ROUND-UP: Joy for Bridgwater schools on GCSE results day

Schools across the Bridgwater area have had a fantastic set of results this morning.

At Bridgwater College Academy, 55 per cent of students achieved a C/4 or better in English in mathematics with three students achieving the grade 9 which is reserved for the very best students in the country.

Other departments had exceptional success with 100 per cent of students achieving an A*-C in biology, chemistry, physics and dance.

The staff at Bridgwater College Academy are hugely proud of the brilliant results achieved by this year’s cohort.  

Head of Secondary, Andy Sandercock, commented: “This is a great set of results for our students. In a year of much change with the new more challenging 9-1 GCSEs for English and maths, the students have earnt their excellent results.

"We are delighted that so many of our students gained the grades that they deserved. Their success is down to their excellent motivation and desire to succeed alongside a massive effort on the part of teachers, support staff and parents.”

Stand out students at BCA:
Caitlin Fahrenbruch  8,7, 6A*
Charlie Ives  9,8, 4A*,2A
Max Ware  9,8,2A*,3A
Sam Long  8,7, 1A*,4A
Lauren Stephens 1A*, 4A

DELIGHTED: Eleanor Keith, Rebecca Bonney, Caitlin Fahrenbruch

Meanwhile students at Haygrove School are celebrating their superb results, with 67 per cent achieving a good or strong pass (level 4 -9) in the new GCSE English and GCSE Maths exams, and 22 per cent gaining the English Baccalaureate.

“I am delighted with how well our students have achieved this year and so proud of the effort and commitment they, and our staff, have shown,” said head teacher, Mrs Canham.

“There are many wonderful success stories across the whole year group, with the majority of students gaining the grades they need to move on to the next stage of their education feeling proud and confident in their ability.”

A total of 34 students gained 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* or A (level 7-9) of which 12 achieved 8 or more GCSEs at this level: Tom Williams, Alice Scott, Mary Lockyer, Jools Wheeler, Gemma Shanahan, Eve Jenner, Daniel Edwards, Casey Williams, Lauren Sweeting, Andrew Midenda, Jake Moll and Kate Bancroft.

Kate Bancroft and Jake Moll excelled in the year group, with both of them achieving this top grade in 13 of their GCSE subjects.

Jake Moll, who achieved an outstanding grade in Maths said, “Doing well is also about your mindset and really wanting to do well in your exams. And that’s not only in the last couple of months, but throughout the year!”

Asked what had helped her achieve her excellent results Gemma Shanahan said: “I started revising around Easter and did lots of past papers, they were a real help!”

“For many of our students progress is as important as attainment and I am delighted to say that our students have proved that with effort and determination they can exceed expectations and gain the results they truly deserve.” said Mr Reid, deputy head. “Well done also to Alice Scott, Tara Brazier, Tilly Bond, Aleks Jursa, Honlok Lee and Joe Shadrick, all of whom made excellent progress in a range of subjects.”

Elsewhere, Robert Blake Science College were celebrating the school's best ever results.

The percentage of students attaining a Grade 4 (equivalent to a Grade C) or above in English and maths was 53 per cent.

The percentage of students achieving 5 or more standard GCSE passes (equivalent to a Grade C or above) was 57 per cent.

Head teacher Deb Loveridge, said: "These are the best ever GCSE results in the history of our school and we are incredibly proud of our students.

"Some of the individual student performances are staggering in terms of the number of optimum grades attained.

"While acknowledging the enormous achievements of the most able is very important, what gives me the greatest pleasure is the consistent progress that many of our students make irrespective of their ability or starting point.  

"We are a truly inclusive school that does support, mentor, nurture, encourage and celebrate every single student. We have fantastic dedication from the students and unwavering belief from staff, which is the perfect recipe for success.

"The fabulous support of our students from parents over the last five years, especially over the last few months, of their schooling is also very much appreciated. It is not an easy time to live with a teenager; the support that has been shown through attendance at revision events and ensuring their children have the right working environment at home has enabled our students to flourish and subsequently celebrate these wonderful results."

Finally for the Bridgwater town schools, Chilton Trinity was celebrating after recording another set of encouraging results.

The school achieved an increase in the number of top grades across a range of subjects with strong with improving performances in English, maths, science, French, media, religious studies and graphic products.

One of the star students was Will Coram who earned himself a 9 in mathematics. His maths teacher Tim Williams said it was 'an outstanding achievement'.

Chilton Trinity also wanted to give recognition to high achievers Matt Nutt, Connor Clarke, Faye Tippetts, Sian Griffin and Karina Gonsalves.

Rachael and Chrissi Button, Eloise Charlot, Deimante Ruzgailaite, Alex Smith, Lucy Finnis and Pippa Carter for great results while fully participating in all aspects of school life.

Rosie Jackson, Natasha Hucker, Seb Addelsee, Josh Thake, Daryl Clarke all managed to overcome adversity and will be leaving Chilton with a life-changing set of grades.

Head teacher Lesley Greenway said: "Well done to our fabulous students. This has been an excellent year with some really encouraging results.

"We are confident that in addition to their excellent exam results our students are leaving Chilton well-equipped for the next exciting stage in their education."

Out at Cannington, Brymore this year’s cohort at Brymore have been exceptional in so many ways.

They were the last group of boys to join the school in Year 9 (Brymore now accepts students from Year 7), the first Senior Student Leadership Team to introduce extra study time, the first ever group at Brymore to study Triple Science (with spectacular success, as 73 per cent of the boys who took it achieved A*-C) and the first year group to tackle the new 9-1 GCSEs in maths and English.

Overall 83 per cent of boys achieved A*-C in DT and 100 per cent in Engineering, with 37 per cent achieving B grades and above in both.

Meanwhile, 100 per cent of students achieved A*-C in ICT and agriculture, alongside horticulture, which achieved 92 per cent.

Henry Scott achieved 5 A*s in English Literature, core science, DT, Geography, GCSE PE and Agriculture and 3 As in English Language, maths and additional science.

Billy Davies achieved 5 A grades, in English Literature, maths, additional science, DT, Engineering, with A* in Agriculture.

Hayden Curtis Lateo achieved A* in ICT, 3 A grades in DT, Engineering and English Literature, with 2 Bs in English and additional science. George Clay achieved 2 A*s in agriculture and horticulture, A grade in ICT, and 5 Bs in English Literature, core and additional science, DT and geography.