Schools around west Oxfordshire have been celebrating ‘wonderful’ GCSE success, with spectacular results across the district.
A quarter of all grades were either 8 or 9s at Bartholomew School on Witney Road in Eynsham.
Two thirds of pupils achieved a 5 or above in English and maths, with four out of five securing a 4 or above in those subjects.
Bartholomew’s head was “delighted” with the results.
Cokethorpe School pupils discuss their results with their teacher (Image: Cokethorpe School) Craig Thomas said: “They worked extremely hard and very much deserve their successes. We are really excited for them about their future pathways.”
Giles Beck, head of secondary at The King’s School, New Yatt Road, is also looking forward to hearing pupils post-GCSE “adventures and achievements”.
The independent Christian School was celebrating a bumper set of results, with 39 per cent of grades being at least a 7 and only five per cent falling below a 4.
Mr Beck picked out Kara Rowlands as a particularly noteworthy student as she achieved nine 9s, one 8 and an A grade in additional maths.
READ MORE: How Oxfordshire pupils will be celebrating their GCSEs
He added: “Overall, these results reflect the hard work of a wonderful cohort and the school’s commitment to enabling every pupil to fulfil their God-given potential.”
As much as 70 per cent of pupils at Wood Green School on Woodstock Road passed their maths and English GCSE, and the same proportion got five GCSEs at a 4 or above.
A student at Burford School checks her results (Image: Burford School) This was the first time pupils impacted by Covid while at secondary school had taken the exams and head of year 11 Gemma Francis said they were “resilient” in the way they handled it.
She said: “They worked very hard as a year group and have been an absolute pleasure to work with.”
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The headteacher of Wood Green, Rob Shadbolt, said it was almost their best ever set of results.
He added that he was pleased at the “variety” of next steps being taken, including those targeting medicine and Oxbridge, as well as others heading to Abingdon and Witney College.
As many as 174 pupils sat GCSEs at Henry Box School on Church Green in Witney.
And 68 per cent achieved at least a four in English and 58 per cent secured at least a 4 or above in maths.
The school was particularly keen to highlight its advances in the sciences, with 97 per cent of pupils taking two sciences or more.
The school’s headteacher said she was “incredibly proud”.
Wendy Hemmingsley added: “These results reflect not only academic success but also the inclusive and ambitious ethos of The Henry Box School.
Students at Henry Box School celebrate success (Image: Henry Box School) “Our staff have worked tirelessly to support every student, and we celebrate the progress made by all.”
Meanwhile, independent Witney-based school Cokethorpe announced that half of all its grades were between 9 and a 7, and three quarters between 9 and a 6.
Its incoming headteacher said she was looking forward to welcoming the youngsters “into the sixth form and building on their success”.
Cokethorpe school celebrate success (Image: Cokethorpe School) Dr Sarah Squire added: “I am confident they will continue to be inspired and motivated to embrace all the opportunities afforded to them as we move into a new and exciting chapter together.”
Five pupils at Cokethorpe achieved all 9 and 8 grades and there were particular successes in science, history and foreign languages.
The headteacher of Kingham Hill School in Chipping Norton, said they were celebrating “not only their achievements as a year group, but also the individual stories of remarkable progress made”.
Kingham Hill students celebrate success (Image: Kingham Hill school) Pete Last of the independent Christian school said: “Many of our pupils have exceeded their own expectations, achieving results that reflect both their hard work and the high aspirations we nurture here.”
Around a third of all the grades were 7 and above and half were at least a 6.
“This is also a moment to recognise,” Mr Last said, “the unwavering dedication of our teaching staff”.
“Their encouragement, guidance, and belief in our young people have been instrumental in helping them grow in confidence and aim high.”
Beatrix of Burford School (Image: Burford School) Burford School on Cheltenham Road particularly picked out pupils Gabriella and Beatrix for praise following this morning’s results.
Four in five students achieved a 4 or above in English and maths, and over a quarter of all GCSEs awarded were a 7, 8 or 9.
Subjects that did particularly well included music, where half were above a 7, and religious education with 40 per cent securing at least an 8.
Burford added that over half of its engineering results were distinction or better.
“This is a truly outstanding set of results,” said headteacher Matthew Albrighton, “from our fantastic students ably supported over two years by the wonderful staff”.