Tougher GCSEs No Barrier for Hanley Students
Hanley Castle High School’s Year 11 students have once again risen to the challenge of new, tougher GCSEs.
The new qualifications are assessed on a nine point scale, with grade four being equivalent to a C grade pass and grade seven to an A grade, with new grade eight and grade nine passes to replace and extend on the old A*.
In English and English literature 86%of students achieved grade four or higher. Almost a quarter of grades awarded in English were at grades seven, eight or nine while the figure in English literature was even higher at 32%.
In total, 73% of students gained good passes in English and mathematics, while 42% of students achieved the English Baccalaureate – grade four or higher in all of the most prestigious academic subjects - English, mathematics, the sciences, a humanities subject and a modern foreign language.
There were some remarkable individual successes with both boys and girls achieving top grades across all subjects.
Will Gilchrist led the way with 7 grade nines, 2 grade eights and a grade seven. Euan Lily was hot on Will’s heels with 6 grade nines, a grade eight and 3 grade sevens. Close behind were Jacob Evans and Daisy Haynes, racking up 11 grade nines, 3 grade eights and 4 grade sevens between them.
Results in the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) were again outstanding. Around half of the grades in biology and chemistry were grades seven, eight or nine, while 53% of Computer Science GCSE results were awarded the top grades.
Not to be left out, students in French and German performed particularly well. One third of passes in French were at grades seven, eight or nine, while in German the proportion of students achieving the highest grades was 50%.
Headteacher, Lindsey Cooke commented: ‘These results demonstrate that, however hard the Government makes the qualifications, our students rise to the challenge. We are so excited for this extremely talented and hard working group of students. Their achievements in English, the sciences and a whole range of subjects show great character. We can’t wait to see what they are capable of at A level and their teachers are looking forward very much to welcoming so many of them back to our sixth form.’