Well done again, Dacorum students! This week, you’ve done really well in your GCSEs!

The evidence suggests Dacorum students have once again performed brilliantly in their exams - this week scoring some tip top results in their GCSEs.
Ashlyns School students celebrate a cracking set of GCSE resultsAshlyns School students celebrate a cracking set of GCSE results
Ashlyns School students celebrate a cracking set of GCSE results

In Berkhamsted, Ashlyns School students were celebrating again with some terrific performances at GCSE and some wonderful success stories.

Top scorers were Jodie Kitwood, Molly Westwood and Megan Croker who each gained nine A* grades and one A.

Headteacher James Shapland said: “For so many students this has been a great day – the result of so much determination and tenacity to succeed.

Ashlyns School students celebrate a cracking set of GCSE results (top three pics), and below that Tring School students celebrate too PNL-140821-124118001Ashlyns School students celebrate a cracking set of GCSE results (top three pics), and below that Tring School students celebrate too PNL-140821-124118001
Ashlyns School students celebrate a cracking set of GCSE results (top three pics), and below that Tring School students celebrate too PNL-140821-124118001

“I’m pleased these GCSEs confirm the continued improvement in progress our students make between arriving at Ashlyns and starting life in sixth-form.

“They have bucked the national drop in English pass rates; Ashlyns’ results and progress in English GCSE have improved yet again, with our students performing much better than national statistics.

“Once again, this shows that students can attain outstanding results at Ashlyns.

“This was highlighted last week with the vast majority of our sixth-form university applicants gaining results allowing them into their first-choice universities, including Oxbridge and top Russell Group universities.

Ashlyns School students celebrate a cracking set of GCSE results (top three pics), and below that Tring School students celebrate too PNL-140821-124142001Ashlyns School students celebrate a cracking set of GCSE results (top three pics), and below that Tring School students celebrate too PNL-140821-124142001
Ashlyns School students celebrate a cracking set of GCSE results (top three pics), and below that Tring School students celebrate too PNL-140821-124142001

“The number of our alumni gaining first-class honours degrees this summer is stretching into double figures.”

Joint top-scorer Molly Westwood, who attained nine A* and one grade A, said she was delighted with her results and looking forward to starting Ashlyns’ sixth form in September.

This was echoed by Danny Ritchie (seven A* and four A grades), who was ‘extremely proud’ of his results – and off to celebrate at the Reading Festival!

Student Paula Purdy, who only arrived at Ashlyns two years ago from Colombia, said: “I was terrified when I moved to this country, speaking very little English.

Tring School pupils celebrate their GCSE results PNL-140821-135611001Tring School pupils celebrate their GCSE results PNL-140821-135611001
Tring School pupils celebrate their GCSE results PNL-140821-135611001

“I’m extremely proud of my results and achieving a grade A in English. Thank you to everyone at the school.”

SHINY STARS OF TRING SCHOOL BUCK THE NATIONAL TREND

Tring School has released a list of some of its high-achieving pupils.

Headteacher Sue Collings said its pupils have bucked the national trend by scoring a fantastic set of results.

Tring School pupils celebrate their GCSE results PNL-140821-135537001Tring School pupils celebrate their GCSE results PNL-140821-135537001
Tring School pupils celebrate their GCSE results PNL-140821-135537001

She said: “Following our recent excellent A-level results, Tring School is now celebrating further success with the publication of the GCSE results.

“There have been many successes from this wonderful group of students. Our shiny stars include:

– Abigail Edwards: seven A* grades and two As.

– Matthew George: five A* grades, three As and one B.

– Emily Easthorpe: four A* grades, four As and one B.

– Olivia Dawson: three A* grades and six As.

Tring School pupils celebrate their GCSE results PNL-140821-135548001Tring School pupils celebrate their GCSE results PNL-140821-135548001
Tring School pupils celebrate their GCSE results PNL-140821-135548001

– Nicholas Allam: five A* grades, two As, one B and one C.

– Olivia Parnell: four A* grades, four As and one C.

– Adam Daniel: four A* grades, three As and two Bs.

– George Janeway: two A* grades, one Distinction* – the equivalent of an A* when studying for a BTEC qualification, six As and one B.

– Jazmin Brooks: three A* grades, five As and one B.

– Anna Boake: two A* grades, one Distinction*, five As and one B.

“We are particularly pleased with the progress that students have made during their time at Tring.

“They have experienced a period of unprecedented changes within the exam system, such as the removal of speaking and listening element from English and the end of the modular form of assessment.

“Our students have adjusted to all of this change and today they have been rewarded for their hard work.

“Staff, parents and governors can all be very proud of the achievements made.

“Nationally there have been significant changes to grade boundaries and a fall in English A* to C grades, yet Tring School bucks this trend and has seen an improvement in both English and with the overall results.

“We can attribute this to the high quality teaching and learning in class, parental support and sheer hard work from our students.

“We are delighted with the number of students that have chosen to stay at Tring School for their post-16 study and we look forward to welcoming them back in September.

“We are having another moment where we continue to follow our school motto, ‘Live to Learn and Learn to Live’!”

STUDENTS CELEBRATE AT LONGDEAN

Students of Hemel Hempstead’s Longdean School have today been celebrating a cracking set of GCSE results - and not only the ones in Year 11.

Due to the unique one year option programme run by the establishment, students in Years 9 and 10 also collected results in their option subjects.

Headteacher Graham Cunningham said: “Longdean students were celebrating another set of great GCSE results.

“School performance increased from last year against all indicators with many strong individual performances.

“Special mention should go to James Coleman who achieved eight A* & two A grades, Claire Weekes who achieved 10 A*/A grades and Louis Glyn who achieved nine A*/A grades.

“I am delighted for all the students who collected their results today.

“Many have met or exceeded their own expectations and as a result they have control and choice over the next steps in their lives.

“These great results reflect the hard work put in by the staff and parents over the course of five years at Longdean.

“It also reflects the commitment Longdean has to every student who comes here regardless of their ability.”

Mr Cunningham also had praise for all of the students who sat their GCSEs early.

He said: “I am once again proud of our younger students who have achieved highly in GCSE examinations that they have taken after intensively studying the subject for a year.

“This will give students the encouragement they need to continue to study hard as well as raising their awareness of what they can achieve.”

TOP MARKS FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL

Berkhamsted School is celebrating a record-breaking year of GCSE results with 36.6% of subjects passed at A* grade – up from 34% in 2013.

A pleasing 69.8% of subjects were passed at either A* or A (67.8% in 2013) by students at the establishment. Each of its students secured A* to C grades in maths and English language.

Ten pupils earned a full house of 10 A*s, with the school’s top performing boys and girls battling it out for pride of place and ending up neck-and-neck.

Congratulations go to Robert Barrow, Ben Collett, Patrick Kennedy-Hunt, Jeremy Steed and Ben van Vlymen from Berkhamsted Boys.

The five Berkhamsted Girls students to match their flawless set of grades were Samantha Bousfield, Claire Doyle, Olivia Iacoponi, Elizabeth Wood and Emma Wood.

In total, 27 of the school’s pupils secured at least eight A* grades, often considered the platform from which Oxbridge applications can be launched.

Many provided evidence of the school’s firm belief that academic achievement comes as a consequence rather than instead of fulsome commitment to wider community life.

Anna Nicholls, for example, achieved eight A* grades, two As and an A in additional maths, and played for Middlesex Ladies and the England U19 Women’s Cricket Teams. She also represented the school at 1stXI level last season, alongside considerably older boys.

Edward Tidey’s two A* grades and seven As were achieved in tandem with his extensive rugby commitments with both the school and Saracens Academy.

Patrick Kennedy-Hunt supplemented his 10 A* grades with a Gold Award in the Chemistry Olympiad – a test largely designed and competed for by upper sixth students.

Carla van der Sluijs achieved two A* grades, six As and two Bs in addition to reaching Grade 8 saxophone. He beat off stiff competition to win our 2014 Young Musician of the Year competition (again, against much older opposition).

Principal Mark Steed said: “Yet again the pupils and staff of Berkhamsted have done the school proud, and It is particularly pleasing to note how well we have navigated the increasingly choppy waters of the public examinations world.

“Against the background of recent uncertainty and allegations of political pressure to raise boundaries and clamp down on grade inflation, the staff and students of Berkhamsted have emerged with the best set of GCSE results the school has ever had.”

A total 46.2% – or 75 of the 162 pupils – achieved at least eight A*/A grades and 38 students (23.5%) achieved at least 10 A*/A passes.

One in four (41) achieved straight A grades across all of their GCSE subjects.

Mr Steed said: “This year has proved to be another successful year for the exams taken in the more rigorous iGCSE qualification with an average of 83.9% of grades achieved at A* or A across the iGCSE triple science, mathematics, English language, English literature and religious studies (full) courses.”.

The majority of students will go on to study at Berkhamsted Sixth, where it was announced that 81.2% of A-levels passed were graded at A* to B following the publication of results last week and well over 90% of Year 13 students secured places at their first or second choice universities.

The school has provided the following table of its results:

Berkhamsted > National

Pass rate (A* to C) in maths and English: 100%

Overall pass rate (A* to C): 98.4% > 68.8%

Overall pass rate (A* to B): 91%

Percentage of results at A* to A grade: 69.8%

Percentage of results at A* grade: 36.6% > 6.7%.

THE ‘NERVOUS WRECK’ TRIUMPHS

Kweku Asante from Hemel Hempstead’s The Astley Cooper School summed up the feeling of many students across the country when he said: “I’ve been a nervous wreck all holiday.”

He achieved two As, two Bs, four Cs, a Merit and Distinction in his examinations.

Rebecca Ho, who gained two A* grades, two As, two Bs and a C and Iness Benaziza, who got A* grades in English and French, and As in science, history, and religious studies were modest about their achievements.

Astley Cooper headteacher Edward Gaynor said: “These young people worked hard and thoroughly deserve their excellent results.

“They are a credit to their families and their teachers.”

The high-flying students are all going on to further study at sixth form or college.

PRIVATE PERFORMANCE SCHOOL DOES WELL

Cumulative percentages show that our A* to A results are 9.4% higher than last year at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.

In addition, 10% of our GCSE students achieved grades A* to A.

Several students achieved all A* to A grades, including Toby Spence-Jones and Isobel Clarke, who achieved an amazing 10 A* to A grades.

Tring Park School for the Performing Arts principal Stefan Anderson said: “We are extremely

happy with this year’s results.

“These results should always be seen in the context that they are achieved on only four hours study per day, which is half the time of mainstream education.”

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