GCSE and A Level Results Summer 2005

GCSE - 25 June 2005 - Press Statement

Following last week's record A Level results, Friends' School Saffron Walden is now able to celebrate the best GCSE results ever attained by Year 11 students. A pass rate of 99.7% was achieved by the students, with 85.5% of all grades at A* to C and 88.6% of the Year 11 students achieving five or more higher grades (A* - C). 62.9% gained eight or more higher grades and 28.3% of all grades awarded were A* or A, the highest figure the School has ever achieved. Every student gained five or more GCSE passes. In line with the School's policy to allow all pupils to sit the examinations of their choice, over half the students (57.2%) took GCSEs in ten subjects. In terms of 'value-added', over 80% of the students achieved results better than their attainment at the beginning of Year 10 would have suggested.

Head of Friends' School, Andy Waters, expressed his delight at the results and paid tribute to the commitment of students and staff. "We have a broad range of ability in Year 11, and in many cases students have performed well beyond our expectations. Individual care and support for students has enabled the majority of them to achieve much higher grades than they might otherwise have done. I am especially pleased with another significant rise in the number of A*, A and B grades, with well over half of our grades at this level; our most able students have been suitably challenged and have responded superbly. The 'value-added' results are excellent; these are a true measure of the quality of teaching and learning in the School. I look forward to seeing many of our students return to the Sixth Form to build on the foundations they have laid".

Clerk of the Governors Tony Watson added; " The Governors would like to congratulate all the students on their outstanding performance in these exams, and would like to thank the Head and his staff for the hard work involved in achieving such excellent results".

Andy Waters

25th August 2005

A Levels - 18 June 2005 - Press Statement

Students at Friends' School, Saffron Walden are celebrating an A Level pass rate of 100%, which was achieved for the first time in over a decade. 51.7% of grades were gained at A or B (35.2% in 2004), while the A to C pass rate was 72.4% (61.1% in 2004). The overall pass rate exceeds the School's five-year average of 96.4%, as it has done for the last four years in succession. All Friends' School students have gained the grades they need to go on to the further education destinations of their choice, with nearly half of them gaining passes in four or more subjects.

The Head of Friends' School, Andy Waters, expressed his delight at the results and warmly praised the commitment of students and teachers. "We have a small but cohesive Sixth Form with a very positive work ethic. 80% of our students have gained higher grades than their attainment on entry to the Sixth Form would have suggested, in several cases by as much as four grades; this shows an outstanding level of 'value-added'. AS and A2 exams require two years of high-level study across a significant subject breadth, with an intensive examination period and increasing pressure to achieve high grades. We are very pleased indeed to recognise and celebrate our students' achievements; we offer our Sixth Form a wealth of individual care and guidance, and the quality of subject teaching is evident from these results. The teaching staff can feel absolutely confident that their dedication has been rewarded ".

Andy Waters

18 August 2005

RESULTS OF PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS 2005

# 100 % overall pass rate. ( 96.4 % over the last 5 years)
( The national pass rate in 2005 was 96.2 % )

# 51.7 % of the A level results were A or B grades.

# 72.4 % of the A level results were A, B or C grades.

At GCSE

# 99.7 % pass rate ( A* to G grades )

# 88.6 % achieved 5 or more grades A* to C - 78.1 % over the past 5 years
( National average in 2004 was 53.7 %)

# 85.2 % obtained grades A* to C - 78.0 % over the last 5 years. (Nationally 61.2 % )

# 62.9 % of our year 11 pupils obtained 8 or more GCSEs at grades A* to C.

# 28.2 % of the GCSE grades obtained were A* or A grades.

# 54.4 % of the GCSE grades obtained were A*, A or B grades.

The above results must be seen in the light of our policy to allow all pupils to sit the Advanced level and GCSE examinations of their choice.

Value added information will be provided when this has been received from the 'Curriculum, Evaluation and Management Centre' at Durham University.

Andy Waters

Head

August 2005