Year 11 students at King Ethelbert School in Birchington are celebrating a record number of GCSE passes already this year, 6 months before the final examinations are taken in June. Many students were entered early for maths and English GCSE and the results were outstanding. 74% of all students in year 11 have a C or above in English and 54% have a C or above in maths. What is even more impressive is the number of students who have made at least expected progress 6 months before the deadline to meet that target. The students have already beaten the national averages for expected and above expected progress in English and the final results for the summer already look very good indeed. The school made the decision to enter students in November despite government pressure not to. The students use the benchmark from early entries to improve on their success and inspire them on to even better grades in the summer. Headteacher Kate Greig said “our students worked so hard to have excellent speaking and listening grades in English and despite government changes in September, I wanted this work to be recognised in their grades. I am also adamant that students should be entered for examinations when they are ready to find success; this then raises aspirations and motivates students in the most positive and relevant way.”
Assistant Headteacher, Tom Sellen said “the amount of progress our students have made since Year 7 is magnificent and we are looking forward to huge success in the summer; we are very proud of our whole Year 11 cohort who are working extremely hard to achieve the best grades they can possibly get in the summer. They are a wonderful group of students and deserve the very best in their future lives.”