With the new term upon us, we celebrate exam successes and the new strides our local schools are taking.
This year’s results day comes after much trial and tribulation for all students, and like last year’s grades, the way that these results have been calculated isn’t based on the algorithm of previous years. Instead, grades were determined by their teachers based on work over the year, with rrecord numbers of students being accepted on to degree courses, and over half of A-level passes being A* grades in Jewish schools.
Manchester Grammar School Pupils Receive Results
Pupils at The Manchester Grammar School (MSG) celebrated an excellent set of A-level and GCSE results. The high master, Dr Martin Boulton, said: “This is an outstanding set of results, and I am immensely proud of the way our boys have adapted to what has been a very challenging 18 months.”
There were also some superb individual performances by boys from the Jewish community. Ben Berman, from Altrincham, performed fantastically and was awarded nine grade 9s in his GCSEs, along with an A* in his Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).
Zak Scorah, also from Altrincham, had astounding GCSE results, with no less than 13 grade 9s. One of his grade 9s was in Modern Hebrew, which he achieved outside of MGS. How he found the time to study for all these subjects we don’t know!
The outgoing JSoc president, Quincy Barrett, 18, is already at Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem for his gap year. His parents came to MGS and revealed to Quincy, via video call, that he’d achieved an A, A* and a Distinction One (equivalent to a grade above A*) in his A-level results. He also achieved an A* in his EPQ. Quincy has an offer to study Philosophy at Durham University once his gap year is complete. And having achieved three A*s in Chemistry, Physics and Maths, llan Gilmore will now be heading to University of Birmingham to study Chemical Engineering.
Manchester High School for Girls Students Achieve Success on Results Day
Results day this year was an occasion to celebrate for Manchester High School for Girls. The school’s headmistress Helen Jeys said: “Whilst this year’s A-levels were once again awarded in a different manner, this must not detract from the work that our students have put into their studies over the course of the last two years; their grades are the well-deserved consequence of their fantastic work ethic and positive approach to study. I am so proud of our class of 2021 who have experienced a final year like no other in the school’s long history. Our Senior Sixth girls are a bright, conscientious and resilient group who will, I am sure, continue to challenge and excel in their chosen fields. I am delighted that so many of our A-level students have achieved the grades they need for the next stage of their journeys and will be taking up their chosen university place. We look forward to seeing them continue to flourish as they progress beyond the school gates.”
This year’s results have seen students heading off to institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge, and King’s College London. One such student is head girl Yoonsun Hwang, who will go on to King’s College London to study Medicine. Yoonsun said: “I loved being at Manchester High because of the work ethic here. School made it feel like it was cool to study. I was so proud to be head girl and to be able to work with a fantastic team that were able to support and speak out for younger students.” Yoonsun was awarded four A*s in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths and A* in the EPQ
Bolton School Shortlisted for UK Social Mobility Awards
Bolton School has been shortlisted in the School/College of the Year category in the UK Social Mobility Awards. Providing social mobility is intertwined with the school’s history and it was the school’s founder, Lord Leverhulme’s vision to offer an education for all capable children when he re-endowed Bolton School in 1915. Last summer, 42 pupils from the Class of 2020 left having received bursarial assistance throughout their education. 38 went on to university, 32 of whom secured places on courses at prestigious Russell Group institutions. 19 went on to study subjects in the medical sciences, including 12 pupils now studying Medicine.
During the same academic year, the school community made pledges and gifts totalling £672,000 to the Bursary Fund for the next intake of students. This enabled 54 Year 7 pupils to join the two senior schools in September. Overall, the school spent £2.89m on means-tested bursaries, supporting 350 – one in five – girls and boys across the senior schools. One third of recipients – 6% of the pupil body – received fully-funded bursaries. The awards provide an opportunity to recognise organisations who are making strides and creating initiatives to advance social mobility. The winners will be announced on 14th October.