Private School News

Howell’s School, Llandaff GCSE results for 2008

Howell’s School Llandaff entered 85 candidates for GCSE and was delighted that 44% of all results were at the top A* grade, 69% were A* and A combined, and 89% A*- B. Thirty-three girls gained ten or more passes at A* and A, and fifteen gained straight A*. The overall A*- C pass rate was 97.4%.
Those who gained a clean sweep of A* grades are Ellen Brookes, Francesca Capel, Rashmi D’Souza, Anju George, Nikki Gill, Kiryn Howard, Alice Johnston, Calan Jones, Deepshikha Kumar, Anusha Manjunath, Alice Ojeda, Rachel Patel, Anna Sambrook, Bronwen Warner and Chloe Wright.

Dr Sara Southern, Head of the Senior School, said, “We are thrilled with these outstanding results, which reflect the hard work on the part of the students and the excellent teaching by the staff.” The Principal, Mrs Sally Davis, commented, “I am extremely pleased with the results. Howell’s consistently achieves very high standards. Although we are a selective school, we take average to very able students. It is quite clear that the value added achieved by Howell’s enables them to maximise every possible learning opportunity so that their final results are outstanding.”

St. Clare’s Sixth Form A-level Success

St. Clare’s School, Porthcawl, Sixth Form students have again recorded an outstanding set of A-level results with 97.4% passes at grades A – E , 83% at A – C and 68% with either A or B grades.

Seven Year 13 students were awarded three or more ‘straight A’s’: Head Girl Sophia Dower achieved 4 grade ‘A’s in English, Business Studies, French and Spanish. Sophia will be studying Law with Hispanic Studies at University College London. Head Boy Rhys Martin and Ameesh Patel also achieved four straight ‘A’s – in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. Both will study Medicine (Peninsula College of Medicine and Bristol University). Emily Heard gained ‘A’s in Art, English and Psychology and will be on her way to Exeter University to study Psychology. Sally Krouma was awarded three ‘A’s in Biology, English and Spanish and will continue her study of Modern Languages at Bath University. Deputy Head Boy Thomas Mead gained three ‘A’s in French, Geography and History and will attend Exeter University to study Geography. Thomas Arthur was awarded three ‘A’s in French, ICT and Maths as well as a ‘B’ in Physics. Thomas will be studying Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cardiff University. Amy Harding, Charlotte Williams, Daniel Tadecicco and Laura Rowland all gained two ‘A’s and a ‘B’.

Head Teacher Catherine Barnard said, “Once again, pupils and teachers can be justly proud of these fantastic results which are due to hard work and dedication. They show a consistent level of excellence throughout the Sixth Form and indeed the whole school; based on our policy of balancing rigorous academic study with individual attention, extra-curricular activities and continuous investment in the school.”

EXCELLENT A LEVEL EXAM RESULTS AT BROMSGROVE

189 pupils at pupils at Bromsgrove School sat 651 A levels this year and achieved a record 87% A and B grades. Equally remarkable was the fact that 78 pupils achieved 3 or more A grades; 27 pupils achieved 4 or more; 14 attained 5 or more straight A grades. Over 60% of all A levels were grade A, while the A-E pass rate was 99.8%.

Outstanding subject performances included clean sweeps of 100% A grades for Latin and Additional Further Maths. In subjects with large cohorts (above twenty-five pupils) there were exceptional results, among others, for:

Further Maths with 97% A grades (36 candidates)

Art with 89% A grades (27 candidates)

Maths with 75% A grades (99 candidates)

Chemistry with 99% A and B grades (44 candidates)

Geography with 96% A and B grades (32 candidates)

Among the 78 candidates with 3 or more A’s were local Head Girl, Harriet Eales, and local twins Charles and Edward Eden who have been at the School since Pre-Prep.

Headmaster Chris Edwards commented:
“Another huge A level cohort has delivered spectacular results, justifying the Good Schools Guide’s observation that Bromsgrove inhabits the academic stratosphere. I congratulate pupils and staff while reiterating that we abhor hothousing: our sport, music, drama and titanic extra curricular programme are as important to us as these staggering grades. People wanting academic battery farms can look elsewhere: at Bromsgrove, it is breadth of opportunity and sky- high expectations which generate excellence.”

Padworth College A Level Results 2008

The Sixth form students at Padworth College maintained consistently high standards in this year’s A Level results. The overall pass rate was 100% and 75% of all entries achieved A to C grades.

Of particular note were the outstanding performances of scholars Annalise D’Souza, who gained an A grade in all her six subjects, and Zamira Monteiro, who gained 3 A grades having completed her AS and A2 examinations in just one year.

All students are going on to universities of their choice.

At AS level a number of students gained 100% in a variety of modules.

Linde Melhuish, Principal of Padworth College, said, “My colleagues and I are delighted with these AS and A Level results and are very proud of what all of our sixth form students have achieved this year. At Padworth, we endeavour to work very closely with students to achieve their individual academic goals and the results reflect our continuing success. I should like to congratulate all of the students and wish them well in the next stage of their education.”

Padworth College is a fully co-educational, non-selective school for students aged 13-19 and provides a very broad range of subjects at GCSE and A Level courses taught in very small classes with an informal atmosphere. The College is situated in between Newbury and Reading. Day student places and scholarships are available in September for A Level and GCSE Re-takes. For further details, please contact the Principal on 0118 983 2644.

Straight A’s for Durham School’s ‘Heads of School’

Durham School sixth formers, Alex Duell and David Quinn, are celebrating straight A’s in this week’s A level and AS exam results. Alex, who has held the position of ‘Head of School’ for the last year, is delighted to be celebrating together with David, who will succeed him as ‘Head of School’ in September.

At A2 level, Alex Duell, a member of Caffinites House, has been awarded straight A`s in all his subjects – English Literature, French and German and also History (AS) – an excellent set of results. On hearing the news, Alex said he was thrilled and very much hoped that he will now be offered a place at Dublin, where he wants to study languages; French and German. Alex already has an offer from Bath University, but will have to wait until Monday to hear from Dublin.

At AS level, David, a member of Poole House, has been awarded straight A`s in his exams – Ancient History, Art & Design and Music in which he gained top marks in 2 of his Music modules. He was hardly able to contain his excitement and commented, “I am absolutely delighted with my results. I am thoroughly looking forward to the new academic year and hope to repeat Alex’s success at A2 level.” He added:” Alex will certainly be a tough act to follow as Head of School, but he has passed on some excellent advice and I have a superb team of monitors to assist me in my new duties.” In the meantime, David is due to travel to Bath next week to attend the RSCM (Royal School of Church Music) Summer School, for which he was awarded an Organ Scholarship.

Alex and David have both played a huge part in the school’s successes over the past year and should be highly commended for their commitment to both their academic studies and their contribution to school life; Music, Drama and their Houses in particular.

Special congratulations also go to Sarah Jones was amongst the Top 10 candidates in the country who sat A Level German this summer, according to Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body. Out of 2931 candidates, Sarah achieved one of the highest overall marks. Edexcel’s Managing Director, Jerry Jarvis, said: “This is a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work students put into preparing for their exams. We send our congratulations to Sarah.”

Head of Sixth Form, Mr Paul Gerrard, was delighted with the performance of his students. “

“All these students worked very hard and deserve their success. Our results represent a very solid improvement at the top end of the grades. A 5% improvement on our grade A percentage from last year, an 8% improvement on our A/B percentage. Overall they are our third best set of results since the new exam format came out in 2001. Another very pleasing aspect was the improvement the students showed from the percentage of A’s they scored in their L6 AS exams, to the percentage of A’s they eventually scored at A2. There was a 12% improvement in this area.”

The Assistant Deputy Head of Curriculum, John Everatt commented: “I am particularly pleased for our star students but we must not forget that there are some equally significant, or even more significant, success stories lower down the ability range where boys and girls have worked just as hard for their grade Cs, Ds and Es. It is easy to overlook their efforts.”

Photo:
David Quinn and Alex Duell ‘Talking Heads’

Excellent A-Level results at Howell’s School

The Principal, Mrs Sally Davis, said, “The school is very pleased to report another excellent set of results, which reflect the hard work and commitment of the students.”  44.6% of all the results were grade A and 33% grade B (ie 77.6% grades A and B). The pass rate was 99.6% (276 entries, 275 passes). 16 students achieved 3 or more grade As. 

The highest performing students, and their destinations, are as follows: 

Sophie Aslan       5 passes at grade A                             Imperial College, London, Physics

Harriet Rees       5    ”        ”     “    A                              Oxford University, Mathematics  

Nathan Brown      4    “        ”     “    A                             Cardiff University, Medicine 

Laura Hoddell      4    “        ”     “    A                             Durham University, Economics 

Helena Read       4    “        ”     “    A                             Oxford University, English 

Amisha Wagle    4    “        ”     “    A                              King’s College, London, Medicine 

Pia Banerjee       3   “        ”     “    A, plus 1 at grade B    Cambridge University, Law 

Lydia Lewis        3    “        ”     “    A plus Merit in History in the Advanced Extension Award (see below)

Sophie Aslan, (5 x grade A), is going to Imperial College London to read Physics, usually a male preserve.

Another student of note is our last year’s Head Student, Lydia Lewis, who gained 3 As and also a Merit in the Advanced Extension Award in History. Lydia is away travelling at the beginning of her gap year, after which she hopes to read History and Politics at university. She is a member of the Save the Children Welsh Youth Panel and has been elected by her peers on to the Global Save the Children Youth Panel. She is the first representative in this new initiative from Save the Children, the idea behind the panel being to allow young people to have a voice and to advise Save the Children on key issues and programmes in order to improve the lives of children. 

New Head for Prior Park College – September 2009

The Governors of Prior Park College, Bath, are delighted to announce the appointment of Mr James Murphy-O’Connor, to be Headmaster from September 2009. The appointment has been made following the retirement announced earlier this year of Dr Giles Mercer. Dr Mercer has given 13 years of distinguished service to the school and retires in July 2009. 
From school at St Benedict’s, Ealing, where he was Head Boy, James Murphy-O’Connor read History at Oxford and gained a PGCE at Cambridge. After teaching at Stamford School and Sherborne, where he was a Housemaster, he was invited in 2004 to be the founding Headmaster of Sherfield School. In this enterprise he has been highly successful, seeing this co-educational, independent school set up from scratch, with the school roll rising to 540 pupils.

James Murphy-O’Connor and his wife, Ali, have four children and are actively involved in their local parish church. They have a very high regard for, and commitment to, Prior Park’s Catholic Christian character and life, and to its all-round educational philosophy. James Murphy-O’Connor’s father and four uncles were educated at the school.

page two Prior Park CollegeBath BA2 5AHTelephone: 831000www.priorparkschools.co.uk

The Chair of Governors, Sister Jane Livesey CJ, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Mr Murphy-O’Connor, so ably supported by his wife, will be leading Prior Park into its next very exciting phase of development, whilst at the same time cherishing all the vital strengths of the school which has gone from strength to strength under Dr Mercer’s outstanding leadership”.

Mr James Murphy-O’Connor added “I am very pleased to have been offered the position of Headmaster of Prior Park College. It is a privilege to be asked to continue and develop the strong traditions and the all round excellence of the school. I am looking
forward to leading the staff and pupils from September 2009”.

Prior Park College Opera Singers Hit the Heights

Prior Park opera singers hit the high notes, when two of the star performers from the forthcoming production of The Marriage of Figaro received their A level results today. Benedict Hastings and Alberic Elsom, gained 6 A grades between them. Other outstanding performances were by Shin-On Kang, gaining 5 A grades and Isobel Smith gaining 4 A grades and 2 A , AS grades. Heads of School, Natalie Cordon and Iheukwumere Duru gained 7 A grades between them.

Excited Upper Sixth Prior Park pupils are celebrating their success at A Level today. Measured against all previous criteria this was Prior’s best result in its history. With 44.4% A grades , a staggering 77% A & B grades (reflecting a 12% improvement on 2007 results) and 94% A-C grades. A 100% pass rate was the icing on the cake. Over a fifth of the cohort gained 3 A grades or better

The Headmaster, Dr Giles Mercer, said “Records are meant to be broken and this is a year when our students have surpassed all previous achievements. Our leavers have worked hard, heeded the advice and encouragement of their teachers and have reaped this well deserved reward. They and their teachers are to be warmly congratulated.”

Photo: Opera singers Camilla Czul, Alberic Elsom and Hettie Hobbs

The Marriage of Figaro is being performed at Prior Park College Wednesday 10 th, Thursday 11th, Friday 12th (Gala Night), Saturday 13th September. Tickets: 01225 831004. £15 (£10 students).

Excellent A Level Examination Results at St Joseph’s College

Students from St Joseph’s College, Ipswich were today busy gathering to hear how well they have done in their recent A level examinations.

Following on from the outstanding success of students in their Key Stage 2 and 3 SAT examinations, Upper Sixth students at St Joseph’s College achieved excellent A level results after a considerable level of work over the last two years. The percentage pass rate has increased to 97% and the average points score per student has improved once again, resulting in an increase by over 30% in the last four years. Twenty different subjects achieved 100 per cent pass rates and the top 10 per cent of students achieved an impressive UCAS points score of 494, which is equivalent of more than 4 grade As at A level. High flying Sarah Driver achieved 5 grade As at A level and is now off to study Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, but a large number of students achieved top grades that allow them to study at leading universities all over the country.

Mrs Grant, Principal, stated that;
“Once again we are delighted that the efforts of both our students and staff are reflected in most impressive examination results. Most importantly, St Joseph’s College has built up the students’ skills allowing them to progress to the next stage of their lives very well prepared for the modern world. The achievements of all of our students are a cause for celebration. Examination success is, however, only one part of the St Joseph’s experience where students also receive a wide range of sporting, social and personal development opportunities. The College continues to move from strength to strength with outstanding performance at all levels of study. St Joseph’s remains a school that is really going places.”

Number of students who sat the exam: 47
% of students at A – C = 76%
% of students achieving A – E = 99%

Academic Gold 2008

Delighted students opened their A level results envelopes at Farnborough Hill this morning to discover that, for the second year running, half of the entire year group had achieved 3 or more A grades at A level. This outstanding set of results meant that 87% of the year group achieved A or B grades, with 95% getting grades of C or above. Pictured are Emily Malyon-Roberts, Rebekah Overton, Katie Smith, Zoe Hawken, Molly Beck, Laura Mattar and Sarah Rowlands who were among the girls achieving at least 3 A grades.

At AS level three students were awarded the top five marks nationally: Hannah Shelley for Biology and Alexandra Cooper and Tegwen Gabb for English. In fact Tegwen and Alexandra have just completed their GCSEs and were sitting their English AS a year early as part of Farnborough Hill’s extension programme for the gifted and talented.

Headmistress, Mrs Sarah Buckle said “We are delighted with this set of outstanding results. The girls have worked so hard and there are many personal triumphs among these A level achievements too. Credit must also go to the dedicated and talented teaching staff at Farnborough Hill who always go the extra mile to inspire and support their students”.