Shropshire pupils collect their GCSE results

Pupils across Shropshire will be heading into school to pick up envelopes containing their GCSE grades today.

Early indications show that 2015 is likely to be another successful year for schools and academies in the Shropshire Council area.

Councillor Ann Hartley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We would like to warmly congratulate pupils on their success. We would also like to thank all those who are part of our school communities and who have provided much needed support and direction for the pupils, including all teaching staff and headteachers, parents and carers.

“The pupils’ achievements are testament to how diligently they have prepared for their examinations and the hard work that they put into their studies.

“This is such an important time for young people as they progress from school to continued education at school or college, an apprenticeship or traineeship, or part-time education or training. We wish all of Shropshire’s pupils every success in the future.”

In the Telford & Wrekin area early analysis of results indicates that there is an improvement in the rates of progress that students have made during their time in secondary school.

The provisional results show that a greater proportion of students have attained 5 GCSE passes including English and Maths at Grade C or better than last year.

At Hadley Learning Community, the percentage of students making three and four levels of progress has continued to rise and is likely to be well above the national average.

Students at Sutherland Co-operative Academy, which is due to close at the end of this month, also made good progress, particularly in English during their time at the school. The headline results this year are up 14%, one of the biggest increases in the borough.

Schools in Newport have performed well with Burton Borough improving on last year’s performance and Newport Girls High reporting their best ever results.

Councillor Paul Watling, cabinet member for Children, Young People and Families, said: “I would like to congratulate all the students on their achievements and thank everyone connected with the schools for their hard work.”

Sir John Talbot’s School receive first set results as an Academy
Students and staff at Sir John Talbot’s School in Whitchurch were ‘on cloud nine’ today as they received their first set of GCSE results as an Academy. Results at the school have continued to improve, with 100% of students gaining at least 5 GCSE passes, an increase of 11% on last year. The number of A* and A grades has also risen by 9%. Headteacher of Sir John Talbot’s School, David O’Toole, is “delighted” with the performance of Year 11 students.

Mr O’Toole commented, “I am delighted for our students today, as they celebrate their outstanding achievements. I am also thrilled for the staff who are dedicated and committed to providing the young people of Whitchurch and beyond with the highest possible standard of education. The curriculum studied by our students at GCSE is broad, balanced and yet academically demanding so these results are outstanding and, with a thriving sixth form here at SJT, we are looking forward to welcoming many of the students back to embark on A Level courses in September.”

He continued, “Still on a high from last week’s A Level results, today’s celebrations are a wonderful way to round off our first year as an Academy and what a fantastic year it has been.”

Alisha Smith picked up her results this morning and commented, "We are grateful for the support we have had from our teachers. They put on lots of support sessions in the evenings and at weekends and even provided breakfast for us on the days of our exams. We knew exactly what we needed to do to get our target grades."

Rebecca Rogers was thrilled with her results and commented, "The school has given us the courage to believe in ourselves. I am really pleased that it is all over and that all of the hard work has paid off."

Impressive achievements at GCSE and IGCSE at Adcote School
Adcote School is celebrating another year of very strong GCSE results, following on from last week’s stunning A Level results.

With a 99.6% pass rate, 88% of all grades were at A*-C and almost 40% of all grades achieved were at A*/A. In addition nearly 90% of Adcote pupils have achieved the equivalent of at least 5 passes at grades A*-C in their GCSE and iGCSE results.

At Adcote School many subjects have been examined at IGCSE, which is widely considered more academically rigorous than GCSE.

Headmaster Gary Wright commented “These are more excellent results for our pupils. Well done to Year 11, who have worked hard to achieve their success. In addition to their academic success, they have taken up all the opportunities and extra-curricular activities available to them at Adcote. These include the CCF (Combined Cadet Force), Duke of Edinburgh Award and the Rotary Interact Club."

“We are delighted with all of our public examination results this summer, reflecting the commitment and hard work of our pupils and their teachers.”

“Nationally Adcote School has built on its past achievements and is consistently in the top tier for both A level and GCSE results.”

Picklescott teenager is top performer at Concord College
Concord College report some ‘excellent’ GCSE results with their top performer from Picklescott.

79% of all grades awarded at A* or A, 47% of all grades awarded at A*, 35% of the year group of 58 achieving 6 A*s or more, the top performing student is local day student Megan Margetts, from Picklescott, with eleven A*s, 100% of students achieved 5 or more A* - C grades.

Neil Hawkins, Principal at the Acton Burnell-based college said: “I am delighted for our students who have achieved such strong GCSE and IGCSE results this year. There have been some wonderful individual performances with 35% of the year group scoring six or more A* grades as well as many other super individual triumphs.

“However, the results are more than just grades. For this group of students they are their first chance to judge themselves in a national and international context against their peers. It may not be comfortable to accept, but the world is a competitive place.

“High grades can also play a significant part in a young person’s application to university and many students have achieved exceptional grade profiles this year. Most importantly, I hope that our fabulous students are able to take great confidence from what they have achieved. I wish them luck as they embark upon their A level programmes,” he added.