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It is the day all GCSE students have been waiting for - and dreading - as their exam results are published.
The number of top grade passes is expected to rise for another year, reigniting the debate over whether GCSE exams are getting easier. And there are also fears that this generation of GCSE students will face a tough battle for university places.
A Kent-wide overview of the results is available on KentOnline by clicking here - and look below to find our how your school fared. The schools will be updated as they come in.
Angley School is pleased to announce some encouraging GCSE results
Once again there have been many creditable performances at GCSE with 26 per cent of students achieving 10 or more GCSE passes.
Many subjects have performed well including traditional academic subjects and practical subjects, in particular leisure and tourism achieved 100 per cent pass at C and above and food technology with 90 per cent pass at C and above.
Assistant head teacher Caroline Collins said that 612 passes at GCSE level, with a half of these at grade A*, A or B, mean that students will have an excellent chance to be successful in their final two years at Angley in the sixth form.
She added: "2010 has been a busy year for our year 11s as they have grown in maturity and knowledge. With 93 students applying to the sixth form it will be the largest year 12 group the school has seen and I wish them well in their future studies”.
The family of twins Laura and Alice Winch will have a double celebration today as the girls achieved a total of 31 A* and A grade GCSEs.
The twins helped Astor of Hever School secure its best ever results with more than 71 per cent of pupils gaining five A* to C grades.
Executive head teacher Vanessa Everett said: "The numbers gaining top grades in English and maths have doubled over the last two years and there has been a 55 per cent increase over last year’s results.
“We are delighted that the hard work of both students and staff has been rewarded.”
A record-breaking year for the school, with 95.6 per cent of pupils getting five GCSEs at grades A* to C, up from 90 per cent last year. The number who got five A* to C grades including maths and English was 87.6 per cent, up from 80 per cent last year.
Out of 225 students who took the exams, 150 achieved 10 or more at A* to C and 171 students achieved at least one A or A* grade. Twenty students achieved nine or more A and A* grades.
Head teacher Ian Bauckham said: "These results prove that, regardless of a student’s starting point, a caring and respectful environment, opportunities to enjoy school and grow personally, combined of course with excellent teaching, enable high outcomes to be achieved by all. The vast majority of these students will be returning to our large and thriving Bennett sixth form, where I know they will continue to achieve superbly, either at A Level or other courses we offer. Very warm congratulations to all of you.”
Cecilia Marshall, Genevieve Hinde and Matthew Burt all achieved 12 or more A and A* grades. John Harvey, Emily von Fraunhofer, Chloe Challis, Elliot Gathercole and Hannah O’Sullivan all achieved 11 A* and A grades.
Cornwallis Academy has managed to beat last year’s GCSE results by 10 per cent with 92 per cent of students gaining five or more A* to C grades.
In total, 55 per cent of students achieved A* to grades, including English and maths.
Head of the academy, David Simons, said: “We are delighted that so many students were so successful and look forward to welcoming them back into our sixth form.
“The academy is particularly proud of Harry Doust in Year 8 who achieved a B in an ancient history short-course, which he studied for in his lunch breaks.”
Every one of the 147 pupils who took GCSEs at the school got five A* to C grades, and 60 per cent had either A or A* grades.
The average points score per pupil was 568.
Year 11 students at Invicta Grammar School in Maidstone have taken the school into the record books yet again with another outstanding set of results.
They achieved 62 per cent of their GCSE grades at A* or A while simultaneously gaining 58.8 per cent of their AS studies at A or B grade - a year early.
The students took the majority of their GCSE exams at the end of Year 10 and in Year 11 studied a combination of AS courses and one-year GCSEs.
Deputy head Julie Derrick said: “The school is thrilled with the students, who have been rewarded for their hard work and commitment over the past two years.”
Notable individual performances were achieved by four students: Emily Chadwick, Amy Doel, Jade Edwards and Claire Harnett, who were all awarded 12.5 GCSEs at A* or A grade.
Girls at Kent College Pembury once again achieved outstanding GCSE results with over 50 per cent of all results gaining an A grade or above and 20 per cent of all grades at A*.
Standards at the school continue to climb with yet another 100 per cent pass rate, and 97 per cent of grades at C or above.
In a number of subjects 100 per cent of pupils gained A* - B grades, including Latin, business and communication, drama and German.
Head teacher Sally-Anne Huang said: "I always feel that GCSE is a genuine challenge as young people continue to face examinations in a wide range of compulsory subjects and for them to produce such an excellent crop of grades, both as individuals and as a year group, makes everyone at the school very proud of them.”
Kirsty Coleman who achieved 7 A* and 3 A grades said: “So happy, amazed and excited. I had a dream that I would get all B grades so am thrilled to achieve A* and A grades.”
Flossie Barraud who achieved 6 ½ A* and 3 A grades added: “I am really really excited, and cant wait to celebrate with my friends. I could not have hoped for better results.”
Top scholars at Maidstone Grammar School included Philip Burgess, Lee Kingston, Joshua Mustill, Robert Ledniczky and Xijun Zhang, who all achieved a clean sweep of A* and A grade GCSEs.
Xijun’s achievement is particularly incredible, because three years ago he came to England not knowing any English at all.
Overall at the grammar school 99 per cent of students gained five A*-C grades including maths and English, which was a 15 per cent rise on last year. 49 percent of subject entries achieved grade A* or A.
Head teacher Nick Argent said the results were “pleasing” adding: “I applaud all the pupils, particularly those mentioned above whose individual performances are outstanding. However I am even more encouraged by the achievement across the year as a whole where the average number of A*-C grades works out at over 10 passes per pupil. This shows that our pupils are equipped and ready for the next stage of their education. My congratulations go to the pupils for their efforts and I thank my staff for their contribution to these results.”
It was another celebratory year at the Malling School with 51 per cent of pupils getting A* to C grades, up from 49 per cent last year.
It was the third year-on-year increase.
Star student Rosie Baker, from Blue Bell Hill Village, picked up the best results in the school with 7As and 2Bs.
She said: “I’m really pleased. I tried my best and I had a lot of support. Now I’m going to sixth form so I’m really happy.”
Another pleased pupil was John Irvine who picked up a mix of As, Bs and distinctions in BTEC sport.
He said: “They were all quite good, and I’m happy with my results.
“I’m off to sixth form and hope to do better there. I’m looking forward to the years ahead.”
It wasn’t just pupils waiting eagerly for their results. Teaching assistant Amy Johnson, 21, from West Malling took a GCSE in science so she could fulfil her dream of becoming a primary school teacher. She was over the moon with her A.
She said: “I went to Maidstone Girl’s Grammar but wasn’t very interested in science so didn’t do very well. I wanted to become a primary school teacher but needed a C in science, which I didn’t have. I would have been happy with a B but an A is great.”
It was a proud day for head teacher Carl Roberts who praised the hard work of his pupils and staff.
He said: “They have all done a fantastic job. It is a fantastic achievement for our pupils and we now have twice as many going to sixth form here than we did last year.”
Teachers and students at Maplesden Noakes School were celebrating a 10 per cent improvement on last year’s results, with 84 per cent of students gaining five or more A-C passes.
Head teacher Jane Prideaux said everyone at the school was “delighted” and that some students who took GCSEs last year had now passed a total of 17 GCSEs.
She put the success down to high teaching standards and individual tutoring, but added: “It’s a combination of things. There’s no one magic trick that does it all. It’s hard work from the point of teachers and hard work for the students, but they’ve pulled it out the bag.”
She admitted it was “tricky” advising students what to do when faced with the current job market, but said the majority of students would go on to further education and training.
She added: “I don’t think there’s anyone who’s not going to say to you it’s worth having as many qualifications as you can get. In terms of giving them a solid base and grounding, that’s what we advise them to do”.
Among those picking up results was Harry Deards, whose results included two A*s, five As and a C; and Jamie West, who was looking forward to continuing his training in the army.
Students at New Line Learning are celebrating double the amount of five or more A* to C GCSEs after rates shot to 38 per cent from last year’s 19 per cent.
The 38 per cent includes maths and English but the total amount of five or more GCSEs also increased from 53 per cent to 71 per cent and the amount of three or more A* and A grades rose from three per cent to 12 per cent.
Head of the academy Guy Hewett said: “These results represent our third year of significant improvement since becoming an Academy. We are delighted, and very proud of our students.”
Students and staff at Oakwood Park Grammar are celebrating their best GCSE results ever with 47 per cent of pupils gaining A* and A grades.
Teachers have passed on particular congratulations to James Jeary, Peter Rogers, Luke White and Aidan Murch, who all achieved ten A*s, and Daniel Browning who scored nine A*s and one A.
These students will now go on to study at Oakwood Park’s sixth form.
Sian Carr, the head teacher at Skinners Kent Academy in Tunbridge Wells, declared herself delighted with the school’s first set of results since it opened last September.
She said: “We’re very proud of our students. The results are a testimony to the hard work they have put in and proof that an all-ability school can deliver exam results which the children deserve.”
Thirty-two per cent of students achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C.
Outstanding results were achieved by Susmita Gurung who took 14 GCSEs, with 11 at A* or A. Mollie Watson with 14 GCSEs with eight at A*. Luke Head 11 GCSEs with five at A. Chloe Wheeler 12 GCSEs with four at A* and Ben Woodroofe with 11 GCSEs with four at A*.
Students and staff at St Simon Stock Catholic School are celebrating their best ever GCSE results for the second year running, including some outstanding individual achievements.
The school had a pass rate of 100 per cent, with 83 per cent of students achieving five or more GCSEs at the higher grades A*-C, and 67 per cent achieving five or more A*-C grades including English and mathematics.
Acting head teacher Jon Malone said: "This year’s figures are quite exceptional and outstanding. Last year we reported our best ever results, but these by far exceed them. The proportion of our students achieving 5 or more A*-C grades is 12 percentage points higher than last year’s already outstanding achievement. Our target was to place ourselves in the top quarter of similar schools nationally, and for the second year running we have exceeded the figure we aimed for, this year quite significantly so. I am delighted for our students, the majority of whom have achieved or surpassed their own personal targets."
Abigail Motley scored a remarkable 11 A* grades. Several students achieved either A* or A grades in all their subjects – Dominic Waters (10 A* and two A grades), Shauna Lambe (eight A* and four A grades), Samantha Burstow (seven A* and four A grades), and Olivia Webster (five A* and six A grades).
Other students who achieved top grades in nearly all their subjects included Caroline Flack (nine A* and two A grades), Anna Hughes (eight A* and two A grades), Dualtagh Franklin (seven A* and four A grades), Ciara Whiteman (six A* and five A grades) and Melissa Montford (two A* and seven A grades).
GCSE grades have soared at Sutton Valence School in the past five years with more students than ever celebrating A* and A grade success.
39 per cent of candidates achieved A* and A grades this year – an increase of 63 per cent over the last five years – with 12 students gaining nine or more passes at A* and A.
Head teacher Bruce Grindlay said: “These are the best in what is yet again an excellent set of results for the school, reflecting the students’ hard work and determination, combined with dedication on the part of our teachers.
“We pride ourselves on creating well-rounded, confident individuals, who are able to reach their potential to achieve in the real world. These results show that, once again, our students have achieved results beyond those which were predicted at intake.”
Seven students gained straight A* and As, including Owen Moulding from Boughton Monchelsea and Marcus Newman from Hunton, both of whom obtained 5A* passes and 5As. Miranda Copps from Biddenden also passed 10 subjects, achieving 7As and 3A*s, as did Hannah Clifton from Appledore who gained 9As and 1A*
The ‘A team’ also includes Jack Chacksfield and Luke Hoffman, both from Horsmonden and both with 5A*s and 4As and Jacob Tidd from Tenterden, with 7As and 2A*s.
Valley Park Community School students were over the moon with their results, as were the staff.
Head teacher Vic Ashdwon said: “For the fifth year in succession we are delighted to announce a record set of results at GCSE.
“An astonishing 94 per cent of students achieved five or more passes at C grade or above, and 45 per cent with both English and maths included.
“Particularly noteworthy are the achievements of those students achieving five or more passes at A or A* grade. This has risen to 39 per cent from 24 per cent last year. That figure was zero in 2006. Now a quarter of all grades are achieved at either A or A*.”
Clara Hayes from Aylesford achieved 13 A*s, an A and four Bs. Paige Dickenson scored nine A*s and an A, as did Jack Horton and Pranisha Gurung. Jordan Blackwell achieved nine A*s and four As. Ben Owen eight A*s, Michael Harrington five A*s and seven As, and Jessica Partlett seven A*s and six As.
The number of pupils gaining five A*-C grades including maths and English went up for the fourth year in a row. It is now 57 per cent, nine per cent higher than in 2009. Overall, 91 per cent of pupils gained 5 GCSEs at A* to C, seven per cent higher than last year. The average GCSE points score was 39.7 compared to 38.7 in 2009.
Wrotham had a record 169 Grade A* and A awards against 102 in 2009.
Head teacher David Day said: “We may not have state of the art buildings, but we have a will to do the best we can for every child. Our ‘learn to think, strive to know’ philosophy reaps dividends because we place great emphasis upon the art of communication. Parents know if they send their children there is a nine out of 10 chance of gaining five good GCSE grades and a better than one in two chance of achieving those top grades in English and maths”.
Amy Sears had eight A* grades, Anna Johnson and Hannah Stokes were awarded five A* , four A* went to Sophie Ballard, Bronte Gurr, Chelsea Honey, Chloe Humphries, Joshua Littley, Clare Murphy, Aaron Rashbrook-Nicholls, Byrony Stokes, Alex Whelan and Lee Woodger. Christopher Brown and Rickie Durnell gained two A*.
Those with Grade A included a magnificent 10 for Melissa Klose; eight for Humayra Uddin; seven for Chloe Humphries; six for Rickie Durnall and Ashley Mayhew (pictured right); five for Roshin Keenan and Aaron Rashbrook-Nicholls; four for Liam Chan, Pru Dunn, Lucy Jeal, Hannah Stokes, Alex Whelan; and two Grade A marks for Matthew Chesson, Katie Gillard, Anna Johnson, Clare Murphy, Amy Sears, Amber Standen and Sam Willis.
