Hammersmith Students Celebrate Improved GCSE Results

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Despite tougher exams and stricter grade boundaries

Latymer Upper students celebrate their GCSE results

Pupils in schools across Hammersmith and Fulham have achieved improved GCSE results, despite the exams being tougher and the grade boundaries stricter than last year.

After the biggest shake-up in marking for a generation, all GCSE subjects are now graded by numbers, with 9 being the highest.

At the West London Free School in King Street, grades were a huge improvement on last year’s results with 21 pupils - 12.3% of those taking the exams - achieving exclusively grade 9s, 30% achieving a mix of 9s and 8s, and 51% at least a 7 - the equivalent to the old A grade.

One high flying student achieved an astonishing ten straight 9s.

The school also reported an excellent English Baccalaureate (EBacc) pass rate of 69%, alongside good Attainment 8 scores.

"Many congratulations go to all pupils and staff for their hard work, dedication and deserved successes," said headteacher Clare Wagner.

At Sacred Heart High School in Hammersmith Road, GCSE grades were once again amongst the best nationally, with 27% achieving Level 8 - 9 and 52% achieving Level 7 - 9.

Godolphin and Latymer School is also congratulating its Year 11 students on an excellent set of GCSE results. This was the first year that students at the Iffley Road independent girls' school received only the new 9-1 grades, and 95.8% of the grades awarded were 9-7, the equivalent of the old A*/A.

An impressive 58.6% of the entries were awarded Grade 9, and 85.9% were awarded Grade 9 or 8. No fewer than 54 students in the year group achieved Grade 9 or 8 in all their subjects.

At Latymer Upper School, 47% of results were the highest possible score at a 9 grade. 92% of grades were at 9/8/7 and 78% at 9/8.

16 pupils achieved a clean sweep of 9 grades in all their exams; 105 pupils (64%) achieved a 9/8/7 in all of their exams; 73 pupils (44%) achieved a 9 grade in Mathematics and
97 pupils (59%) achieved a 9 grade in English Literature.

More celebrations at Latymer Upper School

Latymer Upper School Head, David Goodhew said: "Congratulations to all our GCSE students for their terrific results. I am very proud that, as well as achieving top grades in the sciences, many of our students have become accomplished in arts subjects with 9/8/7 grades scored by 96% of our musicians and 91% of our drama students.

"We look forward to welcoming our Year 11 pupils to the Sixth Form, along with our new joiners, to pursue their academic and extra-curricular passions."

There was also good news at schools supporting young people who are not in mainstream education. Westside School in Hammersmith's Galena Road, which provides young people with a personalised curriculum, had its best ever GCSE results, with 93% of students achieving GCSE grades in both maths and English, with a grade 8 achieved in maths; a grade 7 in English Literature; two grades 6 achieved in English Language Grades 7 and 6 in Citizenship.

Headteacher Carol-Anne Alcock said: "I am immensely proud to be the headteacher of Westside School and look forward to building on the school’s examination successes in the future.

"I would like to thank staff who gave their time so willingly to support our students, many of whom, for a myriad of reasons, had huge gaps in their learning."

At The Bridge and Latimer AP academies 81% of learners gained accreditation at GCSEs (9 to 1) or their equivalent – and, most notably, five learners achieved grade 4 or above in English Language and Religious Education.

The Bridge in Finlay Street, Fulham, and Latimer in Freston Road, Notting Hill, are both schools which provide education and intervention through Alternative Provision - supporting learners who are experiencing difficulty with or have been excluded from mainstream education. They are both part of the TBAP Multi-Academy Trust which support vulnerable and challenging young people.

Krishna Purbhoo, executive headteacher, TBAP West, said: "The TBAP West region continues to achieve successful outcomes for our learners. This is a well-earned reward for their hard work, dedication, support and commitment to learning."

These impressive performances were hailed by Cllr Larry Culhane, H&F Cabinet Member for Children & Education as a "really significant" rise in 'progress' – a performance measure that charts children’s progress from the end of primary school (key stage 2) to the end of secondary school (key stage 4) when pupils take GCSEs in Year 11.

"This demonstrates that our secondary schools are adding value to students’ starting points," he said. "But we shouldn’t overlook the other ways our schools are adding to students’ lives too: the guidance, support and opportunities they provide are all crucial and we thank our teachers and school staff for the dedication they bring every day."

Cllr Culhane also sent a message of support to local students who may have been disappointed with some of their results, asking them to look to the borough's sixth formers and apprentices, who re-took some of their GCSEs this year and achieved the results they wanted second time round, for inspiration.

Options for students include taking English and maths exam resits at William Morris Sixth Form or Hammersmith & Fulham College as well as further vocational and apprenticeship opportunities

August 28, 2019