more A*/A or equivalent. The GCSE results are all the more impressive as the School has a broad academic intake and they highlight Mayfield’s success in unlocking the academic potential of each girl. They are a testament not only to the first-rate teaching and exceptional pastoral support at Mayfield but also to the School’s ethos of commitment, aspiration and challenge and we congratulate the girls on their achievements.
Jumping for joy at Mayfield School on GCSE results day
Headmistress, Antonia Beary, commented: “I am immensely proud that Mayfield girls have continued to perform exceptionally well at GCSE, especially at this time of confusion and uncertainty in the education system. These results confirm the importance of inspiring and engaging girls in the classroom, rather than simply teaching them how to pass examinations. We are delighted by the performance of our girls in both the new and more rigorous Maths and Further Maths examinations with a higher than anticipated percentage of 9 and A* with Distinction grades, confirming the School’s excellence in this area. Similarly, a pleasing number of 9s were achieved in English (not least given the public controversy over the marking), which reflects the all-round quality of a Mayfield education.
In the pioneering year when reformed exam content and changes to gradings dominated the educational landscape, The Marist School has delivered an unchanging picture of exam success. Over half of all grades were A*/A and 9-7, building to a total picture of virtually all grades being A*-C and 9-4.
Not coming down to earth just yet at The Marist School on GCSE results day
The Director of Teaching and Learning, Deborah Kite, expressed her delight for this hard working year group. She explained, “Despite uncertainty in the grade boundaries and marking schemes, this year group have disregarded the hype and focused on delivering consistently strong results.”
There were some amazing results for individual subjects not always loudly acclaimed for girls. 18% of the Further Maths group achieved A^, which is higher than an A*. Further success was secured in Biology with 32% at A*, Chemistry had 29% A* and Religious Studies achieved 35% at A*. Our highest proportion of A* came in History with 63% achieving that accolade.
The high academic performance level of The Marist is once more underlined in an emphatic manner by today’s results. Principal Karl McCloskey said, “Marist Girls are highly skilled, extremely talented and characterised by a positive work ethic. This year group, like those who have gone before, have attained an excellent set of results which will serve as a strong foundation for the advanced phase of their education. I am extremely proud of them all.”
The first St Mary’s School, Cambridge cohort to take GCSEs under the new 9 to 1 grading scheme has today received excellent results. In those subjects graded under the new scheme – English Language, English Literature, and Mathematics –13% of English Language papers were awarded the new top grade, against 2% nationally, and 9% of Mathematics papers were also awarded grade 9, against 3% nationally.
Students and staff celebrate on GCSE results day at St Mary’s Cambridge
With uptake in foreign language qualifications in a state of decline nationally, St Mary’s School, Cambridge students’ interest and performance in a range of foreign languages tells a different story. 86% of Latin results and 83% of German results were awarded the top A* grade, and 81% of Spanish papers were awarded at A*/A grade. Students taking humanities and arts subjects also achieved exceptional grades, showing the school’s success across the board, with 92% of History students achieving A*/A grades, and 91% of Art and 89% of Music students respectively achieving A*/A grades.
Charlotte Avery, Headmistress of St Mary’s School, Cambridge said: “All of us in the St Mary’s School, Cambridge community are incredibly proud of what our students have been able to achieve this year. The girls have developed as individuals during their time with us – some of them for 12 years – into the confident young adults who we see today collecting their GCSE results. They have discovered new talents and interests, and have worked incredibly hard. Congratulations to all.”
The Oratory School celebrated a successful set of GCSE results with 34% of grades in the A*-A category and 60% at B grade or higher. The number of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C GCSEs increased to 93%.
Success on and off the field at The Oratory
There were some excellent departmental performances, particularly in Maths where 35% of the grades were at A* level, and Art and Design in which 100% of the grades were at A*-B. The Music Department had great success too with 100% of the grades at A*-B and our Science Department had notable success with over 30% achieving A* grades in each of the single sciences.
The Head Master, Mr Joseph Smith, who was present to offer his congratulations to boys and parents said: “These are very pleasing results, and congratulations should go to the young men who have achieved them and the teachers who have prepared them so well. As well as some outstanding grades at the top end, there are many success stories of young men achieving well beyond their expectations, and as a school with a broad ability spread we should acknowledge and celebrate this.”
Ratcliffe College students have achieved another superb set of GCSE results. Following on from the College’s outstanding A Level results, which placed them in the top 10% nationally by value added, these splendid GCSE results reflect the excellent standards of teaching and learning at Ratcliffe, underpinned by the College’s inclusive ethos.
The College is delighted with the increase in this year’s overall pass rate, with 92% of all grades C/4 or better and 44% of all grades were A*/A or 7/8/9 on the new grading system. The Mathematics Department achieved a 100% pass rate in both Mathematics and Further Mathematics, whilst there was a 100% pass rate in English Literature, which included 64% achieving the new grade 7 or above and 16% achieving the new top grade 9, five times the national average.
Headmaster, Mr Jon Reddin commented: “Following the government’s changes to Mathematics and English syllabuses and the grading system, our superb GCSE examination results have,
yet again, proven that we stretch our most able students while at the same time supporting every individual, nurturing their God-given talents. We are incredibly proud of the students’ achievements and of the unstinting commitment of our teachers and support staff, and we look forward to the year group’s continued success as they begin their next phase of education in the Sixth Form.”
New Headmaster, Mr Jon Reddin, celebrates GCSE success with students at Ratcliffe College
Smiles, joy and congratulations were the order of the day as Farnborough Hill girls received their GCSE results. Taking government changes in their stride, they kept their focus to achieve an impressive 86% A* – B, with 59% of all results graded at A*/A. The big story was that an amazing 51 girls, over half of the cohort, achieved A*/A in 6 or more subjects.
This was the first year of major changes to the GCSE examinations with English, English Literature and Mathematics being graded on a scale of 9 to 1. The new grades of 8 and 9 are equivalent to an A* under the previous system. (For ease of reference A* below includes grades 8 and 9).
Farnborough Hill girls celebrate GCSE success with Headmistress, Alexandra Neal
Headmistress, Mrs Alexandra Neil, said ‘’ The girls have all worked really hard for their GCSEs despite the unsettling nature of being the first cohort to sit these new examinations. The partnership between school and home with the girls at the centre has been a great success. I am hugely grateful to our teaching staff for their commitment and hard work. The girls are a delightful year group and I look forward to welcoming them back into the Sixth Form in a couple of weeks.’
Bishop Challoner has once again enjoyed great success with its GCSE results. Despite the changes to the first wave of the new numerical grading system in Mathematics and English our pupils achieved excellent results. 83 percent of pupils gained at least 5 A*-C grades or numerical equivalent including Maths and English Language, a 14 percent improvement on last year. Our effective monitoring of progress and support strategies has enabled the pupils to reach their potential in so many subjects.
More pupils achieved A*-B grades this year with an impressive 100 per cent A*-B pass rate in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Dance, Design Technology, Performing Arts and Spanish.
Bishop Challoner pupils on GCSE results day
Headteacher Paula Anderson said, ‘’The hard work and determination of our pupils has given them much to celebrate today. I would like to congratulate them on these outstanding achievements. My gratitude and thanks to the staff for their dedication and passion in getting the best outcomes for our pupils and to the parents who have worked in partnership with Bishop Challoner’’.
Top grades have been awarded to Year 11 girls at St Augustine’s Priory, Ealing in their GCSE results this year with 82% of results being A* – B or equivalent (9 – 6). With a clean sweep of A*s in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, 100% passes in English Literature and Mathematics and 83% of Modern Language grades at A* or A, the students at St Augustine’s Priory showed their mastery in a wide range of subjects. The most common grade was A* or equivalent (9/8). Overall, pupils scored A* – B in 12 subjects with over half of all pupils (51%) obtaining at least 5 A* or A grades or equivalent (new grades 9/8/7) between them. 54% of the grades achieved in Mathematics, English and English Literature combined were 9, 8 or 7 (A* – A). 95% of all pupils achieved at least 1 grade A*/A or equivalent. This follows last week’s news that 100% of the Year 11 Additional Mathematics students achieved the top grade, A.
Happy GCSE Results Day at St Augustine’s Priory
Interim Headteacher, Mrs Marie-Helene Collins, commented, ‘Across the full range of our curriculum, our girls have performed brilliantly and we congratulate them on their outstanding results today. Among many highlights, our excellent separate science performance and fantastic results in the new English and Mathematics courses are a particular source of confidence. Another strong year of results yet again confirms our expertise in teaching girls in our wonderful setting, supported by our dedicated staff and with a Catholic ethos’.
