THERE were tears of joy as delighted students picked up their GCSE results at the Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis.

Thanks to pupils’ hard work the school achieved an excellent set of results, with 83 per cent of students achieving five A*-C grades meaning the school has scored more than 80 per cent for the sixth year in a row.

Twenty per cent of students achieved an A* or an A, and 69 per cent of students achieved the benchmark figure of five GCSEs.

Nationally, more than 600,000 teenagers sat the GCSE exams this year and the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) figures show there has been a drop in the proportion of GCSE exam entrants awarded top grades for the second year in a row, meaning Woodroffe is way above the national average.

Dr Richard Steward, headteacher of Woodroffe School said: “This is an excellent set of results. I am delighted to see the school has sustained its high levels of attainment and it is a pleasure to see so many superb individual performances.

“As ever, students have worked incredibly hard and one can only admire the commitment and determination of those young people who manage to achieve high grades across such a broad range of disciplines. This has been another year of significant turbulence in the examination system, with Ofqual having warned schools that English, maths and all science results were likely to 'look different' with grades dropping because of changes to the exams and the patterns of entry.

“In light of this uncertainty, Woodroffe’s results look even more impressive.”

Woodroffe did particularly well in maths with 87 percent of students achieving at least a C grade and 31 percent attaining an A* or an A. The school also did well with 66 per cent of students achieving at least a C grade in a foreign language. Tess Bawden was the joint highest achiever in the school getting seven A*s and four As.

Tess, who looked astounded when told she was the joint highest achiever, said: “I was incredibly nervous, and I think I still am, it hasn’t properly sunk in yet. I’m very happy with my results."

Eddie Beardwood was another top performer, getting six A*s, four As and one B. He said: “I am very happy, its great to finally get the results. It’s been a long summer waiting for them, and I wasn’t nervous until this morning, but I’m glad it’s over now.”

Bryony Burrett, who got two As, seven Bs and three Cs, said: “I was so nervous, I was shaking when I went to get my envelope. It has been a long wait and I’m very happy with my results.”

The school was also pleased to say that the majority of students will be returning to the school in September to study their A levels.

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