Year 11 students at Cowes Enterprise College are said to have performed extraordinarily well on the new GCSEs in English and mathematics, with a big clutch of the new – much more challenging top grades.
16 students scored at least 1 Grade 9 (tougher than A*) and 2 of them managed a double Grade 9 in both English Language and Literature.
At the same time, the year group has exceeded all the former performance measures and, by comparison, are the most successful year in the history of the school to date.
There were particularly strong performances from Louis Ambridge, Amelia Andrade; Edward Bailey; Jessica Bertazzo; Lani Brown; Thomas Coates-Evans; Alice Doig; Thomas Gibbs; Lauren Hill; William Jubb; Emilia Marinelli; Lucy Miller; Jessica Murray; Ella Parsons; Rachael Phillips; Thomas Prince; Jessica-Rose Roberts and Tegan Walmsley.
The overall outcomes for Year 11 in 2017 show a slow and steady improvement on previous years, with nearly all key measures better than or equal to last year.
Outgoing Principal, John Peckham has said:
“I’m absolutely blown away by these results! The new, tougher GCSEs in English and mathematics were always going to be a bit of an unknown and I won’t pretend that we were not quite apprehensive about how well our students would do. Given that, to have improved on previous years and shown that our students can do as well here as anywhere in the country, is fantastic.
Article continues below this advertisement “Hidden within these results and not necessarily amongst the highest achievers, are lots of stories of triumph over adversity as well as good old fashioned hard work and revision. I’m enormously proud of all our students and the staff who have worked really hard to make these achievements possible. I would also like to acknowledge the support we have received from the Ormiston Academies Trust, including some very specific extra resources that supported our teaching in the new specifications of English and mathematics.
“We’ll be working hard in the next few days enrolling students onto our sixth form courses and, where necessary, supporting students into college or apprenticeships. We will also be looking hard at those areas where we know that in future we can do even better in order to continue turning Cowes into the outstanding school that the Island deserves. It has been my privilege and pleasure to play a small part in helping that transformation and I wish my successor, Rachel Kitley good luck as she takes over the helm of the Academy from September.”
The Isle of Wight Council’s Cabinet member for children’s services, Councillor Paul Brading, has congratulated students across the Island for their performance in their GCSE examinations.
Cllr Brading said:
“I’d like to congratulate all of our Island GCSE pupils for their hard work, dedication and achievement.
“Whilst this year’s results cannot be compared with previous years due to the changes in grading, early indications are that Island pupils have risen to the challenge, achieving results that will help them to move towards the futures they want; into further education opportunities, training or to work.
“There have been lots of changes for this cohort of pupils to adapt to, not just the change in grading for English and Maths, but also the more demanding content that was introduced nationally from September 2015 and the way in which it’s examined. Our young people have done exceptionally well to take up this challenge.
“Due to the changes in grading this year, the ability to fairly compare this year’s results with past years is challenging. However; early indications from schools on the Island suggest that the underlying trend in outcomes will be stronger than previous years.
“We are committed to delivering educational excellence on the Island and early indications from this year’s GCSE results suggest that further improvements have been secured. With that in mind, I’d like to thank our dedicated school staff; our teachers and support staff, who have helped and guided pupils towards their individual successes this year.”
