Benenden students have today been celebrating their GCSE results in the most unusual of circumstances.
Just days after the controversial Government u-turn over A Level results, GCSE results were today awarded based on the grades submitted for students by their schools – known as centre assessed grades – after exams were cancelled due to the pandemic.
In today’s results, 37 per cent of grades at Benenden were at Level 9 – the highest available – and 82 per cent of all grades were Levels 9-7, which is equivalent to an A* or A under the old system. These represent a slight increase on 2019 and are in line with the trend over recent years.
Headmistress Samantha Price said: “The GCSE results process has certainly been smoother than last week’s A Level results and we appreciate the Government’s decision to use the centre assessed grades being made ahead of the publication of results.
“In the circumstances, this has been a fair outcome for students and I want to reassure them that, despite the very unusual circumstances of the past few months, they have earned these results with their hard work and dedication.”
Mrs Price added: “After what has been months of uncertainty, the girls can now look forward to returning to School in September and concentrating on the formal start to their A Level studies.
“We are pleased that most of this year’s GCSE students have already benefited from some foundation lessons in their A Level subjects as part of Leap, a programme of academic sessions, practical courses and lectures that our brilliant Academic team quickly put together to run in the Summer Term when the girls would normally have been busy revising for their GCSEs.”
As ever, among the statistics there were some wonderful individual success stories. Our top performers were Sophie Moody-Stuart and Lavinia Webb, both of whom achieved 14 GCSEs all at the top grade – 13 subjects at Level 9 plus an Extended Project Qualification at A*.
Two other girls achieved 12 straight Level 9s, another girl gained a clean sweep of 11 Level 9s and an A* at EPQ, and five girls achieved at least ten Level 9s each.