AS and A level results
We celebrated all round success with 100% pass rate for another year at AS and A level with a third of grades at A or A* and over 96% of entries achieving C grade or above. Five subjects enjoyed 100% of A*-B grades and we saw an overall increase since last year in numbers of As and Bs at a time when a national decrease is being observed in these top grades. Individual students gained full marks in modules across eleven of the twenty-two subjects and 80-98% in all the rest, demonstrating the excellent and diverse talents that are developed across the curriculum at Clifton High.
This distinctive year group all left us with clear ambitions and goals. Career plans ranged from mine clearance diving for the Navy to couture fashion and music journalism to the tough world of UK politics; from neuroscience and medicine to music therapy and engineering. They went armed with the extra-curricular skills and academic successes they needed to allow them to open doors along the way. Clifton High staff will watch with great pride and interest as our celebrated ice-skater, synchronised swimmer, actress, fashion designer, creative writers, engineers, Gold Duke of Edinburgh candidates and all the other brilliant individuals embark on their bright futures.
In the increasingly unpredictable world we live in today it is difficult to make life-changing decisions at such a young age, particularly after four consecutive years of examination-driven education and the modern constraints placed on work experience. Some of our young people were ready and well placed to take up University or career places immediately while others will find that an extra year to expand their knowledge and experience through internships, volunteering, apprenticeships or travel is the right option to help them make fully informed decisions that reflect their personal choices. Most important is that each individual identifies their passions and chooses a path that will be driven by these. One beauty of the scale and personality of our school is that we are able to help every individual student discover what drives them, make their life-shaping decisions and bring their ambitions to reality, be it via a direct route into their chosen career, an immediate move into higher education or using a gap year to increase their experience.
It has become more common in recent years for some of our former pupils to return to us to seek advice as they consider redirection in light of their experiences beyond school. Obviously we welcome them and do all we can to help at any stage of their career.
GCSEs
We were pleased and proud to congratulate pupils on some excellent GCSE results. A brilliant 57% of entries achieved grade A* or A, over 78% A*, A or B and more than 92% reached C or above. A was the most common grade overall as achieved by over a third of the 431 entries and over half of subjects saw a full set of grades at A*-C.
This year is different for Clifton High as we now shift to be compared on a national scale as a fully co-educational school. Over 100 more examination entries were made this year than in 2010-11 and the rise in the numbers of the top grades is more than proportional and very pleasing. Particularly striking are a significant rise in A* and A grades in Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, English Language and History. Also worthy of celebration are significant improvements in Foreign Languages, both Modern and Classical where the vast majority of grades were at B or above with a particularly high number of A and A* grades.
In keeping with our personality, the more creative and practical subjects reflecting individual interests and passions also continue to enjoy ever-improving results. Design Technology - Food, Design Technology - Textiles, Music, Drama and Art all saw overall rises, with 100% of grades at C or above and most at A*-B.
A* GSCEs and top marks for Year 8 and 9 youngsters
Three pupils received top GCSE results years ahead of most children in the UK. Year 8 and 9 pupils Thomas Harvey, Helena Grinling and Gabriel Gonzales all celebrated A* grades.
Helena and Gabriel both took Spanish GCSE and Helena achieved virtually full marks which is a superb achievement. Thomas sat the first module of his Mathematics GCSE in January and opened the result for his second module to reveal another A* mark with an exceptionally high cumulative score. He will sit his final module this academic year.
Year 9 pupils celebrated a 100% pass rate and 90% A* or A grades (60% A*) for the new Higher Level Project Qualification which is equivalent to a GCSE. Projects were completed on a wide range of topics as diverse as a comparison of the Peasant's Revolt to the Summer 2011 Riots, how to take a good wildlife photograph, writing a children's book and an investigation of the effectiveness of horse whispering!
We are all very proud and pleased for all these pupils who truly epitomise our maxim of realising individual brilliance.