THE MAJORITY of year 11 students at Emmbrook will be returning in September for sixth form, meaning that the school will see its biggest Year 12 for at least five years.
And following changes from Ofqual, the students are receiving GCSE results as determined by the teachers. This, the school says, means that the Year 11 students have received fair recognition of their achievements.
Headteacher Nick McSweeney said: “We are very fond of this cohort and as a result of the hard work of students and staff, they were shaping up to produce excellent academic results before the impact of the lockdown.”
This year’s top performing student is Elena Arizabalo Peralta, who secured 10 GCSEs at grade 9, a grade 8 in Additional Maths and an A grade for her extended project qualification.
And the school said that it enjoyed success at grades 8 and 9, with outstanding GCSE performances by Lucy Clarke, Patrick Collins, Paddy Coyne, James De Villiers, Alexandra Harvard, Layla-Mae Martin, Jay Panesar, Mary Pratt and Daniel Robson.
“It has been a very difficult time for Year 11 students as they have faced huge disruption and uncertainty. We have tried to give students as much reassurance as possible and have worked hard to maintain important milestones such as last day celebrations and a socially distanced results day here at the school; it was important that we were here to celebrate with and support the students on such a significant day for them,” Mr McSweeney said.
Among those collecting their grades today was Matt Keaney, who was pleased with his results.
“Overall, it was quite good, and I can’t complain,” he said. “I’m a bit annoyed about the fact that I’ve not been able to show what I can actually do (by sitting exams). At the end of the day, there’s not very much I can do about that.”
But this is not stopping his plans for September.
“I’m staying on to study history, economics, maths and further maths at A-level,” he said.
“I find the teaching here a high quality, and thought it was probably best if I just stick with what I know.”
Bex Cairns, the Emmbrook’s head of Year 11, said: “I have had the absolute pleasure of taking this wonderful year group through from the end of Year 7 all the way to this moment in Year 11.
“Today, seeing them collect this incredibly impressive set of results, albeit a little differently to normal, has got to be one of the proudest moments of my teaching career. The young people collecting their results from us today embody everything The Emmbrook School stands for, between them, they have worked incredibly hard, remained resilient and achieved amazing things.
“I am incredibly sad that I will no longer be their Head of Year, but equally so pleased that I will see so many of them in our Sixth Form next year.
“However, no matter where they go, I am certain that they will go on to do amazing things and I cannot wait to hear all about them.
“So, one final set of congratulations to the most amazing year group, please keep in touch and continue to be as amazing as you have been for the last five years.”
