Brentwood School’s GCSE results ‘among the best ever’

Delighted Brentwood School GCSE students were today celebrating a bumper crop of top ‘9’ grades with 18.5% securing the highest grade compared to a national UK average of 4.5%.

The proportion of 7-9 (A*-A) grades was 62.6% - 2.5% higher than last year - making the 2019 exam tally among the School’s best ever results, with 67 students (more than 42%) attaining eight or more 7-9 grades.

According to national press, 837 students out of 700,000 achieved seven or more 9s, of which 12 were Brentwood School students, placing them in the top 0.1% in the country. Three exceptional students gained 9s across the board for each of their subjects.

Straight 9s student William Jones said he was ‘utterly speechless’ and tried not to think about getting his grades today. He is going into the Sixth Form to study Greek, Latin and German and hopes to read Classics at Oxford.

Rajeev Mehta is one step closer to his dream of studying Medicine at university with his ‘better than expected’ straight 9 grades. He will be joining William in the Sixth Form keen to start his Biology, Chemistry and Maths A Level courses.

Academic Scholar Jack Cheek (Six 9s, four 8s and one 7) said he had improved so much in every subject since joining Brentwood and thanked Classics Teachers Miss Martin and Mr Roberts for all the extra support they had given him. A keen sportsman, he felt the mix of co-curricular and academic activities had helped to make him an all rounder. He is now looking forward to studying Maths, Further Maths, Economics and Geography in the Sixth Form.

Ahaan Kumar, who joined the School from Singapore, need not have been so nervous to open his brown envelope as it revealed eight 9s; one 8 and three A*s. Ahaan thanked his teachers for all the 1:1 and after school study sessions which had made a ‘massive difference’ to his results.

Best friends Poppy Skingle and Millie Defries both excelled in their results, achieving fourteen exceptional 9 grades between them. Delighted with her grades, Millie said ‘I’m shocked... I had hoped to get some 8s and 9s but to get them in all my subjects, I’m speechless,’ while Poppy was also ‘so happy after being so nervous’ and thanked Miss Bixby for all her support. Both Millie and Poppy are going to be staying on at Brentwood to continue their studies, and while Millie was going to be taking the dogs for a long walk to celebrate, Poppy is going to tuck into a well-deserved fry-up with the family!

Poppy Skingle and Millie Defries pictured above

An overjoyed Bethany Linnell was so excited about her grades which included a 9 in History and 8s in Drama and English, and said ‘I genuinely couldn’t have achieved these grades without guidance and additional sessions from my teachers. Overall the encouraging School environment and level of support is invaluable. I’m looking forward to returning for Sixth Form in September’.

Just one week after her older sister received her A Level results, which saw her off to study Dentistry, Simran Sahni received her own grades where she was delighted to have received a 6 or higher in all her subjects and ‘did so much better than predicted’. The sisters are going to enjoy their evening celebrating both sets of results, with two extremely proud parents.

Shreya Shivaramakrishnan, one of the three straight 9s students, said her overall feeling was one of relief. “I was very nervous and didn’t expect such high results”. Shreya is hoping to take the International Baccalaureate Diploma as she feels it will provide her with a broader base from which she can choose her next move. For now though, her first port of call is going to be Nando’s, to celebrate with friends.

Aside from the academic success, this year group also has among it a national Team GB fencer, a national medal-winning swimmer, a Teflon Diamond Standard cookery award winner, a British Schools Karting Champion, numerous musical and drama accolades, not to mention thousands of pounds raised for various local charities. Brentwood’s Sixth Form will be a very rich place over the next two years.

The School’s new Headmaster, Michael Bond, was there to congratulate students this morning, adding “I’m delighted with such a strong set of results. This year group have worked hard both in and out of the classroom and it’s a testament to their commitment to their studies that they’ve achieved such excellent results. I can see how much this means to them and their teachers (who should also feel justly proud today) and we look forward to welcoming them back to the Sixth Form to continue their journey in a couple of weeks.”

Today’s statistics perfectly complement last week’s A Level results, and the School’s International Baccalaureate Diploma success. Among the 2019 Upper Sixth cohort, six students took up offers at Cambridge University, over 100 students secured places at their first choice university and five students are off to study Medicine or Dentistry courses, traditionally the most difficult courses to get into.