Diocese of Chichester

Church schools in Sussex are celebrating excellent exam results this year. From Hastings to Chichester, the schools have been releasing some top marks with students’ places confirmed at some of the country’s top universities.

Ark students in Hastings 6th Form centre celebrated A level success with several students achieving the top grades and two of their students achieving the highest accolade with offers confirmed to Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

As well as success in A level, students achieved exemplary results in vocational exams, BTEC Level 3.

Stephanie Newman, Principal of Ark William Parkersaid: ‘I’m very proud of what our students have achieved today. We’re also celebrating a strong and significantly improved set of GCSE results.

Yet again, Ark William Parker Academy’s GCSE results have shown a marked improvement with a 12% increase taking them to 59% for 4+ English and Maths (the national benchmark).

Similarly, they achieved a 10% increase in students accomplishing the higher grades.

These results reflect some serious hard work and dedication – exactly reflecting the high expectations we have here, ensuring our students secure some top grades across the board.’

It was the same story at Bishop Luffa Sixth Form. The school has been celebrating a record-breaking set of results, with two-thirds of grades awarded at A*-B. The overall pass rate was 99.5%.

The most popular subject at A-Level was Maths, and it was one of the strongest performers, with 10 A*s awarded and over 50% of students getting at least an A grade.

Head Teacher Austen Hindman said: “We are very happy with a 9% rise at A*-B, despite a national dip. Our students have performed very well in STEM subjects, and we are particularly pleased to see so many girls going off to study Sciences and Medicine at university.

“We are also celebrating outstanding GCSE results, as 86% of students achieved grade 4 or above in English and Maths and 62% achieved grade 5 or above."

At Steyning Grammar, praise was singled out for the teaching and support teams as well as for the students incredibly hard work. Head teacher, Mr Nick Wergan said: “Our ethos at Steyning Grammar is one of academic excellence through the development of deep learning character for every student - once again a superb set of A Level results shows the success this brings.”

The school also celebrated top marks for its GCSE studentswith a record top end performance.Overall 11% of grades achieved at Steyning were grades 8 to 9 - equivalent of the old A* and above - the highest ever for the school. 48% of students got at least one grade 7 or above - the equivalent of the old GCSE A grade.

Headteacher Nick said: “At Steyning Grammar School we are proud of the fact we continue to teach a broad and balanced curriculum.We are particularly pleased with the progress of students in Photography, Music and Health and Social care where students on average achieved one grade better than students completing these courses nationally.

As one of the largest comprehensive School Sixth Forms in the south east offering a breadth of 37 A level or equivalent courses across the ability range, we are delighted with our continued excellent Year 13 results.”

Every student had an individual story to tell at Holy Trinity Church of England Sixth Form in Crawley.

The school celebrated excellent results at both A Level and BTEC Level 3and GCSE and BTEC Level 2.

The Headteacher, Rev Chrissie Millwood said: “Every individual has something to celebrate and there have been some particularly stunning individual examination results.I am thrilled with our students’ achievements this summer which reflect both their hard work and the dedication of the staff who taught and supported them.”

Amongst the many there were seven students who achieved an outstanding average grade of 8 (equivalent to an A* grade) or above in 9 or 10 qualifications.

A further 13 students each achieved an average grade of 7 or above (equivalent to an A grade) over 9 or 10 qualifications.

Many of the A-level students are progressing to top class universities, many from within the prestigious Russell Group, whilst others are going on to apprenticeships including with Thales and other opportunities in the world of work.Rev Chrissies said: “These are very talented young people and I feel confident that they will continue to achieve great things and to make a positive contribution to the world in which they live.”

“A continuing strength of the HTS Sixth Form provision is its commitment to a broad range of opportunities including vocational courses, and the results within these courses continue to be exceptionally strong. “

Headteacher, Louise Welcome, of St Andrew’s C of E High School in Worthing, congratulated all the students on achieving their GCSE results and thanked staff for their persistence and drive in supporting students through their studies.

Louise said “Hard work and a positive attitude has paid off, and it was a pleasure to watch so many faces light up as envelopes were opened and results acknowledged.

A number of subjects exceeded the boys’ national average grades by a considerable margin including Maths and Photography by 10%, PE by 20% and Social Sciences achieving a 100% pass rate. Many others matched boys’ national average, reflecting St Andrew’s improving journey into the future.”

Record breaking at Davison High School

Davison C of E High School for Girls in Worthing has achieved record breaking results in its recent GCSE examinations.

91% of students achieved a standard pass in English Language

81% of students achieved a standard pass in Mathematics

79% of the cohort achieved standard passes (Grades 9-4)in both English and Mathematics. This is a new school record!

60% of the cohort achieved strong passes (Grades 9-5) in English and Mathematics. This is also new school record!

Mr Chris Keating, Headteacher, commented:

’I would like to congratulate our students on achieving such fabulous results! They have worked extremely hard and I am delighted to see that their collective effort has paid such dividends. I wish this incredibly talented and enthusiastic year group the very best of luck in their future studies. I have no doubt that they will continue to achieve great things as they move forward. My sincere thanks go to our staff, governors and the students’ families for all the help, support and encouragement they have given over many years.”