As the summer draws to a close, and a new academic year begins, Newcastle High School for Girls reflects on its summer of success.
With so much riding on the outcomes and some exams taking place as early as April, it can feel like an agonisingly long wait for the A Level and GCSE results to be released in the last two weeks of August. As the much anticipated results days eventually arrived, nerves were soon replaced with elation as pupils from the leading all-girl school ripped open their results envelopes to reveal their top grades. The celebrations could begin at last!
And there was much to celebrate as NHSG reported another year of phenomenal results which saw around half of all A Level grades at A* to A and an impressive nine percentage point leap on the previous year with 80% of all grades at A* – B. The GCSE results were no less impressive with more than one in three grades awarded at grade 9 or 8 (A*equivalent) and four out of five grades awarded at grades 9 -6. Well over half of NHSG girls in this year’s cohort achieved top grades of 9 – 7 at GCSE in Maths.
Taking up the role earlier this year NHSG Head, Amanda Hardie, said: “I am incredibly pleased with this summer’s GCSE and A Level results and so delighted for each and every girl as they fulfil their dreams and ambitions and start on the next stage of their education.”
Underneath the headline statistics lay exceptional individual achievements from Sixth Form pupils at the school which will see them heading to universities across the UK as well as overseas
Scarlett Spearman from Northumberland secured her place at Cambridge after achieving an impressive A*A*A at A Level. She will be reading Theology at the prestigious university and said:
“Cambridge has always been the dream, and I cannot wait to start there. The Theology course is very flexible, and I hope to focus on the philosophy and ethics of religion. Longer term I think I might stay in academia or go into Law where I can draw on the religious and cultural foundation I will have gained whilst at Cambridge.”
Among the NHSG pupils who are taking up Medicine at university this year is Katie Preston from Gateshead.
Katie was in the unusual position of being spoiled for choice after receiving an incredible four offers from Medical Schools. She plumped for Glasgow University and, after gaining A*AA at A Level, was ecstatic to have her place confirmed.
She said: “I have family living in Glasgow and have always loved the city. The spiral curriculum of the course was also a big deciding factor.”
There was no less celebration for the girls collecting their GCSE results, who are now embarking on the next stage of their education at NHSG’s Sixth Form.
It was no surprise that Inari Bari-Jones from Newcastle was very pleased with her results. She achieved a stunning set of GCSEs with eleven grade 9s and one grade 8. Inari would love to live abroad in the future and potentially work in finance or business. She is embarking on a challenging set of four A Levels at NHSG from September in French, Economics, Maths and Chemistry.
Inari said: “I am really looking forward to Sixth Form, delving further into my chosen subjects and the independence it will bring. A Levels are more intense but I love all my teachers so it will be great to see them every day for my lessons.”
Lucy France from Whitley Bay admitted that apprehension and nerves had kicked in over the summer, but having achieved six grade 9s and five grade 8s, she had nothing to fear.
Lucy, who is taking French at A Level alongside Chemistry and Maths, hasn’t yet set a future career plan. “I have chosen subjects I love and ones that will leave my options open if I want to follow a Science pathway. Languages also open so many doors.”
Head, Amanda Hardie said: “As the long wait for the summer results is now over, August has proved to be a time of wonderful celebration. With results like these you really can’t deny the benefits of an all-girl education. We pride ourselves on empowering girls to learn without limits in a productive and dynamic environment.
“Ambitions are always strong amongst the NHSG student community, and I for one can’t wait to hear the Year 13 cohort’s names mentioned in the years to come as they blaze a trail of success in their chosen field. I am also so excited to see the Year 11 cohort make the transition to our Sixth Form which will offer them the next level of academic challenge and the opportunity to continue to develop so that they can be the best version of themselves.”
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