Outstanding GCSE results at St Helen’s

Girls from St Helen’s School in Northwood are today celebrating outstanding success in their GCSE and IGCSE examinations, continuing the School’s excellent record at this level. 53% of all grades awarded in unreformed subjects were A*s, while 85% were A*s or As. Almost half the year group were awarded exclusively A* and A grades, while eleven girls achieved A*s in all their subjects, comfortably exceeding last year’s total.

Headmistress Dr Mary Short commented: “St Helen’s prides itself on being a school where girls are encouraged to choose subjects which inspire and challenge them and where exceptional teaching enables students to develop an enthusiastic and inquisitive approach to their learning and the confidence to be creative and original in their thinking. This environment enables girls to achieve academic excellence in a very broad range of academic disciplines.”

Continuing the success of previous years, St Helen’s girls achieved top grades across the whole spectrum of academic subjects. 94% of grades awarded in STEM subjects: Mathematics, Design & Technology and the separate sciences (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) were A* and A, while in Humanities subjects (History, Geography and Religious Studies) 86% were A* and A. In Modern Foreign Languages (French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, Italian and Japanese) 82% of grades were A* and A. St Helen’s girls also showed a particular flair for Classical Greek, with 100% of grades awarded being A*. Girls also performed very well in the first year of the new GCSEs (English Language and English Literature) which are graded numerically 9-1, with 67% being awarded 9-7, an excellent achievement in these more challenging papers. The new GCSEs have been introduced to allow better differentiation between students and the new content and grading system mean that the results in reformed GCSEs cannot be compared to those achieved in unreformed GCSEs.

Dr Short added: “These fabulous results show that at a time of huge change in the GCSE system, St Helen’s girls, supported by their first-class teachers, are true academic all-rounders who continue to achieve outstanding academic success while making the most of the vast array of co-curricular opportunities on offer. These results are the first steps along a road which will enable our girls to go on to become leaders in their professions and communities, and are testament to their sustained, hard work and commitment as well as to the exceptional teaching, support and facilities which we are able to provide at St Helen’s.”