Nervous wait for teens comes to an end as results are released

GCSE Results Day is always a day of celebration for some teens and commiseration for others, yet thankfully, students from Putney appear to have plenty of reasons to be cheerful this Thursday (21st August). A number of schools in SW15 and the surrounding area have posted their best-ever GCSE results in 2014.

Putney Academy, part of the ARK group of London schools, hea announced its best results to date today. The school announced a significant improvement in the benchmark figure at GCSE - the proportion of pupils achieving 5 A* to C grades including English and Mathematics - with 62% of students reaching this level in 2014 compared to 58% last year. Over three-quarters of students achieved at least a C, considered a 'good' pass by the Government, in the two core academic subjects, English and Maths.

Beyond the strong performance by the school across the board, the Academy can also toast some fine individual performances by students:

Daniel Ashitey passed 10 GCSEs with 4 A*s, 3 As, 4 Bs and a Distinction in BTEC Businesss Studies. Daniel said “It was an uphill battle moving up a year earlier onto my GCSE’s, but I’m really proud of my results – all the work paid off.”

Francini Nuernberg who passed 12 GCSEs including 3 A*s, 5 As, and 4 Bs. Francini said: “I’m really happy, because I got an A in Maths and I thought I was only going to get a C!”

(Daniel Ashitey, left, and Francini Nuernberg, right, celebrate their GCSE results at Putney Academy)

Saint Cecilia's Church of England School in Southfields also scooped up record-breaking GCSE results this year. The proportion of students getting 5 A* to C grade GCSEs reached 83%, compared to 75% last year and also a national average of just under 69%. 70% of pupils achieved at least 5 'good' pass grades, including English and Maths.

More students than in any year before managed to acheive the elite A or A* grades at Saint John Bosco College in Southfields.

Girls at independent school Putney High are also celebrating some outstanding GCSE results today, with 86% of entries receiving A* or A grades. A whopping 3 in 5 students managed to post at 10 A* to A grades, while as many as ten students achieved all A* grades. With such impressive results, it is natural that a number of pupils could be singled out for especial praise.

Among many success stories, Sophie Simnett (pictured right) managed to juggle her GCSE studies with a fledgling drama career. Along with her all A* and A grades at GCSE, Sophie has produced and co-directed a play at the Lyric in Hammersmith and is set to star as the lead in a feature film next year. Rowers Emma Andrews and Asa Loftstedt (pictured above right) have spent hours on end together on the river, narrowly missing selection for the GB rowing team this summer. Today they can add academic achievements to match their athletic ones, after both managed to post straight A* and A grades.