GCSE results special: record breaking results all round

AT YSGOL Rhiwabon headteacher Angela Williams said she was “delighted” with all aspects of the GCSE results.

She reported a 22 per cent increase to 65 per cent in the Level 2 threshold, which is equivalent to five A*-C grades.

Ninety-two per cent of the school's students gained five or more passes.

Mrs Williams also reported that no student would be leaving the school without any recognised qualification.

She said: "Students were very succesful in the core subjects with an 11 per cent increase in the number gaining a higher grade pass in English, mathematics and science.

“I am pleased that we have exceeded all targets set by the local authority.”

The pattern of success was repeated lower down the school with younger students gaining a 100 per cent pass rate at A*-C in Polish and Portuguese.

There were particularly impressive performances from Robert Derry, Ben Evans and Will Thomas who included 28 A* or A grades in their 35 GCSE higher grade passes.

Mrs Williams added: “These results reflect the hard work of our students and staff and will equip the young people well for the future.

“We look forward to welcoming many back to school at our sixth form induction programme which commences on Thursday, September 2.”

BERYL PRICE, acting headteacher of Ysgol Y Grango said the number of students gaining the Level 2 threshold there was 73 per cent, which is a five per cent increase on last year.

She added: “I am pleased that the percentage of students gaining both English and mathematics GCSE at higher grade passes has increased to 46 per cent, from 36 per cent in 2009.

“The Level 1 threshold has been met by 100 per cent of our students.

“We are especially pleased to congratulate Jessica Vickers who has achieved six A*s and four A grades, Lewis Wright who has achieved five A grades and five B grades at GCSE and a distinction in B Tec sport, and Grace Thorne who has gained one A*, seven A grades and two B grades and a distinction* in B Tec performing arts.

“Also to be commended are Harry Whitley and Keiron Valentine from Year 10 who each gained an A grade in music GCSE, Tugay Temur (Year 10) and Tugba Temur (Year 9) who both gained an A grade in Turkish, Mateusz Sajur who gained an A grade in Polish, Daniel Oliviera (Year 8) who had an A* in Portuguese and Catia Jeronimo (Year 7) who gained a B in Portuguese.”

Brian Jones, chair of the governing body, added his congratulations to all the students and staff.

He said he was “extremely pleased” the school is continuing the trend of year-on-year success.

HEADTEACHER Robert Ratcliffe said GCSE results at Ysgol Bryn Alyn in Gwersyllt had been steadily improving over the past three years.

But he added: “This year we have taken a giant leap forward with record-breaking results against every major benchmark.

“The Level 2 threshold has increased by 10 per cent, Level 1 by four per cent, the Core Subject Indicator (C grade or above in English, maths and science) by nine per cent, and the Level 2 threshold, including English and maths, by ten per cent.”

Mr Ratcliffe said that while girls traditionally out-perform boys, this year the gap has been closed significantly, with the boys’ performance being only slightly behind.

He went on: “These results are truly remarkable and reflect the clear focus we have given to improving learning and teaching.

“Pupils have been very conscientious and have responded brilliantly to the opportunities provided by my very hard-working and dedicated staff.

“Support from parents is a real feature at our school, for which we are extremely grateful.

“There are so many outstanding individual results which will ensure that the vast majority of pupils can progress to the next stage in their lives with positive prospects.

“Having such fantastic success will spur us on to further improvement in the future.

“At a time when budgets are stressed, standards have improved, which shows the importance of high quality working relationships between pupils, staff, parents and governors.”

DARLAND High School in Rossett said it was delighted to report record GCSE exam results this year.

Seventy-seven per cent of its students achieved their Level 2 Threshold (five A*-C grades or equivalent).

This is an 11 per cent improvement on last year and makes the results the best in the school’s history.

Among the highest achievers are Yu She from Rhosddu, with 11 A* grades, Fred Norman from Rossett, with seven A* and two A grades, Jessica Roberts from Gresford, with seven A* and two A grades and William Antony also from Gresford, with seven A* and four A grades.

There was a similar success story in Key Stage 3 in July of this year, when Year 9 performance outstripped national averages by over 20 per cent.

Headteacher Peter Agnew said: “Our thanks go to the dedicated effort of both staff and students.

“Our new facilities, due to open in a few months time, will further enhance the opportunities for learning and improvement at Darland.”

AT MAELOR School in Penley headteacher Eiddwyn Hall spoke of his “delight” with another set of outstanding GCSE results.

He said: “Our congratulations must go to all students from the class of 2010 on their achievements.

“They have maintained the high standard set by students over the previous three years, with 80 per cent attaining the Level 2 threshold - equivalent to at least five A*-C grades.

“Their efforts have contributed towards an average Level 2 threshold of 81 per cent over the past four years.”

He added: “I am delighted to say that all of our students gained at least five GCSEs, with 98 per cent of them attaining eight or more passes.

“Our more able students have also excelled, with 13 of them gaining ten or more A* or A grades and amassing an outstanding 168 passes at A*or A.

“Credit must go to all the students and staff who have worked hard to achieve yet another tremendous set of GCSE results.”

AT YSGOL Clywedog 50 per cent of Year 11 students achieved the Level 2 Threshold and 95 per cent achieved Level 1.

Thirty per cent achieved an A* or A grade and no Year 11 student left school without a qualification.

Outstanding achievers include Beth Hewitt with eight A*s, three As and one B, Laura Roberts with seven A*s and five As, Jennifer Selby with four A*s, six As and three 3Bs , Dinushika Weerasinghe with four A*s, six As and two Bs and Rebecca Greenhalgh with three A*s, six As and one B.

Headteacher Dr David Kirby said: “ I am delighted with the continued success of all students at Ysgol Clywedog.

“These excellent GCSE results, together with our best ever KS3 results in June, underpin the continued success of Ysgol Clywedog.

“I congratulate all students and thank all staff and parents for the support they have given the children.

”Students from Year 9 and 10 also had success in various GCSE exams this year.

“We are also delighted to hear about ex-pupil Tom Scott who gained three A*s at A level and is now set to go to university in Oxford.”

STUDENTS, families and staff at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd are celebrating another outstanding year of GCSE results.

Headteacher Huw Foster Evans said: “I am delighted for our young people who have worked very hard and deserve their success.

“Many of them have achieved 12 or even 13 GCSEs at higher grades - an exceptional achievement.

“Ceri Millen of Coedpoeth achieved nine A* and four A grades while Ffion Owen of Llay achieved seven A* and five A grades.

“Charlotte Hague and Philip Matthey, both of Wrexham, achieved four A*, seven A, one B and fouer A*, five As and two Bs respectively.

“There are many other excellent results as well in the academic and vocational courses and we look forward to welcoming many of the students back to the sixth form next week.

“With a pass rate of 99.6 per cent, I would like to congratulate students and staff on what is a memorable day for the school."

AT YSGOL Dinas Brân in Llangollen, students are said to have exceeded all expectations and recorded some outstanding individual achievements.

Sixty-eight per cent of our students gained five A*-C grades.

According to headteacher Alison Duffy, particular praise must also go to the 21 fast-track students who sat their exams 12 months early and achieved “phenomenal” results.

She said: ”Congratulations to everyone concerned, these are truly amazing results and fantastic achievements for everyone.

“I am so proud of the students and staff who have strived hard throughout the year to make this happen.

“The vast majority of the students are returning to the thriving sixth form to continue their studies.

“The school continues to go from strength to strength.”

Notable individual achievements include: John Bailey two A*s, five As and three Bs; Adam Bell two A*s, four As and 4Bs; Molly Bourne four A*s, five As and one B; Caitlin Brown seven A*s, four As and one B; Laura Callaghan five A*s, five As and two Bs; Sarah Cartwright eight A*s, three As and one B; James Cragg four A*s, five As and two Bs; James Denton seven As and five Bs; William Downes four A*s, six As and two Bs; Hannah Evans four A*s and seven As; Chris Fuller four A*s, two As, three Bs and two Cs; Charlotte Humphrey two A*s, six As, one B and one C; Thomas Pennington three 3A*s, five As, three Bs and one C; Gemma Roberts five A*s and seven As; Danielle Weigh one A*, eight As, two Bs and one C; Lowri Williams one A*, eight As and three Bs; Nia Williams ten A*s and one A.