KING HENRY VIII

Students at King Henry VIII School, Abergavenny have achieved pleasing results in this year's GCSE level examinations, with headline figures being the third best in the recent history of the school. English at A*- C has risen by 5 per cent and Mathematics A*- C by 4 per cent .

The school is proud of the achievements of all our students but once again, there were a large number of outstanding individual performances from Year 11 students that are worthy of recognition:

Bethany Denner, 9A*, 1A; Natasha Binnie, 7A*, 3A; Joshua Thomas-Parr, 6A*, 2A, 1C; Henry Wheatley, 6A*, 4A, 1B; Caitlin Bamber, 5A*, 4A; Max Maloney, 5A*, 5A; Katie Nicholls, 5A*, 3A, 1B; Rhiannon Hobbs, 4A*, 4A, 1B; Amy Jones, 4A*, 6A, 1B; Scarlett McPhillips, 6A*, 5A; John Stokes, 4A*, 4A, 1B; Jack Carey, 3A*, 5A, 1C; Jemma Davies, 3A*, 5A, 1B; Matthew Morgan, 3A*, 6A, 1B; Amanda Ndebele, 3A*, 5A, 2B; Luke Coakham, 2A*, 6A, 1B; Harri Fields, 2A*, 6A, 1B; Lewis Hacker, 2A*, 6A, 1B; Christopher Knill, 2A*, 6A, 1B; Emily Mayger, 2A*, 5A, 2B; Kai Mortlock, 2A*, 5A, 2B; Kelsey Francis, 1A*, 7A, 1B; Megan Stark, 1A*, 8A, 1B; Alison Taylor, 1A*, 6A, 2B; Daniel Fitter, 8A, 1B.

Headteacher, Nicholas Oaten said, "These results, together with the pleasing A level results last week, clearly show that King Henry VIII School has much to be proud of. 

"We are delighted with the success of all our students and recognise the effort and commitment shown by both the staff and the students in achieving such a good set of results. We are confident that as a result of this success large numbers of students will be returning to the Sixth Form to take advantage of the excellent teaching for Post-16 students provided by the school.

"We share in the pride of the parents who have worked in partnership with the school and supported their children in helping to produce these excellent results."

MONMOUTHSHIRE

Monmouthshire has smashed the Welsh average for the highest graded GCSE results this year, with 75.4 per cent of students gaining grades A* to C, almost 10 per cent higher than the Welsh national average.

And the county has also fought back over the UK's continued dip in GCSE results, comfortably exceeding the Welsh average in all other measures.

Sarah McGuiness Chief Officer for Children and Young People said, For several years now we have been increasing the gap between GCSE success in Monmouthshire and the rest of Wales. This is a very important time for our young people - 99.9 per cent of students have finished this stage of their education with a recognised qualification, while pupils attaining the very top grades did well compared to last year with 21.26 per cent achieving A* to A, compared to 20.6 per cent in 2012.

Monmouthshire pupils at Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw, Gwent's Welsh medium high school have also done brilliantly with 80 per cent of them reaching grades A* to C.

Councillor Liz Hacket Pain, MCC's Cabinet member with responsibility for education, said, "I'm thrilled with this news. Once again we have beaten the Welsh average on all levels of attainment and have bucked the national trend of reductions in pass rates.

"I'd like to congratulate the students, their parents / carers and their teachers and wish them the very best of luck in whatever they choose to do now."

CRICKHOWELL HIGH SCHOOL

Crickhowell High School is once again celebrating excellent GCSE results. 

Year 11 students sat examinations this summer in over 1,200 GCSE or equivalent qualifications with 96 per cent achieving five or more GCSE passes at A*-C.  Nearly a third of all results were at A*/A grades and 54 per cent at A*/B. 

This success reflects the hard work of the students, and their teachers . At Key Stage 4, 78 per cent of students achieved their Level 2 Threshold of 5 A-C grades, including English and Maths and 100 per cent of students met the Level 1 Threshold.

Headteacher Jackie Parker said, "I am so proud of all our students and their achievements this summer; they have worked extremely hard and have been very positive, both in their studies and in their contributions to the life of the school.

"The high attainment of our students and their outstanding progress reflects the dedication of students, governors, staff and parents.  There have been many outstanding achievements, with a number of students attaining 13 A* grades.  

"I am also particularly pleased that some students with additional learning needs achieved five or more GCSE passes at A* to C which reflects incredible perseverance and progress. 

"I send my warmest congratulations to all our Year 11 students and look forward to them being even more successful in the future."

The vast majority of the school's Year 11 students will be returning to its highly successful and academic Sixth Form this September and they will be joined by an increasing number of external students to continue with their A Level studies.

POWYS

Yet again pupils have achieved excellent GCSE results in Powys in the 2013 WJEC examinations.

Almost seven out of ten results (70 per cent ) are at grades A*-C and one in five (20 per cent ) at the highest grades A*-A maintaining the excellent performance of Powys schools in recent years.

Powys grades at A*-A are 1 per cent higher than in Wales. While results at grades A*-B have declined slightly they are still higher than in 2011 and 2 per cent higher than the figures for Wales in 2013.

Powys results at grades A*-C are similar to 2012 and are 4 per cent higher than in Wales and nearly 2 per cent higher than in England. The overall pass rate of grades A*-G in Powys has increased to its highest level in recent times and at nearly 100 per cent is 1 per cent higher than in Wales and England.

The increase in the pass rate at grades A*-G in Powys is at odds with Wales as a whole where performance is static when compared to 2012. Little change is expected in the overall figures when results from other Examination Boards are added as approximately 90 per cent of examination entries are with WJEC.

These results maintain the high standards seen in previous years' performance and remain consistently above the all-Wales averages. In addition, many pupils have also achieved equivalent qualifications in vocational subjects.

Councillor Myfanwy Alexander, Cabinet Member for Learning, said: "Our warm congratulations go to all pupils for achieving such excellent results which demonstrate their great commitment and hard work. This is made possible by the support they receive from dedicated teaching and support staff in all our schools and also from their families."

Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw

Several pupils from the Abergavenny area who attend Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw in Pontypool received notable GCSE results.

"We're delighted with the excellent results achieved by our students once again this year, with 80 per cent achieving A*-C grades," said a spokesperson.

"We would like to congratulate all students for their diligence and hard work."

Amongst the outstanding results from the Abergavenny area are:The Smith triplets (pictured left) - Libby, 10*, 3 A; Josh, 3A, 6B, 3C; Will, 2A, 10B, 1C. That equals 10*, 8A, 16Bs and 4Cs between them! Rebecca Rhydderch-Price, 10*, 2A; Martha Jones, 6*, 5A, 2B; Cerys Hughes, 5*, 6A, 1B.

HEREFORD CATHEDRAL SCHOOL

An Abergavenny girl, Marina Kovaleva from Hereford Cathedral School secured outstanding GCSE results last week, receiving ten A*s and two A grades, including one in Russian.

In total over a third of all Hereford Cathedral School results were at the top A* grade, with over 60 per cent of all grades being at A* to A. Over 80 per cent of all grades achieved were above a B grade.

Five pupils even managed to achieve all A* grades: Piper Fowler-Wright, Lydia Stratford, Gemma Laing, Charlotte Pawley, Thomas Windows were awarded 11 A*s .

Paul Smith, Hereford Cathedral School's Headmaster, said, "These are excellent results and I am delighted for the pupils, the staff and, of course, the pupils' parents. These GCSE results continue the pattern set by our A Level students last week, and explain why the school is increasingly recognised as one of the leading schools in the country."

HABERDASHERS' MONMOUTH SCHOOLS

Monmouth School and Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls were delighted with this year's excellent results as the Schools celebrated their second cohort of iGCSE Science results alongside their usual GCSE results.

The Schools switched to iGCSE in Biology, Chemistry and Physics and History at HMSG, a more rigorous examination equivalent to an old O Level, to ensure that all their students were stretched and better able to face the challenges of A Levels and university.

Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls achieved a 97.5 per cent pass rate (A* to C grade) and Monmouth School achieved a 94.9 per cent pass rate.

HMSG achieved their best ever A*/A grades with a record number of A*s at 46.9 per cent and 75.91 per cent receiving A*/A. 27 girls (37 per cent of the cohort) achieved A*/A in every subject. Monmouth School recorded 58.4 per cent A*/A grades, well above the national average of 21.3 per cent .

Poppy Thompson who this summer has cycled 760 miles from Bristol to Berne, raising over £15,000, plays Lacrosse for Wales and Wales Hub Netball achieved 9 A*s, 2 As and Distinction in Additional Maths. Lizzie Rhodes, The Times Junior SuDoku Champion 2011 and 2012, achieved 12 A*s and a Distinction in Additional Maths. GB Rower, Emma Richardson achieved 4 A*s, 5 As and 1 B. Rhiannon Symonds achieved 5 A*s, 2 As and 2 Bs whilst competing in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition.

A total of 22 boys achieved all A*/A grades. Alex Buhaenko who recently represented Monmouth School in the Welsh Junior Men's Team at the Home International Regatta in Nottingham achieved 7 A*s, 2 As and 1 B. Oliver Stokes, Welsh Champion in Medium Dressage 2012, achieved 3 A*s, 3 As and 4 Bs.

Mrs Helen Davy, Headmistress of HMSG said, "These are record A*/A results and are a reflection of the girls' talents and commitment under the guidance of their dedicated teachers. We are delighted at how well the girls rose to the challenge of iGCSE Science and History. 11 girls gained national sporting honours whilst managing to achieve 50A* and 35 A grades between them. I feel confident that HMSG girls will continue to develop into well-rounded, confident individuals who will make their mark in life in the Sixth Form and beyond."

Dr Steven Connors, Headmaster of Monmouth School said, "These results are tremendous and show that the boys have performed well across the board. They should be very proud of all that they have achieved, and I would also like to thank the teachers for their support, encouragement and unwavering commitment. Alongside the boys' GCSE school work, they have managed to achieve outstanding success beyond the curriculum at international level; some of them even an arduous expedition trekking in Borneo this summer."