Once again there was much excitement and celebration at Helsby High School this morning as Year 11 students opened their envelopes to learn of their success in their summer GCSE and vocational qualification examinations. Despite all the challenges that they had to confront over their time in secondary school, which included ‘lockdown’ learning at home during their Years 8 and 9, all of the students’ resilience, adaptability and hard work was rewarded with richly-deserved success as they discovered their grades and made their plans for the next stage of their lives.
Success was spread across both students and subjects. Over 90% of the school’s Year 11 cohort achieved 9 or more GCSE qualifications and over three-quarters achieved a grade 4 or above in English and in Mathematics. 65% of all students achieved a GCSE qualification in the ‘English Baccalaureate’ suite of subjects: English, Maths, Science, a Modern Foreign Language and one of the Humanities subjects, Geography or History.
Headteacher Martin Hill commented: “We are so proud of our Year 11 students and their achievements. They have been a pleasure to work with over the last 5 years and we now wish them all the very best for the future as they move on to their exciting futures.”
Year Leader Mathew Lawless, who led the year group through their GCSE years at the school, said: “This group of students deserve all the success they have achieved as they have worked with such determination and perseverance, supporting each other every step of the way during their time at school. We now look forward to continuing to work with this fabulous group of young people in our Sixth Form.”
Students achieved across the 30+ courses offered as part of a Key Stage 4 curriculum at the school which continues to have a strong core curriculum and provides a wide variety of option subjects, enabling students to pursue their own interests through their course choices. Amongst many students who should feel very proud of their achievements are Ella Carter, Megan Cottrell, Sophie Emison, Amelie Jones, Lola O’Brien and Erin Watson, who all achieved top grades in every single one of their subjects.