Pupils at Highgate Wood School and Hornsey School for Girls (HSfG) were delighted to pick up some first-rate GCSE results – and relieved to escape the confusion inflicted on students on A Level results day a week earlier.
The atmosphere at the Haringey schools was “much more positive” according to headteachers at the schools.
Three of the stars at HSfG were Lizzie McDermott, Mabel Partridge and Inaya Islam. All three achieved a combination of the top 7, 8 and 9 grades – equivalent to As and A*s in the old system.
Mabel, who scored six 9s and the rest 8s, told the Ham&High: “I’m very relieved. I was aiming high, but not expecting this. I literally asked if they had got the right name. My mum even cried.”
Lizzie - who got nine 9s and a 7 - added: “I’m very happy. But I don’t really feel like I’ve earned them.”
READ MORE: GCSE results: Students at UCL Academy, Acland Burghley and William Ellis celebrate top grades
Inaya, who also got all 8s and 9s, was most proud of her top marks in maths. She said: “I’m hoping to go into medicine or medicine with AI. Robotics has long been one of my favourite things.”
Sevgul Oznannimlar wept when she received results which mean she can take science A Levels and pursue an ambition to work in medicine or veterinary medicine.
She said: “I’m so surprised by my grades. I’m so glad my teachers had faith in me.
“Medicine is something I have been passionate about since I was young and I have always wanted to work in a medical field.”
Alice Jones and Lauren Joubert were another pair delighted with lots of high grades,
The pair said lockdown and the cancellation of exams had been difficult at the time but had “worked out pretty well for us”.
Acting headteacher Angela Rooke said: “We’ve supported and cared for the students over their five years with us and could not be more proud that they have results that truly reflect their journeys over that period of time.”
Both Ms Rooke and Patrick Cozier, head at Highgate Wood, said this year, more than ever, focussing on school statistics was an error.
Ms Rooke said: “We always try to focus on the individual, and this has shone through in the grades our pupils have achieved.”
At Highgate Wood in Montenotte Road, delighted pupils included Eden Cavendish and Rosie Morrish – both of whom opened an envelope full of grade 8s and 9s.
Rosie, who scored eight 9s and an 8 was over the moon. She told this newspaper how worried she has been. “It’s such a weird time, it almost feels like we didn’t do these exams, so what are these grades? But I am so happy.”
She’s looking to study maths, biology and chemistry at HWS’s sixth form and if that goes well, possibly looking to a career in medicine.
Eden meanwhile said she had been hoping to get grades as good as she has, but added: “With everything going on at the moment we really just didn’t know! Last week the A Levels, that was interesting, luckily we’re okay.”
Michael Williams was another stunned with his marks. He “expected to do pretty badly” but managed a 7 and an 8 in maths and computer science respectively.
Another pupil is now off to the prestigious BRIT School in Croydon to follow a dream of acting. With the support of delighted drama teacher Fiona Howell, Evan Orford-Williams will be a name to look out for in theatre programmes and TV credits in the coming years.
Friends Noah Gerner, Luca Hayles, Lenny Luckett and Ella Taylor were all pleased when they opened their results envelopes too. Noah in particular was chuffed.
He received four 9s, two 8s and three 7s and is looking to take A Levels including history and English before looking towards university.
His headteacher, Mr Cozier, told this newspaper: “It’s a much more positive situation, thankfully nothing like last week. We know that all of our kids have got the grades they deserve.
“What we were asked to do was award them grades we were confident they would have got. That’s what we’ve done, so we know the grades make sense.”
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