10:22am Monday 1st September 2008
By Emily-Ann Elliott
Independent schools in Sussex are celebrating after their pupils received some top GCSE results.
A results table by the Independent Schools Council shows that at the top three schools in the county more than 99% of exams entries received A* to C grades.
The best results were gained by pupils at Burgess Hill School for Girls, where 99.69% of the exams taken were graded A* to C, with 85.23% being grades A or A*.
The school’s headteacher Ann Aughwane said: “These results are just brilliant. Every one of the girls has something to be very proud of.
“These girls have been so active throughout the year in sport, drama, music and many other worthwhile activities such as volunteering within the community and entertaining the local senior citizens.
“I am particularly delighted that the girls have shown that academic success can be achieved alongside developing the many other crucial skills which are so important for their future and ours. Their achievements will give them the confidence to aim high in the next phase of their studies.”
Second in the list of high flyers was Brighton and Hove High School with 99.17% A* to C grades, followed by Brighton College, the top co-educational school with 99% grades A* to C.
Last year the school topped the results table, when more than 87% of all grades awarded were As or Bs.
Headteacher Richard Cairns said: “Our GCSE candidates scored an impressive 70% A* and A grades, the grades demanded by the top universities.
“As The Times newspaper observed last week, these results were achieved by allocating less time to classroom teaching and more time to enrichment activities such as sport, public speaking and drama.
“Because the pupils have an outlet for their energies beyond the classroom, they are actually more focused in the classroom.”
Bottom of the results table for schools in Sussex was Newlands School, at Seaford, where 57.63% of the exam grades were A* to C. Headteacher Chris Bridgman said: “Newlands is a non-selective school and pupils enter with a wide range of academic ability.
“I am extremely pleased with the results which reflect the hard work of students, teachers and specialist learning support staff.”
Lavant House, Chichester, also received some of the lowest results, with 79.44% of exams gaining grade A* to C, which was down on last year’s 87.5%.
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