There was much to celebrate at St Helen and St Katharine’s GCSE results day today. An impressive 32.9% of all grades awarded were 9s and 23 students collected their envelopes to discover that they had achieved ten or more 9–8 grades – an outstanding achievement. With results exceeding the expectations broadcast about this year’s examination performance, overall, 60.7% of all grades were at 9–8 and 81.5% were 9–7.
Headmistress Rebecca Dougall said: “It’s been lovely to celebrate with students and parents this morning. GCSEs represent a huge workload for students; to see all that hard work pay off is wonderful. They have excellent foundations on which to build their A level studies and, before that, lots of celebrations to enjoy.”
Keen mathematician Cosima achieved a grade 9 in Maths as part of a clean sweep of ten grade 9s. It comes as no surprise as Cosima is currently one of 24 students from across the UK who have been selected for the UKMT Maths Olympiad Training Camp in Oxford. Her parents, James and Helen, attribute her dedication to the subject to the School’s Maths Department – especially retiring Director of Studies, Mr Morris: “He has been an exceptional teacher who has encouraged Cosi in her mathematical interests, and we can’t thank him enough.”
Ottilie was also over the moon with her results and said: “Our teachers have been so supportive. They have our best interest at heart and want us to do well.” Her parents Naomi and Tim added: “Teachers have provided lots of encouragement and nurturing. The School’s tutor system is particularly strong. Ottilie has had the same tutor all through her three years in Middle School, Miss Barras – she has been a constant and always there as the first port of call which has been really helpful for us as parents too.”
Music Scholar Jemima did fantastically with ten grade 9s. Proud mum Fiona said: “It can be difficult to be a teenager at the best of times – harder still with all that’s going on in the world post-covid. St Helen’s has been a great source of reassurance.” Jemima added: “I’m so excited to join Sixth Form in the new Benedict Building. I’m really looking forward to studying the subjects I’ve chosen – Computer Science, Maths, Further Maths and Physics – but I also can’t wait for the other aspects of life in St Helen’s Sixth Form, such as community service and all the extracurricular activities.”
Students will be the first cohort to start their A levels in St Helen and St Katharine’s brand new Sixth Form Centre, the Benedict Building. The centre features nine classrooms, a range of study spaces, a common room, a café and a flexible lecture/performance hall. The new building echoes the very best in higher education institutions, smoothing the transition from school to university.
