THE first Bohunt students to sit GCSE exams collected their results on Thursday, August 25, making school history in the process.
Headteacher Ben Goodber said that there was so much happiness in the Arborfield school as students returned for a final time to collect their grades.
“It’s great to see them do so incredibly well,” he said.
In all, more than 80% of students received GCSE passes in English and maths “a really strong, secure set of results”, and around a third of the year achieved grade 7 and above.
“There’s been some real star performances from students, we’re really pleased with the results.”
The school opened in September 2016, and the Year 7 intake were, at the time, the only pupils. Over the past six years, it has grown but because of the covid pandemic, this is the first time that students have sat exams.
“It’s been an undiscovered territory, everything we’ve done has been a journey,” Mr Goodber said. “Reaching this point is a real measure of the progress they’ve made as young people that prepares them for the next stage of their lives: the skills, the qualities, the attributes they face.
“It’s great to see them do so incredibly well.”
He said that the whole school was celebrating the cohort’s achievements.
“We would have loved to have been able to celebrate last year, the first year to finish GCSEs (but not sit exams), but the pandemic didn’t make that possible.
“This is a platform for future years for us to build on, and we’re really looking forward to going from strength to strength.”
Among those celebrating were head girl Anita, who achieved 9s across all her subjects.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” she said, admitting that she had been anxious the night before, especially as her GCSE years had been disrupted by the pandemic.
“I had some exams that I felt were an absolute disaster,” she confessed, adding, “All the hard work in the last few months has paid off.”
She thanked friends, family and staff for their help along the way.
“The teachers really helped us and made it happen, especially during the pandemic,” Anita said. “All the teachers gave us so much support.”
In September, Anita’s learning journey will continue with sixth form education, studying maths, further maths as part of a STEM-based curriculum, but for now she is looking forward to celebrating with her friends and family.
“There are some free offers in restaurants too,” she said, smiling.
Anita isn’t the only one celebrating. When we spoke, Mr Godber was looking forward to hearing how his daughter had got on with her GCSEs, while his son received his A-level grades last week. And he is celebrating his school’s success with his staff.
“We’ve seen the community build up around us, and it feels like a coming of age, if you like,” he said.
“There’s a base for us to build on. I cannot wait for September 2023, when the sixth form will be opening. Students will be able to carry on their journey with us. We’re really looking forward to that.”
