Schools’ delight at GCSE success
SCHOOLS and students from across the area have been keen to celebrate their good GCSE pass rates. This is despite national figures showing a drop in the number of higher grades awarded this year and a dip in the overall pass rate for the first time in the exam’s 25-year history. Sutton Valence School re- ported that almost a third of students gained seven or more A* and A grades, while the school’s top set students achieved 89% A*/A grades – its best-ever performance. Against the backdrop of Ofqual announcing harsher marking this year, students at Sutton Valence have plenty to be pleased about; not only has there been a 63% increase in A*-A grades over the past six years, but this year 13% achieved 10 A*s and As. In the key science, English andmaths subjects, passes at A* and A were significantly higher this year than last. Hannah Davies, from Kings- wood, and Mia van Diepen, from Harrietsham, achieved straight A* and A grades in 12 subjects and Charlie Gellett, from Goudhurst, in 13. Head Bruce Grindlay said he
was also delighted that Sutton Valence had maintained its progress across the board, with 94% achieving A*-C grades. He added: “Sutton Valence is
a broad intake school, and these exceptional results are further testimony to the excellence of the ethos of the school, which aims to add value to every pupil.” At Cornwallis Academy, stu-
dents in Years 10 and 11 cele- brated another year of record-breaking results, with 58% gaining five A-Cs, includ- ing English and maths, and 90% getting five A*-C grades – the academy’s best ever results. At Maidstone Grammar School for Girls,headMrs Mary Smith said: “Our GCSE results this year are the best ever, with 62% A*-A grades overall, and 40 students achiev- ing 10 or more A*-A grades each.” Most spectacular of all were the English results, with 91% gaining an A*/A. At New Line Learning
(10 A*/As at GCSE and two As at AS); Laura Wilment (10 A*/As at GCSE and two As at AS) and talented artist Katie Driver (10 A*/As at GCSE and two As at AS). Fourteen stu- dents achieved straight A*/A grades. St Simon Stock Catholic School reported the best GCSE results in the school’s history, with 70% achieving five or more GCSEs at A*-C, including English language and maths, and 90% earning five or more A*-C grades in other subjects. High-achievers included
Four of the 40 pupils who got 10 or more A*-A grades at Maidstone Grammar
Academy (NLL), students con- tinued to improve on their GCSE results this year, with 41% achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C includ- ing English and maths, and 79% getting five A*-C grades – a new record for the school. Six Year Nine students, in- cluding Cameron Croucher, who earnedaCinmathsand B in English, also sat and passed their English andMaths GCSEs – two years early. NLL academy principal
David Elliott said: “Our stu- dents have worked exception- ally hard and managed to produce our best results ever.” Fears by the girls at Invicta Grammar that they might be af-
56.6% of students gained eight or more A*/A grades at Invicta Grammar
Sarah Hughes (10A* grades in 10 GCSE subjects); Adam Thompson (seven A*s, three As, one B); Sarah Pattinson (seven A*s, three As); Michael Oliver (six A*s, five As); Lara Epsley (four A*s, six As) and Daniel Ellesmere and Clara Senior (four A*s, five As, two Bs). In spite of a big fall in the number of pupils getting top grades in the sciences nation- ally, St Simon Stock – a science specialist School – was pleased with its results. Deputy head Jon Malone said:
“In science our results were about 20% higher than last year’s national average at A*-C, with 89% of students achieving an A*-C in additional science and 84% in core science. Stu- dents also achieved highly in English (80% A*-C) and Maths (83% A*-C), both of which are also significantly higher than last year’s national averages.” At Swadelands School in Lenham, 90% of students achieved five A*-C grades and 75% eight or more. Overall, 50% achieved eight or more GCSES, including English and maths.
Cornwallis Academy’s Y10 students Ben Turner (left) and Ben Austen with their results
fected by a dip in results na- tionally were unfounded, with students achieving 61% A*/A grades and 28.2% at A* in a year that the school also raised over £32,000 for charity. The percentage of students gaining eight A*/A grades was 56.6%.
Among the high-achievers
were Kiera Doughty (nine A*/As at GCSE, three As at AS); Charlotte Summers (11 A*/As at GCSE and two As at AS); Felicity Murray (10 A*/As at GCSE and two As at AS); Leah Pattison (10 A*/As at GCSE and twoAsatAS);Ganga Gurung
High-achievers included: Megan Cole (eight A*s); Mitchell Wells (six A*s); Tom Stephenson (six A*s) and Joe Pearce (four A*s, two As). A total of 52% of pupils achieved five A* to C grades in- cluding English and maths at Valley Park School. There was an A* to C pass rate of 96%. Almost 50% of pupils at Oak-
wood Park Grammar School achieved at least five A* and As. In total 21 students gained 10 or more A*s and As.
Sutton Valence School students look pleased with their results 22 South
Cameron Croucher with NLL’s director of English Miss Rogers and director of mathsMr Jones
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