Colchester: A bumper GCSE year

High-flying students reaped the rewards of their labours with record-breaking exam scores.

At St Benedict's College, principal John O'Hara said he was delighted with a "fantastic" set of results which saw 20 per cent of students getting at least nine A*s and As.

Emily Light was the top scoring student with 11 A*s and five As with Alexandra Miller getting nine A*s and six As. Thomas Imber got nine A*s and five As and Kristy Kehoe attained nine A*s and four As with Sarah Ayton getting nine A*s and three As.A total of 77 per cent of students got at least five A* to Cs, with 62 per cent hitting the standard in subjects including English and maths.

Mr O'Hara said: "I am absolutely delight with the results which are fantastic. They are a testament to the children and the staff who have worked really well together."

Colchester County High School for Girls, which is celebrating its centenary, recorded another exceptional year with more than a third of the students getting A*s and As in all 11 subjects.

Star students included Reena Suresh and Lucy Tallentire both got 11 A*s with Emma Snook, Emily Baxter, Elizabeth Hamilton and Hetal Kotecha getting ten A*s.

Jennifer Allerton, Rosemary Bettle, Emily Bryce, Alice Garbutt, Ellen Mears and Hayley Turner are all celebrating gain nine A*s and two As and Alice Bucker, Emma Carey, Sophie Moul, Keziah Niven and Amelia Southgate getting eight A*s.

Headteacher Elizabeth Ward said: “This has been another excellent year with all 104 students having achieved outstanding results in all subjects.”

It has been another bumper year for Colchester Royal Grammar School, where pupils bettered all previous GCSE scores.

The percentage of A* or A passes rose to 86.5 per cent, with 633.60 the average points score per student, up 35 points on last year’s tally.

The five A* to Cs pass rate was 100 per cent and the overall A* to C pass rate 99 per cent.

Twenty-one boys achieved ten or more A*s, while 66 gained ten or more A* or As.

There were double celebrations at the Burt household in Chappel for identical twins, Harry and James. Each chalked up 13 A*s in the same 12 subjects, with Harry choosing German and his brother geography as their thirteenth subject.

Headmaster Ken Jenkinson said: “I am delighted with this year’s GCSE results. They are an excellent platform for sixth form study and testimony to the hard work of the boys and the teachers.

“It is not surprising that sport, music and drama were particularly strong in this year group as the boys were keen to make the most of all the opportunities available to them.”

At Philip Morant School and College, Colchester, 74 per cent of students achieved at leat five A* to C grades with 66 per cent of students hitting the grade with GCSEs including English and maths.

Head teacher Sue Cowans said: "We have maintained once again the high standards at GCSE our students have achieved over a number of years. Points scores were up, including the percentage gaining A* and A grades."

Mrs Cowans said more than half the students achieved nine or more good GCSEs at A* to C grades with seven students getting all A* or A grades.

Honywood Community Science School, Coggeshall, notched up its best ever year with 73 per cent of pupils gaining five or more A*s to C GCSE and 65 per cent achieving grade C or better in English and maths.

The top results were achieved by Mark McFadden whose ten A*s, one A grade and a top ICT qualification makes him the highest-achieving boy in the school’s 42-year history.

Ayala Daisley gained nine A*s and three A grade GCSEs and the same ICT qualification, becoming the second most successful girl to study at Honywood.

Headteacher Simon Mason praised the students for fulfilling their potential and said: "As a cohort, these pupils have taken more responsibility for their personal success than any previous group and as a result more of them have put in the hard work needed to enjoy such exceptional success."

Staff at Thurstable School in Maypole Road, Tiptree, saw 45 per cent of year 11 pupils achieve at least five A* to C grades including English and maths.

Although slightly down on last year, it was still an improvement on the 38 per cent scored in 2006. Overall, 59 per cent of the youngsters were awarded five or more A* to C grades.

Individual success stories included that of Megan Kemp, who notched up eight A*s and two As and Harry Bell, whose hard work secured him seven A*s, an A and a B.

Headteacher Miles Bacon said: “I am pleased with these results, and proud of the students who achieved them.

“They are the product of a great deal of hard work and commitment from Thurstable staff and students alike, and they deserve to be congratulated. “On their behalf I would also like to thank our parents for the excellent support they provide to their children and to us as a school.”

St Helena School in Colchester recorded its best results ever with 46 per cent of students getting five A* to C grades including English and maths.

Head teacher Kevin Prince said: "That is the best the school has ever done. Last year was the the best and we have gone beyond that again.

"We are exceptionally pleased and I would like to that all the hard working students and staff."

Overall 58 per cent of students got five A* to Cs. Top students were Yolanda Leask who got nine A*s and two As and a double distinction in ICT and Adam Brown who achieve eight A*s and one A, a double distinction in ICT and a distinction in business studies.

At The Gilberd School, Colchester, 64 per cent of students gained five A* to Cs and 56 per cent achieved the same grades including English and maths.

Headteacher Linda Exley said: “We are delighted with the success of our students.

“These results are in line with our target for this year group and reflect the solid foundations provided for students at The Gilberd.

“In addition they reflect the hard work of students and staff in partnership with our supportive parents.”

Stanway School, Alderman Blaxill and Thomas, Lord Audley received mixed results.

Executive head of all three schools Jonathan Tippett said 66 per cent of Stanway pupils came away with five A* to Cs, with 50 per cent gaining those grades in English and maths.

Mr Tippett said it was the first time the second figure had reached 50 per cent.

At Thomas, Lord Audley – which has been earmarked for closure along with Alderman Blaxill – 57 per cent of pupils achieved A* to C grades, while 38 per cent got those marks in English and maths.

“We are particularly pleased with TLA,” said Mr Tippett.

“Its results in English and maths are significantly improved.

“You question whether the school needs to close at all.”

The headteacher said 45 per cent of Alderman Blaxill pupils got five A* to Cs, with 21 per cent of those achieving the same grades in English and maths.

“We are disappointed with the second figure,” said Mr Tippett.

“That has dropped – but we only have 89 pupils in the year.

“If nine students get a C in maths but not English we lose 10 per cent.

“You have to be careful with these statistics.

“You don't know how close the students are to the grade above.”

He added: “Overall we are very pleased.

“The results are a credit to the pupils and staff.”

Students at Manningtree High School achieved a 66 pet cent A*-C pass rate this year with 54 per cent gaining five or more A*-C grades including English and maths Six students - Alex Duchars, Brad Antliff, John Phillips, Lottie Cousins, Holly Spurr and Liz Smy - collected 23 A* grades and 34 A grades between them.

Headteacher Deborah Hollister said: "We are all delighted so many students have achieved their potential after so much hard work."

History was made at Colchester High School where girls sat GCSEs for the first time.

Over all, 92 per cent of students achieved at least five A* to C grades with 82 per cent reaching the level at subjects including English and maths.

Alex Davie got six A*s and six As while head boy Omar Ramjan got three A*s and nine As.

Principal David Wood said: “I am delighted that once again our pupils have achieved excellent GCSE results.

"It is an outstanding achievement for a non-selective independent senior school to double its pupil numbers, include girls for the first time and still maintain very high standards.”

At St Mary's School in Colchester, all the students achieved at least five A* to C grades with 96 per cent gaining five or more A*-C grades including English and maths.

Among the success stories was Averil Heart who got ten A*s and in six subjects, all the girls achieved A*s and As.

Principal Hilary Vipond said: "We are thrilled to announce that these were some of the best results St Mary’s has ever had.

"I’m extremely proud of all the girls and the staff for their dedication and hard work across the last two years.

It was a record-breaking year for Sir Charles Lucas, with 47 per cent achieving five A* to C grades.

Thirty five per cent of pupils got the same marks including English and maths.

Principal Jude Hanner said it was an improvement of 10 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

Students at the Colne Community School also got their best ever results, with 71 per cent achieving five A* to Cs.

Half the year were awarded the same grades including English and Maths.

Top of the class was Jacqueline Bushnesll-Lledo with 18 GCSEs at A*-C.

Principal Nardeep Sharma said: “It has been a busy year and our students have worked incredibly hard.

“With the guidance from an excellent teaching staff and good parental support we did very well indeed.

“All indicators show that we will perform even better year next year.”

East Bergholt High School was celebrating after 80 per cent of students attained at least five A* to C grades with 64 per cent of students hitting the target with GCSEs including English and maths.

Head teacher Moira Humphreys said: "Again, there are some outstanding individual results across the ability range.

"Our results are a testimony to the hard work of students and their teachers together with the support of parents."