A Great Result for Ashby
GCSE pass rates reached 99 per cent at Ashby School when students opened their results today (Thursday).
Ninety nine per cent of passes were at grades A – G, while 71 per cent were at the top grades of A* to C. This was up one per cent on last year's figure of 70 per cent – and the fourth consecutive year that Ashby's A* – C pass rate has topped 70 per cent.
Miles Lowry, 16, of Ashby, was the school's highest point scorer. He picked up six A*s and six A grades, as well as an A grade in AS Economics, which he sat a year early this summer.
There were also celebrations for Rebecca Kadansky, 15, of Ashby, who sat all her GCSEs a year ahead of schedule. She picked up six As and five Bs – and one of the country's top five marks in her English Literature examination.
For Guarav Srivastava, 16, of Boothorpe, near Swadlincote, there were nine A*s and three As to add to the A grade in GCSE ICT which he took two years ago.
Polish student Michael Grzywna, 16, of Measham, also delighted teachers when he picked up 10 GCSE passes – just a year after he moved to the UK, speaking no English.
Headteacher Mrs Vivien Keller-Garnett said: "We are absolutely delighted with the results. There has been a great deal of hard work from students and staff.
"It is good to see that not only the most able students have done very well; there are also students with literacy and numeracy problems that have achieved."
In all, 537 students sat their GCSEs at Ashby School at the end of the summer term.
Sixty six per cent of boys achieved five passes at grades A* to C, along with 76 per cent of girls.
Top Scorer Miles Still Has Time to Play
Straight A student Miles Lowry still managed to play rugby and practice his French horn while revising for his 12 GCSEs and an AS level.
He emerged with six A*s and six As at GCSE as well as an A grade in AS level Economics – making him the school's highest points scorer this year.
Miles, whose ambition is to study Economics at the London School of Economics (LSE), also scored among the top five students in the country in his GCSE Mathematics exam. Miles attributed his success to a healthy mixture of work and play.
He said: "My advice to other students is to work hard but to make time for other things as well. I have carried on with my rugby and my music."
Miles, 16, of Ashby, is planning to take A levels in Further Maths, Economics, English Language and Critical Thinking.
Rebecca Misses a Year – But Hits Exam Target
Fifteen-year-old Rebecca Kadansky was delighted to find she had six As and five Bs – in spite of sitting her GCSEs a year early.
She also scored among the country's top five students in her English Literature examination.
Rebecca, of Ashby, said: "I was convinced that I had not done well so it is a huge relief to get such good results. Hopefully, I will be able to go on to do English at university."
Her Mum, Ruth, added: "It is very unusual for a student to skip a year, like Rebecca has. She did her SATs a year early and, since then, she has never looked back. By rights, she should be doing her GCSEs next year so we are extremely proud of her."
Thirteen is Lucky for Guarav
Aspiring businessman Guarav Srivastava increased his tally of GCSEs to 13 – when he picked up nine A*s and three As.
Guarav, 16, of Boothorpe, near Swadlincote, sat his first GCSE two years ago, when he achieved an A grade in ICT.
Now he plans to study for A levels in Maths, Physics, English Language and Literature, Economics, Critical Thinking and Biology.
Guarav said: "I was expecting As and Bs but to get all these A*s is brilliant. I am very proud of myself.
"I worked really, really hard in Years 10 and 11 to get good marks in my coursework so that removed a lot of the pressure at exam time. I might get a present from my parents if I'm lucky – but the feeling of happiness inside is the best reward."
Guarav hopes to pursue a business career.
Michael Makes it Ten
Polish student Michael Grzywna spoke no English when he arrived in Britain a year ago – but clocked up ten GCSE passes this week.
Five of his passes were at grade C, securing Michael a Sixth Form place for next year.
Michael, 16, of Measham, said: "It has been very hard work. When I moved here, I did not speak any English at all. At school in Poland, I had chosen to learn German, rather than English.
"I was scared before I sat the exams because I did not think that I would do very well, but I kept on revising and it paid off."
Michael hopes to train as an architect after doing his A levels.
The Language of Success
For Rebecca Leakey, getting five As, four Bs and a C at GCSE meant she could forge ahead with her plans for a career in languages.
Rebecca, 17, of Packington, said: "I did study hard. I put the work in, especially in Science, so I am really pleased with my results."
Rebecca will now study for A levels in French, German, Biology and Psychology.
Alice in Wonderland
Student Alice Gibson got a big surprise when she opened her results, to discover that she had two A*s, five As, four Bs and a C.
Alice, 16, of Ashby, said: "I was sure I had done badly so I really wasn't expecting my results to be so good. Sitting the exams was definitely the worst part of the whole two years. I am really happy now."
Alice will now study for A levels in English, Biology, French and Textiles.
Tom Heads for the Bar
Hard-working Tom Hicklin has his eye on a law career after picking up seven As, three Bs and a C in his GCSEs.
Tom, 16, of Breedon-on-the-Hill, said: "My results are a combination of luck and revision. You do need to revise lots. I am going to have to do a lot more studying because I want to be a barrister."
Tom's next step will be to pass A levels in Government and Politics, English, Chemistry, and Maths.
Rebecca's A-Mazing Feat
When Rebecca McBride collected her results, she did not expect to be a straight A student.
Rebecca, 16, of Ashby, picked up three A*s and eight As.
She said: "I was hoping for Bs and Cs so to get As and A*s is amazing. My advice to anyone doing their GCSEs is to cram like they have never crammed before because getting good results is so important."
Rebecca, who hopes to work in fashion journalism, will first study for A levels in English, Business Studies, Art and Textiles.
Top Five for Tom
Number wizard Tom Platts was celebrating when he learned that his GCSE Maths result was one of the top five in the country.
Tom, 16, of Ashby, got an A* in Maths, along with six As, three Bs and two Cs.
He said: "I am pretty pleased with myself. I did revise so that definitely helped. The worst part was all the coursework – because it meant we had to work hard for the entire two years."
Tom is staying on at Ashby School to study Further Maths, Chemistry and Economics at A level.
Teachers are Tops
Relieved Lizzie Pedder praised Ashby School's teachers for helping her – and others – to get a string of top GCSE passes.
Lizzie, 16, of Ashby, got four As, three Bs and five Cs – and has been so inspired by teachers at Ashby that she is thinking of becoming a teacher herself.
She said: "It is fantastic to get these results because I've been having nightmares about getting Ds. The teachers have been really good and very helpful."
Lizzie will now study for A levels in English, History, Government and Politics, and Psychology.
Extra Revision Paid Off
Successful student Tessa Brayford said that extra revision sessions and additional help with exams helped her to sail through her GCSEs.
Tessa, 16, of Ashby, surpassed her own expectations by getting one A*, six As and five Bs.
She said: "I expected worse so I am very happy. I revised hard and I took advantage of all the help that I was offered by the school, like extra revision sessions. It was definitely worth it."
Ashby's Top Scorers
A list of the 60 highest-achieving GCSE students from 2007 follows. The figures indicate how many GCSEs were gained by each student at grades A - C.
Students are listed according to the number of points scored (ie students with more A grades are likely to be nearer the top of the list).
Miles Lowry 12
Hannah Willett 12
Gaurav Srivastava 12
Katherine Rogers 11
Bradley Watling 12
Pierre Welch 12
Nathan Buck 10
Libby Bligh 12
George Chinnery 11
James Maccalman 12
Sarah Starkey 11
Sarah-Jayne Varty 12
Hannah Winterton 11
Natalya Smith 12
Callum Hogg 11
Justin Birch 10
Rebecca McBride 10
Gabriella Stylianou 12
Samantha Andrews 11
Lauren Harding 11
Anthony Moon 13
Richard Tann-Watson 11
Samuel Blackburn 12
Tessa Brayford 12
Heidi Ball 11
Bethan Gidlow 11
Luke Evans 14
Caroline Bowmer 10
Myles Griffin 11
William Haines 9
Jennifer Elver 13
Bradley Margerrison 12
Richard Euerby 12
Niall Peach 11
Alice Clement 11
Rebecca Holland 11
Alice Gibson 11
Matthew Smith 11
Philip Wilson 11
Jordan Moran 13
Sarah Megson 10
Lianne Clamp 11
David Southwood 13
Rebecca Fletcher 11
Louise Fowkes 11
Ben Fox 11
Kirsty Williams 11
Thomas Hicklin 12
Daniel Wright 12
Charlotte Kirkby 11
Lauren Page 12
Aden Prescott 10
Tim Sherriff 11
