Borough's pupils keep on getting better
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Wednesday August 25, 2010
More than 1,000 nervous teenagers in Hammersmith & Fulham collected their GCSE results yesterday (August 24) but they need not have worried as the pass rate went up again, for the fifth year running, making them the borough’s best ever.
Last year 64.1 per cent of students achieved five or more A*-C grades in subjects including maths and English, an increase of 10% on the previous year. But this year’s provisional figures show that they have shot up again, to 69.1%, and are likely to be well ahead of the national average which was 49.8% last year.
The pass rate for pupils in the borough gaining five or more A*-C grades was 89.7% – up on last year’s 82.2% and above last year’s national average in England, Wales and Northern Ireland of 70%. The overall GCSE pass rate in the UK rose for the 23rd year in a row, with 98.7% of entries passing.
Cllr Helen Binmore, cabinet member for children’s services, was thrilled with the results. She said: “The results are fantastic and to improve again on last year’s figures is a real achievement for everyone involved. Our schools keep getting better and there have been some wonderful individual success stories too from pupils who prove what you can do when you put your mind to it. I wish our students all the best for the future and they, along with their teachers and families, should be very proud!”
The best performing school was Sacred Heart High School in Hammersmith Road, with a 94.9% pass rate in pupils gaining five or more A*-Cs with English and maths, and 99.4% gaining A*-C in at least five subjects overall. Dr Christine Carpenter, headteacher, said: "It is another remarkable year by our girls. They have worked so hard and deserve all their success and we are delighted."
Burlington Danes Academy made a massive 19.9% leap with 69.9% from last year’s 50%. Thirty of the school's students passed their GCSE maths a year early with 22 achieving A grades and eight earning A* grades.
Burlington Danes’ principal, Sally Coates, said: “I am delighted with these results. To improve our pass rate by almost 20% is exceptional and is testament to the incredible effort made by students and staff. We are committed to supporting our students all the way to top universities. These results, combined with our new Sixth Form, will enable us to achieve this.”
Boasting the second best score in the borough for A*-C grades including maths and English, was London Oratory with a 93.7% pass rate, and 97.4% in all subjects, while 90% of Lady Margaret School's 90 pupils gained five or more A*-C grades, including English and maths, with 24 girls celebrating getting straight A*s and As.
Hurlingham & Chelsea also achieved its best ever results, jumping six per cent from 2009 to 49% for pupils receiving five or more A*-Cs with English and maths included and provisionally 83% of students scored five or more A*-Cs. Henry Compton School saw the number of pupils achieving five A* to C grades in all subjects leap by one quarter, up to 80%, with 38.1% getting their maths and English too – an improvement of 3.1%.
At the Bridge Academy, where students face a wide range of challenges, all the pupils achieved at least one GCSE at A*-G, which thrilled headteacher Seamus Oates. He said: “This is another fantastic set of results, and learners and staff have worked extremely hard to achieve GCSE passes from very low starting points. The recent Ofsted inspection noted the staggering progress being made by our learners and these results show that we are truly outstanding.”
At Fulham Cross, Sarina Kiani, 16, of Townmead Road, Fulham, bagged an incredible nine A*s and four As. She said: “I'm really excited. I want to study medicine and I'd love to go and practice overseas." 92% of pupils achieved at least five GCSEs at grades A* to C, with 68.5% getting A*-C in subjects including maths and English.
At Phoenix High School 44% of pupils gained at least five A*-C GCSEs including maths and English and 96% getting A*-C in all subjects. Pupil Tina Sharifi, 16, had a busy few days, picking up four A*s, two As, four Bs and three Cs, on top of three A Levels in maths, ICT and Persian which she passed two years early. She said: "I have been so stressed and so busy with all the work I have had to do but this is a great feeling."
And it wasn’t just teenagers celebrating passing their GCSEs - learners who have been studying languages and maths at Hammersmith & Fulham’s Adult Skills and Learning Service’s centres across the borough shone through. Eighty-three per cent of people achieved A*-C in English, 82% passed their maths exams and there was a 100% record in Spanish and Italian, where every single student gained an A or A* in the languages.
Full GCSE figures will be published in October.
Read more on Bridge Academy»
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Read more on Fulham Cross»
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Read more on Lady Margaret»
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