Forest School pupils achieve best GCSE results ever

New challenging exams with pupils awarded a mixture of number and letter grades could have led to some confusion, but what is absolutely clear is that pupils at Forest School in Snaresbrook, London, have this week posted the School’s best ever set of GCSE results.

The old grades now have numerical equivalents, but what didn’t change was A* or 8 being the most common grade for both boys and girls for the seventh year in a row, and a hugely impressive 77% of all the grades awarded being A**/A*/A or 9/8/7 (the top three grade levels). Of the reformed GCSEs (numeric grades), 64% were grade 8 or 9; 36% were grade 9.

There were more than 150 pupils in the Forest Y11 cohort, each sitting a minimum of nine GCSE exams, resulting in 1500 grades awarded overall. 54% of which were at the two top two grade levels (the new exclusive 9/A** or the previously top 8/A*). As ever, there was real strength in the core subjects with 91% of pupils achieving 9/A** or 8/A* in English and 79% awarded one of the two same highest grades in Mathematics.

All of Forest’s Year 11 pupils were also entered for the Higher Project Qualification (HPQ) a high-level research project favoured by universities, and an impressive 96% of pupils attained A*-B grades in their HPQ with 86% achieving A*/A.

On this year’s GCSE level results, the Warden (Headteacher) of Forest School, Marcus Cliff Hodges, had this to say:

“Our pupils have embraced the challenge of new GCSE exams with characteristic energy, posting Forest’s best ever GCSE results. This is a tremendous cohort of sparky pupils who have worked hard and been ambitious for themselves. These stunning results are thoroughly deserved. I am very proud of them”

Head of Middle School Justine Venditti:

“I am absolutely delighted for the pupils that their hard work and commitment to their learning has been rewarded with such outstanding results. As a year group, not only have they proved themselves to be academically strong, they have flourished into individuals who have been a pleasure to teach, and who now move on to the Forest Sixth Form with confidence.”

Deputy Head Academic Tahmer Mahmoud:

“This year has seen new GCSE grades and new more challenging papers and our Y11s excellent set of results across the whole range of subjects are testament to our pupils’ hard work and commitment – well done to them all.”