Academic Results 2007

This was a record year for Sidcot with excellent results at both A level and GCSE.

GCSE group

At Sidcot we encourage children to think for themselves, to challenge fixed ideas and to deal with conflict in a positive and non-aggressive manner. Peer group pressure is at a minimum so that all students can give their best without having to conform to a collective norm. Yet again with our results, there is no statistical difference between boys and girls when nationally boys are 20% behind girls.

We believe that education is about much more than passing exams. It is equally important for our students to involve themselves in all other sporting, artistic, spiritual and community based activities which we offer. A fifth of our students come from 25 different countries and the school environment and atmosphere promotes the interchange of ideas across cultures and international divides. Children leave our school confident, resourceful and with a sense of involvement with the world at local and international levels.

A Level

Of all A level exams taken 76% of the grades were A or B. This was 7% higher than the previous year and compares with a national average of 49% A and B grades.

The percentage of A grades jumped massively from 41% to 60.53% against a national average A grade percentage of 25%. The overall pass rate (A to E) was 99.12%.

The average tally of A level grades per student was an incredible AAA and the points per candidate (the university admissions procedure scores an A as 120, a B as 100, a C as 80 etc) was 389.40. These very high averages are obtained because a number of students gained 4 or 5 A grades each!

The Times (25 August 2007) placed us 115 in the top 1000 schools (and sixth form colleges) for A levels and there were only two schools in the whole of the South West (Badminton in Bristol and Colyton Grammar School in Devon) who gained a higher points per candidate score.

League tables themselves are not important but what really pleases me is that Sidcot is showing what an inclusive school can do for all children in a supportive atmosphere that is not a high pressure hot house. We are very proud of our student's achievements (and their teachers) and wish all of our students well in their future careers.

Ewan, Jenny & Corin Ahmed Al-Shabab gained five A grades and is going on to study Aeronautical Engineering at Cambridge, Zhong Zhang and Sam Lee gained 4 A's each and are going on to study Maths at Oxford. 11 other students gained 3 or more A grades including local students (picture right) Jenny Mills (applying to Cambridge this year), Ewan Gourlay (studying Medicine at Brighton) and Corin Mulliss (studying Psychology at York).

AS Level

In the Lower Sixth our students studying A Levels take their AS exams usually in 4 subjects. They then move on to the Upper Sixth, often dropping one subject to take three at A2 level (the second year of A level).

This year 64% of the exams taken were A and B grades. We find that there is always an improvement in this figure from AS to A2 and the Upper Sixth, who gained the above fantastic results this summer, jumped from 60% AB grades to 76% between AS and A2.

GCSE level

Our GCSE results were also excellent. 92% gained 5 or more A to C grades, an improvement of 7% on last year. 42% of the students gained 8 or more A* or A grades which was 20% higher than last year and the average grade tally per student was equivalent to 8 A's and a B grade. 52% of the grades were at A* or A which compares to a national figure of 19.5% A* A grades.

Rebecca Hodnett and Jamie Hutchinson (pictured right) both gained 9 A* grades and an A. Jackie Yu from Hong Kong gained 7 A*, 2 A grades and a B (the two A grades were in English Language and English Literature) which is an incredible achievement for a student working in a second language.

This September our first group of students began to study for the International Baccalaureate Diploma. They began with an IB conference over the weekend before term commenced. This helped the new students to quickly integrate with the students who have been at Sidcot for some time. The weekend gave them a flying start to the IB course.

The ethos of the International Baccalaureate fits very well with the ethos of a Quaker School and we believe that this course will grow and grow at Sidcot. It is a stretching, broad and exciting course that is very popular with Universities and prepares students very well for undergraduate studies. It sits alongside our already excellent A level courses and provides students with a real choice.