It's GCSE results day for Reading's schools

Here's a round-up of schools in the Reading area:

Cranford House

• Head girl Rebecca Jaeger celebrates with her deputies

Cranford House beats the national trend by improving GCSE results for third year running.

Pupils and staff celebrate the school's best ever scores with 61% of grades achieved at A*-A and 91% of all grades at A*-B.

Headmaster Dr James Raymond said: “This is an incredible achievement and real evidence of both our girls’ hard work and our continued academic success here at Cranford House.

"These are tremendous results, particularly for a non-selective school.

"I am hugely proud of both our pupils and our dedicated teachers and I look forward to Cranford House continuing on this superb trajectory.”

Head girl, Rebecca Jaeger, swept the board with 11 A* grades.

She joined Bethan Bache, Amy Bartlett, Florence Crowe , Lily Gil-Rodriguez, Grace Ingram, Lauren Marshall, Zara O’Reilly and Sophie Snowden in amassing an outstanding 91 passes between them with 70% at grades A*-A.

BLESSED HUGH FARINGDON CATHOLIC SCHOOL

• Three Hugh Faringdon pupils celebrating a job well done 

Hugh Faringdon scooped a set of strong results in their core subjects.

In maths, 62 per cent of grades came back higher and in English, a whopping 88 per cent were A* to C.

Charlie Herbert, who picked up an A, five Bs and three Cs, said: “I want to say the biggest thank you to all my teachers. They have been amazing.”

John Casey, headteacher, said: “We are delighted with these results and they show that the hard work of all of our students and their teachers has paid off. 

“I congratulate the students on their success.  Our results in the core subjects of English and Mathematics, as usual, are excellent and given the national downward trend we are hearing about in these subjects, this is very pleasing for us. 

“Well done everyone.”

ORATORY SCHOOL

• The Radford triplets who scored 16 A*s between them. Left to right: Harry, Jack and Tom.

IT was a family affair at the Oratory School in Reading for the Radford triplets.

Harry, Jack and Tom gained 17 A* results between them when they picked up their results this morning.

The Woodcote-based school celebrated an excellent set of GCSE results with some strong top end performances. The overall percentage pass rate for pupils with five+ A*-C grades, including English and Maths, was 90 per cent.

Among the top performers with seven A* grades and above were Luke Thomson, who chalked up 10 A* and one A, claiming a 100 per cent mark in his Greek exam.

Harry Davies, Sai Muvvala and Jack Lockhart all achieved  seven A* results.

Head of Sixth Form, Matt Syddall said: “This is an excellent set of A*-C grades and the best set of grades at A* to A grades since 2010. This is due reward for all the hard work of both boys and teaching staff."

Twenty one per cent of students achieved A* grades, 84 per cent gained A to C grades and 90 per cent picked up five-plus A* to C GCSEs including English and maths.

JOHN MADEJSKI ACADEMY

• John Madjeski students with the rewards of two year's hard work

John Madjeski in Reading saw a big improvement on last year's results.

For all subjects 33 per cent of grades were A* to C, seven per cent higher than than 2015.

For all subjects excluding English and maths, 65 per cent of grades were A* to C, a huge 31 per cent jump from the year before.

Nicola Maytum, principal, said: “We have seen a big, big improvement on last year.

“Every student is staying on, going to college or starting up an apprenticeship, which is really important for us.

“This year group has worked very hard and we are proud of all of them.”

WILLINK SCHOOL

There were record-breaking results at The Willink School today, with 27 per cent of students earning all A* and A grade GCSEs.

Rachel Lee-Mohan, Emily Woods, Jake Spong ,Ben Chapman, Eddie James, Fran Green, Chris Stenning, Adele Farrelly, Ellie Palmer-Burgell, Elliot Jones, Alice Andrews, Eleanor Mott, Sean Robinson, Emily Faulkner, Daniel Jones and Maddie Hancox all achieved the outstanding results of over 10 A* and A grades.

71 per cent of students at Willink gained 5 or more A*-C grades, including English and mathematics and 48 per cent of students gained the English Baccalaureate.

Peter Fry, headteacher, said: “This is a wonderful set of results fully deserved by a hard-working and mature year group.”

“It is a record-breaking set of results for The Willink, just surpassing the 2014 high watermark. It is particularly pleasing to see the high progress score – on average for each subject students achieve a half grade higher than expected.”

“It is the result of great teaching and guidance, motivated students and supportive and committed parents.”

READING BLUE COAT 

• Henry Heath and Marcus Corbin both achieved eight A*s and three As.

Reading Blue Coat students found the right formula for success this summer as GCSE results astound.

With 97 per cent students attaining five or more A*-C GCSE grades, sixteen students achieved all A* and A GCSE grades and 95 per cent of pupils earning A* or A grades in Maths.

Head of mathematics, Richard Shuttleworth said: “This group of students has shown an amazing work ethic and this excellent set of results is a true reflection of their endeavours.”

“The students’ willingness to attend the additional lunch time and after school sessions that the teachers arrange, highlights the successful partnership between student and teacher”.

A further eight students achieved distinctions in further maths.

Oliver De Maio and Matthew Hills, both from Wokingham and Ewan Morgan from Caversham all achieved 11A*s.

Oliver and Ewan both secured Distinctions in their further maths exams.

All three students have chosen to study Maths and Physics at A Level when they return to the Sonning based school in September.

Recently appointed Headmaster, Jesse Elzinga said: “As a School we are delighted by these superb results, which reflect the hard work of the boys, parents, and all the staff here at Reading Blue Coat.”

“The results overall are in line with record performance from previous years, with nearly 70% of grades at A* or A, and more than a third of all grades at A*.”

“There are a number of superb individual performances as well. We look forward to watching these pupils flourish in the next couple of years as they embark on their A level courses.”

PROSPECT SCHOOL

• Prospect students who played a part in the school's best ever GCSE results

Prospect enjoyed their best ever GCSE results day and an improvement of 14 per cent in one year.

An A* or A in at least one subject was achieved by 43 per cent of students and 39 students came home with three or more A* or A grades.

Grace Barnfather, Vlad Maerescu, Leyla Mohammed, Ibtihaj Naeem, Gladson Prince, nDanielle Rea, Thomas Spencer and Sian Turner all got eight or more A* or A grades.

Danielle said: “I feel so relieved but it doesn't feel real at the moment. I am going to study French, business, physics and maths next year.”

Phil Davies, headteacher, said: “We are incredibly proud of the achievments and progress of all our students.

“Prospect students have shown great resilience over the past two years, with tougher exams and constantly moving goalposts.

“Our success is grounded in the solid relationships fostered at this school, the dedication of all our staff, consistently high quality teaching and the support of our parents.

“The governors and I would like to thanks parents, staff and students for a great year.”

HIGHDOWN SCHOOL

A big set of results were picked up by Highdown School, with 75 per cent of students achieving five or more A* to C grades.

Other strong areas at the Surley Road school include 31 per cent of students passing the English Baccalaureate and 73.9 per cent picking up an A* to C grade in English and maths.

In total, 56.8 per cent of pupils got at least one A or A*, with 19.2 per cent bagging eight or more As and A*s.

Rachel Cave, headteacher at Highdown, said: “This is an outstanding achievement by our fabulous students supported brilliantly by an amazing team of dedicated teachers. Congratulations to everyone.

“We are looking forward to these students becoming our new Highdown sixth formers and working towards the stunning achievements of our upper 6th off to University soon.”

Particularly strong grades came from Jasmine Bahra, with A* in Further Maths, 10 A*s and one A, Frankie Taylor, 10 A*s and two As, Marine Garbriadze, nine A*s and three As, Puneet Garcha, nine A*s and three As, Georgina Gower, nine A*s and three As, Aimy Varghese, eight A*s and three As and Elika Najafi, seven A*s and five As.

KENDRICK SCHOOL

• (L-R) Sophie Taylor and Annabell Ward

PUPILS at Kendrick School celebrated the best results for four years. The school achieved 100 per cent A* to D grades.

Headteacher  Christina Kattirtzi, said more than 58 per cent of results were A*s with 88.6 per cent at A* or A.

"You can't get these results without hard work," she said.

" You can't just go to an exam and get these results. The pupils and staff have worked hard and achieved a strong set of results."

Sophie Taylor got nine A*s, an A and two Bs. "I'm really pleased," she said. "I'll be celebrating with a family meal tomorrow.

He friend Annabell Ward collected 11A*s and an A. The duo will be staying at the school next year.

PADWORTH COLLEGE

The Sopers Lane school improved their GCSE results for the second year running with a 100 per cent pass rate.

Some 73 per cent of students achieved A*–C grades and well over half the grades were awarded at A*–B.

There were some very strong individual performances from students, notably Alex Storey, who notched up seven A*s and one A.

Principal, John Aguilar, said the school’s secret lies in its educational philosophy which aims to inspire individual uniqueness and encourage personal talents through a highly differentiated learning approach in small classes. 

He said: “I am delighted for our students; they have worked extremely hard to achieve these fabulous results which now set them up to face the challenges of A Levels with confidence.

"I am very grateful to our teachers for their commitment and excellent teaching throughout, ensuring that the best interests of their students remain at the core of their work.”

PANGBOURNE COLLEGE

• Pangbourne College Form 5 (Year 11) GCSE pupils (from left) Edward Farish, Catherine Temple, Ollie Passingham and Joel Fletcher

Pangbourne College's pupils impressed in core subjects English and Mathematics from this year’s GCSE results.

In English Literature, 63 per cent of Year 11 students achieved an A*-A grade, and 58 per cent in English Language.

In Mathematics, 95 per cent of pupils gained an A*-C grade. Fellow college departments such as Drama, German and Music, were also celebrating with 100 per cent of pupils earning an A*-C grade.

Pangbourne's Head of Key Stage Four, Sam Greenwood said: “It’s very encouraging for us to see this whole year group achieve the results they had targeted and, in many cases, achieving significantly above and beyond those targets.”

Figures bucked wider trends with falls nationally in the proportion of pupils receiving A*-C grades.

The number of Pangbourne students achieving five or more GCSEs at A*-C held firm, in comparison to 2015, at 92 per cent.

Individually, there was real success. Sophie Seager achieved nine A* grades and one A, Philip Garnier received five A* and five A grades, and Hannah Atkins earned six A* grades, three As and a B.

Philip and Hannah sat their Mathematics IGCSE early in January and both gained an A* grade. In the remainder of the academic year, they worked towards and passed an additional Mathematics qualification.

Hannah has chosen to study English Literature, French, History and Mathematics at A Level. She said: “I’m really happy with my results. It’s very good news.”

College Headmaster, Thomas Garnier said: “It’s always extremely pleasing when our pupils and academic Departments achieve impressive results. We look forward to this year group achieving more here in the future.”

Pangbourne had 89 per cent of students achieving five of more A*-C GCSEs, including English and Mathematics.

Reading Girls' School

RESULTS at Reading Girls' School were up by more than five per cent on last year.

In total 51 per cent of pupils achieved A* -C grades in English and Maths.
Interim headteacher Leo Gilbert paid tribute to the students' and his colleagues' hard work throughout the year.

"Our results are an improvement on last year and, with the national picture showing a decline, that's very encouraging since it was a difficult year.

"Both in English and Maths the results are up and the students have done really well.

"Outstanding performers include Yashica Gupta and Kama Gunde, who both got 10A*s.

"The teachers have done some amazing work as have the pupils."

Other noteworthy performers include Ofuase Dirisu who got eight A*s and three As, Sidra Karim with six A*s and five As and Amasha Rajagura with five A*s, an A and a B.

READING COLLEGE

• (L-R) Lucy Kern and Anna North celebrate at Reading College

Reading College pupils collected results that will spur them on to a host of exciting new challenges.

James Clark, head of maths, said: "I am absolutely thrilled.

"They've done really well and worked really hard. Maths and English in particular can be tough subjects to achieve in and many of our students have improved their grades.

"For some of them it's improving from an E to a D, for some it's a D to a C."

Anna North was delighted with her results in English and Math, which will allow her to start applying for midwifery courses at University.

She got a C in English and just missed out on a B in math.

Meanwhile Lucy Kern said: "I got what I wanted. I'm happy."

DENEFIELD SCHOOL 

The Tilehurst school is currently preparing a wall of fame in the Da Vinci assembly space to celebrate their star GCSE pupils.

Ewan Evans and Abigail Garnder both gained  eight A* and  two A grades, and Maryann Chaudary came away with  six A*,  three A and  one B grade from her exams.

There were other great results from Ben Young, Jessica Paxford, Jade Carino, Jemma Stephens, Max Wilcox, Lydia Leahy, Kelsey McGowan and Katie Richardson.

Sixty per cent of students gained A* to C grades in English and maths.

Denefield saw progress across eight subjects, including English, maths, three English Baccalaureate qualifications.

Their Progress 8 score is +0.19, a fifth of a grade better per subject than students nationally.

The majority of students have decided to continue their studies at the Denefield Sixth Form for A level and BTEC courses.

Headteacher Lucy Dawe, said: "I am really pleased for our students who have worked so hard for these excellent results and also for their parents and teachers who have played a significant part in this success. 

"The results demonstrate the effectiveness of high quality teaching coupled with strong management systems and team work. 

"The students are now well prepared for the next stage of their education having tasted success through ambition, hard work and resilience."

ST JOSEPH'S COLLEGE

• Georgia Boyle

St Joseph students plan big futures following outstanding GCSE results.

The school improved on last year's results by seven per cent, with 93 per cent of students gaining five or more GCSEs, including Maths and English, at grades A*-C.

Headmaster Andrew Colpus said: “All of our Year 11 pupils have worked hard and earned some excellent results.”

“We are looking forward to welcoming them to our Sixth Form for their A Levels, and to seeing them develop further as well rounded young people with a bright future ahead of them.”

Many students are already looking towards their future careers and university.

Year 11 pupil Georgia Boyle said: “I’m delighted with my results – six A* grades and four A grades. I am going on to study A Levels in biology, chemistry and psychology, and hope to study medicine at university.”

One pupil, Erinn Sturgess, plans to be a pilot and said: “My maths and physics results are both A*, along with seven grades at A and one B. This gives me confidence for my A Levels in maths, physics and geography.”

Henry Morley, too, is positive about the future with hopes to eventually study at the Royal College of Music Conservatoire.

He said: “I’m absolutely thrilled with my results of one A*, seven A grades and two B grades.”

“My real passion though is music, I’m involved with pretty much every music group in the school – wind band, brass group, jazz group, orchestra and more.”

Henry will stay at St Joseph’s to study music, physics and psychology at A Level, alongside his weekend studies at the Royal College of Music.

READING UTC

• Adam Maddox, on the tracks to success.

SPURRED on by their strong results nearly half of the pupils at Reading UTC are considering taking on an apprenticeship when they complete the next level of study.

Principal Joanna Harper said: "We specialise in Computing and engineering and I'm particularly pleased with those results which are well above the national average.

"I think most will be staying here to do level three education but there are a large number considering apprenticeships.

"I'm pretty pleased with the results."

Adam Maddox was among those favouring an apprenticeship. He secured eight passes at A*-C on the day.

really pleased with my grades, particularly my English language," he said. "Two years ago, before joining the UTC, I was predicted to get a D, but I actually got an A.

"I put it down to the teaching here and the different learning environment.

“I want to pursue a career in engineering, working with one of the top railway companies. I already volunteer on two railways in my spare time and I have met some of the top people at Network Rail during the last two years at the UTC.

"An apprenticeship seems like a better option to me because I can get a degree level qualification while earning money, as opposed to building up debt at university. When other students will be coming out of university and looking for work, I will already have experience and many apprenticeships lead to a guaranteed job at the end."

The school achieved a strong set of results, particularly in its specialist subjects, with an overall 98 per cent pass rate at A*-C (equivalent) in computer science and engineering.

Pupils also performed well in English and maths, with 74 per cent achieving a grade C or above in both subjects.

MAIDEN ERLEGH

• Robert Reid celebrates his results

Maiden Erlegh is celebrating another strong set of results, improving on last year and the year before.

Headteacher Mary Davies said: "We are absolutely delighted and extremely proud of the students.

"We are extremely pleased with the progress our students have made over the five years between Years 7 and 11.

"The new 'Progress 8' measure looks at progress made over eight subjects including English, maths, science and a selection of others.

"What this figure shows for Maiden Erlegh School students is that, on average, they have achieved half a grade more than the national average.

"We are so very proud of the students who worked extremely hard and made the most of all the revision and booster sessions put on by our dedicated staff.

"The students thoroughly deserve these results."

One success story was Robert Reid who earned a pair of A*s, six As and two Bs. He said he would be staying for sixth form.

Surrounded by friends and his mother he said there would be a family meal to celebrate.

ABBEY SCHOOL

• Abbey School girls celebrating a rip-roaring set of results

The Abbey School’s GCSE candidates celebrated a superb set of results as they open their envelopes this morning.

A* or A grade were awarded to 84 per cent of papers and 52 girls gained all A* or A grades. Thirteen pupils celebrated a clean sweep of 11 A* grades.

Results in Biology were particularly strong with 86 per cent of candidates gaining an A* grade and the remainder an A grade.

Geography was not far behind with 81 per cent A* grades. In Physics 88 per cent of candidates were awarded A* or A grades and in English Literature 94 per cent of papers gained A* or A grades. Demonstrating that, Brexit notwithstanding, Abbey girls are true Europeans, 90 per cent of Spanish entries were awarded A* or A grades.

Stand out results came from Yasmin Prior who got 11 A* grades and Emily Lewis who also gained 11 A* grades.

Rachel Dent, head of Abbey School, said: “I’m honoured and delighted to be sharing in the happiness of our pupils and their families this morning.

"The girls have risen to the challenge of their public examinations with exceptional confidence and enthusiasm, supported as always by our dedicated staff.

"Our pupils will now progress to their Sixth Form studies knowing that they have the tools to be successful at the next stage of their education.

"I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our students for everything that they contribute to the community at The Abbey, from drama and sport to art, music and charity fundraising.

"We are tremendously proud of the caring, confident young women you have become and look forward to sharing the next step of your journey with you.”

LANGTREE SCHOOL

It has been a record-breaking year for the Woodcote secondary.

Overall, 77 per cent of students achieved the new government ‘Basics’ measure, securing A* to C grades in both English and Maths.

Some 75 per cent of students achieved five or more GCSE grades at A* to C including English and Maths, which is the most impressive outcome ever achieved at the school and comes against a backdrop of national decline in A* - C grades awarded this year.

Their Progress 8 score is 0.5 which indicates that students at Langtree achieved on average half a grade more in each and every GCSE than was expected.

The Attainment 8 score was a big 56.

In addition, the proportion of students achieving the English Baccalaureate rose from 25 per cent in 2015 to 41 per cent.

A total of fourteen students secured ten or more GCSE grades at A* and A.

Amongst the highest achieving students were Flo Turtle, 11 A* and 1 A, Alex Smith, 10 A* and 2 A, and Kit Leyland, 9 A* and 3 A.

Overall, 35 per cent of the grades awarded were at A* or A, which is an increase of 10 percentage points on 2015.

Rick Holroyd, headteacher, said: "This was, quite simply, a lovely cohort of students to work with.

"The vast majority applied themselves and worked extremely hard for their GCSE examinations, taking advantage of the countless hours of additional tuition and support offered by the staff in the run up to the exam season.

"To secure the best results the school has ever achieved is a great achievement but, more importantly, it is extremely gratifying to think that our Class of 2016 will move on to their destinations with confidence and some excellent results.

"These record outcomes, combined with the wonderful personal qualities of these students, will set them up well for the next stage of their lives."

THEALE GREEN

• Theale Green students pour over their results

Seventy per cent of students collected A* to C grades in English and 68 per cent for Maths, higher than the national average.

The school also maintained  outstanding results in a wide range of subjects including French, dance, photography, art and physical education. 

Theale Green saw its results for Disadvantaged and Special Education Needs students take big leaps forward, with the PP gap shrinking from 28 per cent to eight per cent and the SEN gap for English and maths by 10 per cent.    

Among the highest achievers were Andrew Challenger, who got seven A*s and four As GCSEs, Max Stradling, who achieved six A*s, four As and one B and Paul Davis, who got six A*s, three As and one B.

Aleksandra Panek, who learnt today that she had secured five A*s, four As and one B grade said: “I am extremely happy with my results and so proud that my hard work has paid off.

"However, I do believe that there is always room for improvement and I will keep this in mind for my A-Levels.”

Charlotte Blewitt, who collected three A*s and eight As said: “It’s an amazing feeling to know that hard work does pay off and does not go unrecognised.”

QUEEN ANNE'S SCHOOL

• Jumping for joy after some hard earned results

The Caversham school was keen to highlight both an excellent set of summer GCSE results, but how this ran alongside successes outside of the classroom.

This year, 64 per cent of pupils achieving A*/A grades, with 28 per cent of all grades at A*. Some 37 per cent of Queen Anne's girls achieved nine or more A*/A grades in their results. 

Headmistress Mrs Julia Harrington said: "Congratulations to the girls and staff for the hard work and dedication that has gone into achieving another set of brilliant results.

"The girls have worked exceptionally hard to obtain top marks, which will provide them with the perfect springboard to commence their A Level studies in September."

Among the school's best performers was rowing star Isabelle Richards, from Thatcham, who has achieved nine A* grades and two A grades in her GCSEs.

Sixteen-year-old Emma Hewlett from Caversham will be celebrating this evening after receiving an incredible 11 A* grades in her GCSEs, including Dutch. 

Fellow musicians Nia Hudson and Alice Oram, both from Reading, hit all the right notes to achieve 16 A* grades and 6 A grades between them. 

Niamh Edwards from Pangbourne claimed an exceptional ten A* grades. 

Georgina Evans, from Henley-on-Thames, will now go on to study Biology, Chemistry, Physical Education and English at A Level after achieving a top set of GCSEs grades, including nine A*/A grades.

Daphne Psarra, from Reading is celebrating achieving 11 GCSEs, including ten A*/A grades. And synchronised swimmer, Sophie Wulfinghoff from Caversham Heights, claimed six A* grades and four A grades in her GCSEs. Sophie has achieved numerous synchronised swimming successes, including participating in England trials,