Wirral students make grade in GCSE results

Sep 2 2009 by Ben Turner, Heswall News

WIRRAL students have once again performed better than ever in this year’s GCSE results.

The percentage hitting five A*-C grades including English and maths looks to have improved by 4% and now stands at 54%.

While those achieving five good grades in any subject rose by 6% to 72%.

Cllr Phil Davies, Wirral’s cabinet member for children’s services and lifelong learning, said: “The results are fantastic once again and I want to congratulate the staff and students for yet another year of record-breaking achievement.

‘This demonstrates that the council’s investment in education over the past few years is paying dividends.”

Students who took their GCSEs early were among the success stories at record-breaking Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby.

A group of 39 students, aged 15, were fast-tracked and took their maths GCSE 12 months early and every student managed an A* or A. Overall the school enjoyed its best-ever GCSE results with 55% of entries graded A* or A.

At Ridgeway High School, Noctorum, 82% of students gained a minimum of five A*-C GCSEs – a 27% increase on last year’s results.

Schools chalking up record results included Park High School in Birkenhead. It smashed all previous records after hitting the 60% barrier for the first time.

Hilbre High School, West Kirby and Bebington High School both had record years and Wallasey’s Weatherhead High School achieved a 74% five A*-C pass rate.

One Wirral girl, who has been educated at home for the bulk of her life, achieved 11 A* GCSEs and an A grade A-level two years early.

Apart from one year at primary school, Wallasey teenager Sarah Culkin, 16, had not set foot in a classroom until she joined top performing Upton Hall School for Girls three years ago.

There was a 100% pass rate at Upton Hall, with every single student managing five or more A* to Cs.

Other high flyers included twin brothers Alex and James McIntosh, from Port Sunlight.

The pair, who both attend St Anselm’s College in Birkenhead made sure there was a double set of cheers when both gained 11 A* or A grades.

The college celebrated its 75th birthday in style with the best GCSE results in its history.

Pupils at Wirral Grammar School for Girls, Bebington, chalked up a 100% pass rate for students hitting five or more A*-C grades including English and maths.

And 28.1% of all results were graded A* grades and 64% were A* or A grades.

The school also saw 99% of pupils achieve two or more A*-C grades in science.

Another bumper set of results were recorded at West Kirby Grammar School this year.

The school revealed that its pupils recorded an almost perfect pass rate in terms of those gaining five or more A* – C grades with 98% of students managing this. Overall 60% of the grades were A* or A and 39 of the girls achieved at least 10 GCSEs at A* or A grade.

Nationally girls are still out in front but the boys are narrowing the gap. In maths, boys have beaten them for the first time with 15.5% of entries awarded top grades, compared with 15.2% of girls.