Students at St David’s High School in Saltney are celebrating ‘excellent’ GCSE results with improvements in maths and English which bucks the national trend.
An impressive 80% of students in year 11 at the school, which is based in St David's Terrace, achieved the Welsh Level 2 threshold of five GCSE passes at grades A* -C and 96.5% achieved at least five GCSE passes at grades A* to G.
Within this, 62 % of students achieved five or more GCSEs passes at A* to C including maths and English and 74% of the year group achieved the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification.
Lower down the school, 67% of 14-year-old students in year 9 achieved a GCSE grade of A* to C in personal and social education.
Headteacher Tony Davidson said: “Students and staff are very pleased and so am I. You don't achieve these sort of results by chance – it's down to effort, determination and commitment.
“Everyone has worked hard and done their best and the successes are well deserved.
“There has been a substantial increase in the number of students achieving the higher grades this year and we have bucked the national trend in terms of our results in English and mathematics which continue to rise here although they have declined across Wales and England in general.
“In English, for example, 82% of our students achieved a grade in the A* to C range. Nationally the figure was 59.6%.”
Mr Davidson added: “Students of all abilities have approached their GCSE examinations with considerable energy and determination, and teaching staff have provided excellent support and guidance. The support of parents has been outstanding.
“These excellent results will enable most of our students to proceed to the next stage of education, training or employment as planned.
“I am pleased that so many students will be staying with us in the sixth form to study at AS and then A level.
“Eighteen months ago we were inspected by Estyn and judged to be a good school with outstanding features and excellent prospects for improvement.
“These figures will encourage us in our efforts to move the school to a position where we are judged to be excellent in every respect.”
Outstanding performers this year included: Abbie Alcock (7A*s,4As and 2Bs), Adam Beales (8A*s,4As), Sean Beales (7As, 6 Bs), Mia Bartlett ( 6 A*s,4As and a B), Natalie Laird ( 2A*s,5As,3Bs), Lauren McKenna (2A*s,7As,2Bs), Drew Matthews (7 As, 3Bs), Connor Millington (4A*s,2As,4Bs), Daniel Parkinson (1 A*, 9As and a B) and Rhiannon Wells (1 A*,7As and a 2 Bs).
