Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Result! Years of effort are rewarded
Last Thursday was a beautiful day in more ways than one for hundreds of pupils at Canterbury schools.
The atmosphere in school halls was thick with a mixture of expectation and nervousness which gave way in many cases to sheer joy and the odd tear.
At Barton Court Grammar School, pupils Melanie Hoare, Jack Wellard and Ella Williams, all 16, were celebrating after achieving all A* or A grades.
Ella, from Preston, said: “It was a lot of hard work, three years of hard work in fact. I’m so happy.”
Whitstable boy Jack Wellard also put in the long hours: “I didn’t revise every single day, but I did do a lot. I put the effort in.”
And Melanie, from Herne Bay, added: “I have to admit I was crying when I found out how I’d done.
Niamh Alexander who achieved 6 A* and 3 As in her GCSE results at Herne Bay High School !I’m just really happy.” Equally happy is Barton Court head Kirstin Cardus, who saw her school achieve 41% of grades at A*or A, while 96% of grades in maths and English were at grade C or better.
Ms Cardus said: “I am really delighted for all our pupils who have worked so hard to achieve these outstanding results.
“The GCSE examinations are not getting any easier and the majority of our students study the demanding academic curriculum that constitutes the English Baccalaureate.”
At The Canterbury Academy there were scenes of delight as pupils gathered at the Knight Avenue school in the late summer heat.
Among the outstanding performers were Claude Evele, 15, who gained three A*s, four As and three Bs and sets him on track for sixth form at Simon Langton Boys and his ultimate goal of becoming a barrister.
Fellow pupil Harry Munro was also a top achiever with three As and five Bs. He said: “I’m so pleased with my grades and I would like to thank the school for the very many opportunities it gave me.”
Morgan Moloney came to the school from Queen Elizabeth’s in Faversham and achieved one A, four Bs and five Cs.
Another high achiever was Megan Owen – with one A*, three As, three Bs, and two Cs. She said: “I was shocked by the results – I’m so happy. I’m going to stay on here and do A-levels.”
Sophie Fagg brought in five As, five Bs and a C.
St Anselm’s head teacher Mike Walters was delighted with his pupils’ achievements.
He said: “The vast majority of pupils will be staying on in our sixth form to study a range of academic and vocational subjects. We are very pleased that their hard work has paid off and they can be proud of their efforts.”
St Edmund’s pupils celebrated their GCSE results in style, gathering in the sunshine outside the colonnade by the 1st XI cricket pitch.
There were plenty of happy faces as the achievements of the teenagers were revealed and shared with classmates and parents.
Head Louise MoelwynHughes said “Our talented pupils and their dedicated teachers should feel immensely proud of these results.
“There were many A* grade successes, but also super individual performances and targets met where pupils had given their all and their hard work had paid off.”
Excellent results were maintained at Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School, with an extraordinary set of grades across the board.