The Arnewood School, New Milton, Hampshire

With students receiving their GCSE results today, a spokesperson for The Arnewood School in New Milton, Hampshire said, “In common with many schools across the New Forest and BCP area, we shall not be releasing details of the examination performance at GCSE this year.

“This is because of the uncertainty of recent days and the ambiguity that still exists at the time of issuing this statement regarding the moderation of centre assessed grades by QfQUAL.

“In the meantime we shall use teacher assessment to determine entrance to our high achieving sixth form and will do all we can to ensure students and their parents are supported following what has been an anxious wait.

“Students and staff have worked very hard during the C-19 lockdown and it is sad that Year 11 students saw their end of year cut short abruptly for their own safety.

“We are very pleased that overall students have achieved a strong set of results in 2020 especially in light of the upheaval of recent months.”

Queen Elizabeth School, Wimborne, Dorset

At Queen Elizabeth School in Wimborne, Dorset, Katie Boyes, headteacher heaped praised on her GCSE students.

She said, “We are absolutely delighted to share the excellent GCSE results with our students today.

“The results are a testament to their hard work and perseverance over many years and we are incredibly proud of each and every one of them.

“It has been a challenging year and the controversy surrounding the results process must not detract from the hard work, dedication and commitment that our students have shown during their studies.

“As was always expected from this cohort, the results show an improvement in outcomes and we are delighted that record numbers of students are remaining with us to continue their studies into the Sixth Form.

“Despite the high profile nature of the processes this year, the most important focus for us today is the thoroughly well-deserved achievement for all of our students.

“They have not only met the challenge of their courses but have done so in a year when the sporting, artistic, musical, scientific, linguistic and dramatic extra-curricular achievements of the school continued to go from strength to strength.

“We would like to congratulate all of our students and also to thank all the teaching and support staff for their dedication which has supported students in achieving these excellent results.”

Bournemouth & Poole College, Dorset

Bournemouth & Poole College students also produced outstanding pass rates, with 99.53% in English and 100% in Maths. From these results, 44% in English and 40% in maths received high grades (9-4).

Tracey Griffin, assistant principal at Bournemouth & Poole College, said, “This is an incredible achievement for our students, who have once again surpassed the national average. We are extremely proud of our students and their great results. After an unprecedented year, our students should be incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication they have shown to their studies.  Matching previous year’s results, we’re delighted that the College is able to continue providing excellent English and maths provision for our students.”

Many students who have received their desired results will be choosing to continue their education at Bournemouth & Poole College in a range of full-time and part-time courses, apprenticeships and degree level courses.

Ballard School, New Milton, Hampshire

Ballard School, an independent school based in New Milton, is enjoying another successful year of GCSE results, with 100% of pupils achieving at least five GCSE passes graded 9-4 (including Maths and English), and 75% of pupils securing at least 9 GCSE passes in total.

Andrew McCleave, Headmaster at Ballard School, said, “I am so pleased that our pupils have achieved the grades they deserve. Every single pupil has gained five GCSE passes at a grade of 9-4, with the majority receiving over nine GCSE passes in total. A considerable number of pupils have achieved the top grades of 9 to 7. 47% of grades achieved by girls were grades 9-7 grades; three of our young people gained 10 passes at these top grades.

“Ballard’s teachers worked tirelessly to ensure the predicted grades were fair and just. Owing to this, we have seen a number of results upgraded by the OFQUAL exam algorithm. Overall, grades are 5% higher than we initially predicted.

“We are all immensely proud of each and every Year 11 pupil, some of whom have been with us since nursery.”

The School enjoyed particular success, achieving 9-7 grade passes across all subjects, including the following subjects: Food Technology (91%), Physics (71%), Chemistry (65%), Geography (65%), Design & Technology (58%), Spanish (54%), and Art (50%).

Andrew McCleave continued, “This has been a challenging year for every pupil here, but there have been many silver linings. I am very proud of the entire Ballard family for how we have all shown such resilience through this unsettling period. Our whole school community very quickly adapted to remote learning, we kept everyone connected through remote sports and arts initiatives, and we all celebrated being shortlisted for ‘Co-educational School of the Year’.”