Private School News

THAI SCHOLARS IN CAMBRIDGE

Ten Thai students who have been awarded Royal Thai Government Scholarships for study in the United Kingdom visited Cambridge recently. The students will be studying at Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form Studies (CCSS) and will start their two-year A-level course this September.

Only 25 Thai A-level students are awarded the prestigious scholarship annually and CCSS in Cambridge is one of the few schools nationally chosen for their studies, due to the quality of its A-level tuition. All go on to study at university after completing A-levels.

On their return to Thailand many of these students go on to hold very high positions in various fields and the British education has a big influence on them. One or two have become Prime Ministers in the past, a number become Ambassadors and there are a number of universities in Thailand that are headed by former Science scholars.

Photo:the ten Thai scholars with Neil Roskilly, CCSS Principal.
(left to right): Thanasak Sathitwitayaku, Tanat Bavornpakpapon, Wasin Padungwech, Neil Roskilly (Principal), Peeradon Samasiri, Sirikanya Chokaouychai, Suchanaree Taranatham, Tanatchaporn Boonthai, Nonthiwat Taesuk, Nattaphong Rattanavirotkul, Chulachat Kanjana-Oransiri.

Local students amongst top ten in country

Local students Naho Genko, Miku Tatsuno, Ranko Nakamura and Saki Yokota were amongst the top ten students according to Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body.

Naho, Miku, Ranko and Saki sat the Japanese GCSE (writing, listening and reading) exam earlier this summer at The Mount School and the results, issued last month, show that out of 613 candidates, the girls achieved four of the highest overall marks.

Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel’s Managing Director, said: “This is a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work students put into preparing for their exams. We send our congratulations to Naho, Miku, Ranko and Saki”.

The Head, Mrs. Jackson, explained that the four girls were in Year 9 and so took the GCSE two years early. Five of their classmates also took the Japanese GCSE early, all achieving an A*. Two other year 9 and 10 pupils achieved an A* in GCSE Turkish and an A* for GCSE Spanish. All in all an excellent year for our language department and for the ESOL department who support these girls with their translation into English. This has proven enormously successful in ensuring they achieve top grades in their other GCSE’s and A levels.

CHURCH HIGH CELEBRATES 100% PASS RATE AT GCSE…

Following the news last week that students at Newcastle Church High in Jesmond achieved a 100 per cent pass rate at A Level, the independent school had cause for celebration again today (Thursday 21 August), after students achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in 5 GCSEs, grades A*-C.

Amongst the successful candidates were girls aged 13 and 14 celebrating A* grades in Chinese and Punjabi two academic years early and three students in Year 11 who achieved an outstanding A*s in all 10 or more subjects.

Nearly 60 per cent of the Newcastle Church High GCSE results were at an A* and A grade and nearly 80 per cent of grades were A*–B grades. One fifth of the candidates achieved A* and A grades in all 10 or more subjects taken, with nearly half achieving all grades at A*–B.

Lucy Matthewson, 16, of Jesmond was celebrating after gaining 10 A*s at GCSE. The results top off an outstanding year for the teenager, who was part of the Church High tennis team which won the coveted National Nestle Team Tennis Championships 2008 for girls aged 15 and under, beating over 3,000 school entrants.

Lucy said: “When I called my parents to tell them my results they didn’t believe me at first. I didn’t expect to do this well and I’ll be celebrating today!”

Meanwhile Rebecca Webb-Mitchell, 15, of Kingston Park, achieved an outstanding 11 A*s an academic year early, and will be staying on at Church High to complete A Levels in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Physics. She said, “I’m very happy and looking forward to coming back to Church High in September.”

A third student, Emma Chisolm, 16, of Washington also achieved 10 A*s at GCSE, including full marks for English Literature. She said, “My results were a shock but it’s great that all my hard work has paid off.” Emma will be studying Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English next year.

Rachel Stein, 16, was celebrating after achieving 8A*s and 3As. She said, “I feel really good, it’s a great feeling. I worked really hard during the year and feel great that it’s now all paid off. I’m coming back to Church High next year to hopefully study A Levels English, Maths, History, Art and PE.”

Two other pupils, Phanne Yang, 13, of central Newcastle and Jaspreet Lally, 14, of Fenham, Newcastle, were delighted to achieve A*s in Chinese and Punjabi respectively, two academic years early. The girls are currently in Year 9. Jaspreet’s achievement rounds off a week of success for the Lally family, after her sister Manpreet, who also attends Church High, gained 3 A’s at A Level and one A at AS Level last Thursday. Jaspreet said: “I’m really excited, but it hasn’t sunk in yet!”

Meanwhile, 15 year-old Adeline Owen of Jesmond, achieved an A* in French a year ahead of schedule. She said: “I’m really pleased with my result, I worked really hard for this. The school was great and gave me a lot of support throughout my studies.”

Joy Gatenby, head at Newcastle Church High School, said: “Academically, the school and our pupils have had another outstanding year, with fantastic A Level and GCSE results. Our girls have excelled at all levels and abilities and I am very proud of them.

“As well as our academic successes, we have also seen great achievements in the sporting field with our girls winning national and regional competitions for swimming, squash, tennis and badminton.

“Our teachers and support staff do everything they can to encourage our students to do well both academically and through extra-curricular activities, and the girls are a credit to us.”

MORE A GRADES A YEAR EARLY WINS CHURCH HIGH PUPIL A PLACE AT CAMBRIDGE…

A 17–year-old pupil from Newcastle Church High School in Jesmond has proven to be top of her class after winning a place at Cambridge University, a year early.

Charlotte Squires-Parkin, from Gosforth in Newcastle, takes a place at Trinity College, Cambridge, a year ahead of her peer group after receiving two grade As in her physics and chemistry A Levels in one year.

Last Year, the then GCSE student Charlotte, received an A grade for her Further Maths A Level, as well as scooping an A grade in 2006 for her Maths A Level when she was just 15.

Now Charlotte has completed school a year early and will be taking a place at the University of Cambridge to study Maths in October.

Charlotte, who has been at Church High since she was 11, is no stranger to taking exams early, having completed two GCSEs in 2006 at the age of 15 and then being awarded nine further GCSEs last year.

Charlotte, said: “I found out first thing this morning and I’m very excited about going to Cambridge.

“Church High has been really supportive letting me sit exams early and I’m really happy with the school and probably would not have had the same opportunity elsewhere.

“My parents are really proud of me and have also been a great support.”

Overall the girls at Church High have achieved a 100 per cent pass rate at ‘A’ Level with nearly 40 per cent of the grades being awarded were A grades.

Two thirds of all grades were A and B grades and 86 per cent of all grades were A-C grades which is a 3.5 per cent increase on last year.

Just over one fifth of girls achieved three or more straight A grades and half of the year group achieved all A and B grades. The average number of A level entries per girl was three.

Joy Gatenby, headmistress at Newcastle Church High School, said: “Another superb year group at Church High has seen some amazing A Level results. The superb standards are testimony to the consistent hard work of both girls and staff, and my congratulations go to all the girls who are now off to study their chosen courses at university.

“Charlotte has also done exceptionally well and we are very happy that she has won her place at Cambridge to read Maths.

“We are also delighted to have once again achieved a 100 per cent pass rate and that such a large number of girls have been awarded the highest possible grades.”

A-Level results surpass expectations

The A-Level results for The Leys are:
A-C 90.2%
A-E 98%

This was a year group that was never expected to achieve the very high standards of the previous 2 years, but emerged with statistics that surpassed expectations, and deserve great credit. 19% of our candidates gained three or more A Grades, including one, Christian Meyer, who was in the top ten of all candidates for Edexcel German A-Level. I am pleased with the success of these pupils and their teachers.

Mark Slater (Headmaster)

Headmaster thrilled with 2008 GCSE results

The GCSE results for The Leys School in Cambridge are:
A* – A passes 65.6%
A* – C passes 98.6%
A* – E passes 100%

I am thrilled with these results, the best the School has ever achieved at GCSE, and I am sure the pupils and their parents will be as delighted as we are. This is a talented year group which has worked very hard and been superbly taught, and their sense of elation is well justified. 38% of the year gained 10 or more A*/A grades, and all our candidates can feel proud of their success. This is a clear reflection of the academic improvements which have taken place at the school in recent years.

Mark Slater (Headmaster)

Prior Park student amongst top ten in the country

Local student Anton Kalyuzhnyy was amongst the top ten students according to Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body.

Anton sat the GCSE Russian exam earlier this summer at Prior Park College and the results, issued last month, show that out of 1922 candidates, Anton achieved one of the highest overall marks.

Dr Giles Mercer, Headmaster commented “Anton has returned to the College to study for his GCSEs over the next two years and we are very pleased that he was able to achieve an early result in his native language. He has shown a great level of maturity and ability to undertake a difficult exam, I wish him all the best in his future studies.”

Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel’s Managing Director, said: “This is a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work students put into preparing for their exams. We send our congratulations to Anton.”

Andes look on as RGSAO climb to victory

Majestic RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School are still on the up, making it three wins in three matches on their South America Tour, with a big win over Santiago College, Chile.

After a passionate performance and win by the RGSAO Development side – winning 54 to three against Santiago College U16 – pride was at stake for the 1st XV and they knew what had to be done!

The marauding Development Side had defiantly set the benchmark, with tight teamwork resulting in some outstanding individual performances, none more so than pacey winger John McAuley’s four try haul. But the first XV was quick to join the party and were not going to be outdone. RGSAO attacked with real conviction and pace throughout the encounter, resulting in an excellent 51 – 5 victory over Santiago College 1st XV.

With beautiful snow capped Andes mountains in the background to one side and hills – very similar to the Malverns – on the other, the magnificent scenery was to be upstaged by a the most spectacular of RGSAO performances. Controlling the match from the start, the Chilean opposition became heavily reliant on trying to slow the game down and hoping for an RGSAO mistake – mistakes that just simply didn’t materialise.

Nathaniel McDonald was again thick in the action and leading by example. The skippers finesse being rewarded by a quick brace of tries. Speedster Nick Houlston and super-sub Sam Wreghitt also joined in with two a piece.

The Chileans hard tackling did get a small consolation with a powerful try, but this could not detract from a resounding victory by the first XV rugby team of RGSAO and a performance everyone can be proud of.

The tour now moves on to Uruguay, where Uruguay U17’s await.

Photo: The Andes Mountains look on as RGSAO shine in Santiago

Celebrating GCSE Success

Congratulations to all our GCSE students who received their results today.

Following the successful A Level results published last week, Mrs Meek commented ‘It is particularly rewarding to see students achieve their personal best. Our students have flourished since coming to St Mary’s Hall.’

93% of our results show students have gained at least their predicted grades, with 50% of our results showing students have exceeded their predictions.

The majority of St Mary’s Hall students gained a pass rate of 100% at grades A* – C, with a 60% pass rate for grades A* – B.

Straight A Grades

Congratulations to all our A level students who received their results today. Over a quarter of our students attained straight A grades.

An overall pass rate of 99% was achieved.

Mrs Meek was delighted with the girls’ success saying ‘ We’re extremely proud of our students’ achievements. It’s very rewarding to see so many of our girls going on to study at their first choice of university.’

RGSAO are red hot in Chile opener

Attacking RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School hit the South American trail running with two opening wins in La Serena, Chile.

After a magnificent performance and win by the RGSAO Development Side – winning 33 to nil against Colegio Ingles 2nd XV – the pressure was on the 1st XV and did they respond!

The impressive development side victory had certainly pumped up the 1st XV, when they took to the pitch at a blistering pace. This continued throughout the match resulting in an excellent 41 – 12 win over Colegio Ingles 1st XV.

Victorious intensions where clear from the start, when during the first 15 minutes they blew Colegio Ingles away with some really slick open play, as the try’s and conversions began to mount up.

Captain Nathaniel McDonald, fresh from his training with the Worcester Warriors Elite Player Development Squad, was governing the play throughout the match. McDonald continuously causing havoc in the backs and eventually picked up a deserving try.

McDonald’s performance was only surpassed by Nicholas Houlston the day’s hat-trick hero. With Houlston’s speed and agility seeming to blast through the opposition.

The Chileans however were strong upfront and scored two tries from close range, but these were only a consolation to the overall result. With RGSAO’s slick handling, great running and back play seeing the school to a comfortable victory.

The tour now moves on 1000 km further south to the city of Concepcion, where St John’s School and Wessex School await.

Photo: RGSAO lift off in South America

RGSAO Go Global

It’s three countries in three weeks for RGS Worcester and The Alice Ottley School as they prepare to take their school global.

Fresh from their on pitch rugby success this season highlighted by their win at Sixways Stadium over rivals Kings. RGSAO now turn their attention to South America and very different foreign opponents.

Forty two pupils from the historic school aged under 17 are travelling today to Chile, Uruguay and Argentina for their summer tour. Flying the flag not just for the school, but also by standing as ambassadors for the faithful city.

Facing a hectic schedule of five matches and venues across the three countries, the travelling party can hardly wait to kick it all off and prepare for another successful season.

“I am delighted to be able to take this group of pupils to South America – an ideal destination for a pre-season tour. It will be a special trip being our third tour to South America but our first time playing in Uruguay – a country we are all very excited to see,” commented Mike Ridout, RGSAO Tour Leader.

“I have been amazed at the support and best wishes we have received locally and from the wider rugby community in relation to the tour, with goodwill messages coming from Cecil Duckworth OBE, Brian Ashton, Marcelo Loffreda, and new England Team Manager Martin Johnson CBE to name a few.”

“I would also like to extend a huge thank you to everyone for their generous efforts in making this possible, especially the pupils, parents and staff fundraising in excess of £36,000. Rest assured the experience of the tour will stay with the pupils for life and will have a huge impact on them as individuals.”

“Such tours highlight the diverse nature of the education we offer at RGSAO. I wish all our tourists the very best of luck,” added Andy Rattue, RGSAO Headmaster.

“I am sure that they will return to Worcester with a new perspective on their sport and some fresh insights into the vibrant and colourful culture of South America.”

RGSAO South America Tour Fixtures:
Saturday, August 10, 2008 – La Serena, Chile

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 – Concepcion, Chile

Thursday, August 14, 2008 – Santiago, Chile

Monday, August 18, 2008 – Montevideo, Uruguay

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Photo: The RGSAO Rugby Tour party before departing to South America

RGSAO sign Chris Townend from Worcester Warriors

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School underlined its intention to stay top of the educational league – announcing the signing of Townend from local sporting giants Worcester Warriors!

The school has appointed Chris Townend as the new Marketing Director across its three sites and he will take over from the newly appointed Registrar Sue Johnston from August.

Townend was previously employed as Marketing, Events Executive and Brand Guardian at Sixways Stadium and brings with him a wealth of marketing, branding and communications experience.

A graduate of Aberystwyth University and Associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Townend started at Warriors in a sales capacity before quickly being promoted to spearhead advertising and promotions for the professional rugby side and Sixways Events.

The 25-year-old also successfully managed the club’s matchday events at Sixways Stadium for crowds of over 10,000 supporters and following the departure of Dan Zaltzman, six months ago, Townend was the figurehead behind the club’s marketing functions as well as introducing the new Warriors brand this summer.

“We’re very pleased that Chris has accepted the role to take over from Sue Johnston who has done such a fantastic job for the schools,” said RGSAO Headmaster Andy Rattue.

“Chris joins us with a large amount of experience from his time with Worcester Warriors as a marketing executive. His work at Sixways signalled to us his creative capabilities and his ability to increase market share through various mediums.

“His fresh and passionate approach to marketing will be very exciting to see at the schools. We are sure that he can now bring his experiences to the table and will help RGSAO, The Grange and Springfield Schools move up to the next level.”

“I’m very privileged to be offered this opportunity to work across the three schools and it is a challenge I am very excited about. I have been very impressed with what I have seen of RGSAO, The Grange and Springfield. Their facilities and staff are second to none,” commented Chris Townend, the new Marketing Director.

“I was lucky enough to run the RGSAO v King’s match at Sixways Stadium on behalf of Worcester Warriors last year and witnessed firsthand the infectious passion and pride of the RGSAO pupils and staff for their three schools. I can’t wait to become part of that family pride feel and be part of the exciting future ahead for RGS Worcester and the Alice Ottley School, The Grange and Springfield. Roll on August and beyond!”

Mount St Mary’s pupils to feature in documentary for HMC

Everyone had the chance for fifteen minutes of fame when a film crew visited Mount St Mary’s for the day.
Their purpose was to capture the life of the school in three minutes- a hard task when there is so much going on!
The theme of the short film will be “Developing the whole person”, and during the day filming took place in the chapel, the library, the science block and outside on the first fifteen pitch and national standard athletics track.
“Developing the whole person” will become part of a longer film profiling the HMC that will be premiered at its forthcoming conference.
Pupils at the Mount are now looking forward to watching their moment of fame in school shortly afterwards.
“Developing the whole person” is a central part of the school’s ethos, and is shown in the school’s commitment to developing each pupil’s talents academically, socially, spiritually and emotionally.

GCSE success at Mount St Mary’s College

Pupils at Mount St Mary’s achieved some outstanding results in their GCSES this summer. Among those celebrating were Joseph Jackson of Clowne and Naseem Sharif from Rotherham, who both got 8 A* and 3 As. Joseph was awarded A* for Statistics last year, bringing his total to 9* and 3 As. The top girls were Morwenna Egan from Renishaw, who was awarded 8 A* and 2 As, and Vicky Fairclough-Coe from Rotherham, who got 7 A*, 3 As and a B.

One of the most outstanding candidates this year was Maria Navarro Fraile from Malaga: she only joined the school in Year 11, as a boarder from Spain, but managed to gain 2 A*, 3 As and 2 Bs. One of her top marks, not surprisingly, was for Spanish, but she also managed to gain an A* in French. “When we remember that she was sitting this exam in a foreign language to start with, she really did do well, especially as she only studied for GCSEs for a year,” said Mrs Maxine Smith, Director of Studies at the College.

There were also successes for younger pupils at the school, who sat Statistics in Rudiments (year 9). James Kulmer, Isaac McDonald, Amer Qaiyum and Alex Simpson all achieved As.

Excellent A Level results at Mount St Mary’s College

Mount St Mary’s College, the Jesuit Boarding and Day school in Derbyshire, achieved its best ever A Level results this summer. 73.1% of results were awarded A-C grades, reflecting the school’s continuing academic success. Oliver Burkinshaw (18) achieved 5 As, and is off to Cambridge to study Natural Sciences. He achieved success in Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths, Physics and French. Meanwhile, Rotherham boy Adam Foster’s 3 As in Biology, Chemistry and Physics see him setting off for dentistry at Leeds, while Paul Andrzejowski, from Woodhouse, Sheffield, won his place for Medicine at Nottingham.
Boarder Charles Gregor MacGregor from Matlock also achieved 3 As and will be starting at Durham in October. Nottingham-based boarder Sophie Strongman is having a gap year then taking up her place to study Biological Sciences at Exeter.
Octavia McGlashan, who was Head Girl this year, will be studying music in London, having delighted audiences throughout her time at the Mount with her singing. Mr Laurence McKell, the headmaster, said: “I am delighted with the achievement and success of all the Mount St Mary’s pupils, in particular the increase in the number of A grades and A-C grades, which gives us our best ever performance.”
“What is even more pleasing is our value-added score,which reflects the wide ability level of our pupils.”

RGSAO students gain top GCSE marks

Let the GCSE celebrations begin!

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School pupils were jubilant today, as news of their marvellous results spread across Worcestershire and beyond.

In the first full year of the merger on the city centre site, RGSAO has again achieved excellent results in their GCSE examinations with 58% of subject passes being at A* – A grade. The overall pass rate (A* – C grades) was 96.4%, with 99.4% of candidates achieving five A* – C grades. An astonishing fifty-three RGSAO candidates gained at least nine A* or A grades each.

As in the A-Level examinations last week, the dynamic co-ed independent school achieved remarkable results in traditionally ‘tough’ subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, Design Technology, Latin and Religious Studies.

“These excellent GCSE scores continue the pattern set by our A Level students, and further support our status as one of the leading schools in the West Midlands – a school tradition since 1291,” commented Andy Rattue, RGSAO Headmaster.

“Our GCSEs buck the national trend away from academically challenging subjects and show what can be achieved by motivated pupils, first-rate passionate teachers and supportive parents. The results are all the more remarkable when you consider how much these students have also achieved beyond the classroom in sport, drama, music and adventurous outdoor pursuits,” added Andy Rattue.

“I look forward to welcoming these successful pupils back to the school as part of our sixth form and also opening our doors to the many new faces joining us from other schools around the region.”

A Midsummer Nights Dream

This fabulous performance was a testament to the directorship of Mrs Amanda Graham who has provided us with yet another show that had us laughing and laughing as well as watching a perfectly cast and visually stunning performance. So many ‘thank you’s’ are due for this, from Mr Alan Wicks who provided stage, lights and sound, to Mrs Pam Hooper and Mrs Helen Dominey for costumes, Mrs Anne Marie Williams for music, Mrs Melissa Whittaker for stage art and programme, Mrs Linda Stillman for continuity (prompting!) and Miss Sarah Lambert for help during rehearsals… and of course thank you to the girls who were the undisputed stars we have always thought they are.

2008 RESULTS

This years’ A’ level results have been excellent. Our Upper 6th achieved 100% pass rate with 27% gaining an A grade, well above the national average. 60% of candidates achieved an A or B grade and 85% of candidates gained a C grade or above.

The Fifth Form are celebrating another outstanding performance this year. Just over 97% of candidates gained 5 or more grades A* – C. Nearly 50% of pupils achieved A* or A passes and the overall pass rate was 100%. Stephen Drew is ‘delighted with the success of each individual candidate. We have had another year of excellent set of results’

Our Day in London.

Imperial War museum.

We left school at 8:00am to go to London and arrived there at 11:00am. WE walked over to the Impetrial War Museum. Inside they took our bags and we walkedto the Chidren’s war Exhibition, there we saw the gas masks that the babies had to wear it looked like bags wiyh eye slots to look through, also there was a computer where you type your last name in and it would search for somebody that died in the war with the same last name, and could possible find some in your family.

In the Children’s War Exhibition we met a evacuee that was 2 years old when war broke out and was 7 when it ended, she told us about her memories it was very interesting.
The part I most enjoyed in the museum wea the 1946′s house it was exactly what I thought it looked like, it was very small and out-side there was vegatables growing.
We left The Childrens War Museum and wet to look at the trenches inside it was dark and you could see how the people will have to cope in the war the noises were loud and scary, it stank horribly the conversations were what they ate and how they miss their family it was very lifelike.

The blitz experience was very realistic we were shown in and had to sit down on benches then we were asked if anyone had brought a bucket we replied “no” she told us if we need to go to the toilet we had to go on the floor then suddenly the walls all shook and a bomb had hit us we quickly ran out into the streets we saw were the bomb had fall then another bomb had fell we all ducked with our hands on our head.

London Eye.

When we were on the Eye you could see simple the whole of London it was really exciting experience even thou I had gone on it before, after we walked across Jubilee Bridge and into Whitehall Banqueting House, We had a picture at the top of Downing Street. And arrived at school at 6:30pm.

By Sehar