BGS is delighted to be celebrating a fantastic set of GCSE results with our Year 11 pupils today. We are incredibly proud of this year group who have overcome so much to get to this point.
More than half of all grades were at 8 or 9 (with 30% of all grades being at the top grade, 9), figures which are ahead of the already high pre-pandemic averages achieved at BGS.
An amazing one in five pupils gained ten or more GCSEs at grade 8 or 9, including 13 students who have grade 9s in ten or more subjects. One in three pupils attained ten or more grades 7, 8 and 9 (equivalent to A* - A in the old system), and half of our pupils achieved eight or more grades at this level.
BGS Head, Jaideep Barot, said:
“This is a very special year group for me, as most of them came into BGS Seniors at the same time as I joined the school, in September 2018. Having had the start of their GCSE studies disrupted by COVID, and having had to deal with more than most since then, I am just so thrilled for them that their endeavour and resilience has paid off. All while contributing so richly to the full breadth of BGS life. I hope they are all as proud of the journey they have been on as we are.”
Reflecting on his BGS experience, Year 11 pupil Charlie told us: “BGS really gives you the opportunity to express yourself both in learning and beyond learning – I’ve really enjoyed playing hockey, I starred in The Odyssey and have kept up LAMDA outside of school. The teachers really encourage you.”
Charlie will be staying on at BGS to study Maths, Further Maths, Geography and Physics in the Sixth Form. He will be joined by Sofia, who has been at BGS since Reception and is now looking forward to studying History, Psychology, Classical Civilisation and Creative Writing in our Sixth Form. She said: “BGS has truly given me a lifetime of lessons to cherish. Coming back from COVID and being reunited with our year group was a real highlight.”
Her parents added: “The switch between online learning during the pandemic was just seamless, the school has been so good at adapting and the results are proof of that.”
Results were excellent across the board, but in both English Literature and Language they were exceptional, with 88% of English Language and 79% of Literature grades being at 7 or above (A or above in the old system). These were just two of the many subjects in which over half of all grades were awarded at grades 8 and 9, which also included: Dance, Drama, Further Maths, the Sciences, French, Spanish, Greek, Latin, History, Geography, Music and Religious Studies.
100% of Dance students were awarded a Grade 9, and we are delighted that Dance continues to thrive at BGS; we are looking forward to welcoming several new students to BGS Sixth Form to join our own students in pursuing this subject at A level.
At a time of national decline in modern languages, we are pleased to celebrate over 130 entries in French (81% grades 7-9), German (58%), Russian (62%) and Spanish (80%).
Deputy Head Academic Dan Stone commented: “As always, these headline figures grab all the attention, and they are truly remarkable for a school of the size and breadth of BGS, but what we always focus on more closely is the ‘value-added’ measure, which tells us how well our pupils have done compared to peers of the same ability in other schools. We are thrilled that the academic value-added score achieved by this cohort is, again, significantly positive; it tells us that our pupils – at all levels of grading – have drawn real benefit from being at BGS. This is down to the culture of learning and hard work from our pupils, and also to the talent, dedication and care of our inspirational staff; I am sure our pupils would like to join me in expressing my deepest thanks to them all.”
