Local pupils adapt to new way of working to achieve high grades

Chiswick School's Xing achieved ten grade 9s with Ruby getting 8

Students across the Chiswick area have been praised for their determination and perseverance despite having to adapt to new ways of working during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The GCSE results from local schools have generally been excellent mirroring the national result in which top grades (7/As and above) rose to 28.9% compared to 26.2% in 2020, while grades 4/Cs and above - seen as passes - rose to 77.1% up from 76.3%.

Teachers submitted grades for the more than half a million pupils on GCSE courses this year, using evidence such as mock exams, course work and tests.

Rebecca Lake, Assistant Headteacher at Chiswick School said “We are absolutely delighted with the results our students have achieved this year, despite the challenges they have faced. All students have shown high levels of commitment, effort and dedication to their work. It was a delight to see so many happy faces this morning, that is what teaching is all about.”

Headteacher Laura Ellener added, “Our students have looked beyond the pandemic, shown resilience, relished the challenge and achieved the grades they deserve. This is also testament to our staff who have worked extremely hard during the pandemic to ensure our students have reached their potential and are able to progress on to their next steps. We are proud that record numbers of year 11 students are choosing to remain and continue their studies with us at Chiswick Sixth Form. Over the summer we have been working hard to develop a new state of the art sixth form provision to accommodate the increased demand.”

Xing achieved exceptional results with 9 grades in all his GCSE subjects achieving ten grade 9’s - “It feels so rewarding after five years of hard work and dedication to my studies. I’m really looking forward to studying maths, further maths, chemistry and physics here at the Chiswick School Sixth Form.”

There were many other outstanding individual achievements including Ruby and Huda who both achieved eight grade 9’s and one grade 8 and Michka who achieved eight grade 9’s, one eight grade 8 and one grade 7 all progressing to the Chiswick Sixth Form for their A Level studies.

Huda (left) and Mishka (right) gained 8 grade 9s

At Latymer Upper School over half of all the grades awarded were 9s and 83% of grades were at 9-8 (A*) with 76 students achieved straight 9-8 (A*) grades. Of the 22 students who achieved straight 9s at GCSE, some are bursary holders and many are students who have successfully balanced their studies with additional co-curricular, academic and community activities. For example, Pearl and Liza took part in the Young Writers Scheme this year; Liza also won a scholarship to Cambridge Summer School and completed an online legal internship this Easter time.

Latymer Upper School Head, David Goodhew said, “We are very proud of our pupils who have achieved outstanding success at GCSE. Their success is testament to their hard work and I pay tribute to the young people of this current Year 11 who have shown determination, perseverance and strength of character during the last two years of their school career which have been unbelievably disrupted. They have shown great resilience and adaptability, moving between in-person and online teaching and dealing with the uncertainty surrounding this year’s assessments. They have established very strong foundations for A Level and Pre-U study and are in an excellent position to make the most of life in the Sixth Form. I look forward to welcoming them back in September to our new Sixth Form Centre.

“My thanks go to our teaching staff who have worked incredibly hard to ensure that the Teacher-Assessed Grades for GCSE and IGCSE level were awarded fairly and with huge amounts of integrity. The workload on departments has been colossal.”

GCSE students at St Benedict’s also have received extremely good results.

The Headmaster, Andrew Johnson, said, “I am very proud of our Year 11 students, whose hard work and determination have led them to achieve such impressive results. The stresses and uncertainties of the past 18 months have been difficult for all of us, but particularly so for young people taking public exams. Their teachers have also worked very hard, in difficult circumstances, to support GCSE candidates, and they also deserve our thanks and congratulations.”

St. Benedict's School pupils after receiving their GCSEs

Year 11 students at St Benedict’s sat a series of assessments under examination conditions, which their teachers then marked and graded against criteria given by examination boards. 51.1% of all papers were graded 9-8 (formerly A*) and 73.1% were graded 9-7 (formerly A*/A).

St Augustine’s Priory conducted uninterrupted teaching through on-site classes and, during lockdowns, delivered a remote teaching and learning programme. Education continued uninterrupted throughout the year with the aim of enabling the girls to achieve their maximum potential.

Mrs Raffray, Headteacher of St Augustine’s Priory, commented, ‘We are as delighted with those whose grades range across the spectrum as we are with those who nailed the top grades across the board. I hope they and their parents enjoy this day, celebrating and noting all that they have done and are.’

St. Augustine's pupils celebrate after getting their grades

Across the borough of Hounslow results show an improvement on last year’s grades with around 77.3% of pupils achieving grade 4 or better in Maths and English.

Hounslow Council has paid tribute to the borough’s hardworking teachers and excellent schools that have continued to provide an extremely high standard of teaching throughout the pandemic.

Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services at Hounslow Council, said, “Well done to every single Hounslow student receiving their GCSE results today. You’ve worked incredibly hard to get to this day and you’ve done so in the face of adversity.

“Today’s results are a huge achievement for Hounslow’s brilliant pupils, teachers and schools, and I want to thank every one of you for making your community so proud.”

For any students who are now unsure about what to do next, the Hounslow 14-19 Connexions Team is available to provide free impartial careers advice and guidance on the full range of post 16 options available to you. Call the service on 020 8583 5151 or visit hounslow.gov.uk/connexions.

August 12, 2021