Making the grade

For them, it was personal.

As they were given their individual envelopes containing their grades, all they really cared about was whether their hard work and worries were reflected in their marks.

Arnewood School. Senior staff are reporting a definite improvement in GCSE results this year, against a slight fall in the national pass rate.

Spokesman Phil Vivian said: "A full analysis of the results is still in progress but our students gaining five A* to C passes has improved by at least five per cent which is very pleasing."

Ashdown School has record results with 53 per cent of children getting five A*s to C - the average is usually 40 per cent.

Head teacher, Ashley Pellegrini, said: "They were a very focused group towards the end and I'm very pleased for them. I think we've also been helped by our designation as a technology college, with the extra funding for maths, science and technology."

Avonbourne School. Head teacher, Pauline Greaves, said: "We are very pleased with and proud of the girls. Once again they have done really well. We have a 52 per cent pass rate of five grade A* to Cs, and quite a few students who got all their passes at A*, A and B. Our top student is Rebekah Brothers with four A*s, five As, one B and a short course A as well."

Blandford School. Fifty-eight per cent of students achieved five A* to Cs. Beth Stanier notched up ten A*s which has broken school records. Other students with notable achievements are Elizabeth Richardson, Katie Rees, Emma Colls, Melanie Gates, Nicholas Stringer, Charlotte Hannam, Zara Hanson, Katie Marriott, James Carter, Alyson Hird, and Natalie MacDonald.

Head teacher, Sally Wilson, said: "Many students have achieved their potential. As for Beth Stanier, we can only be awestruck at her achievements. She has worked like a Trojan and really deserves these results. There are also many other students who have achieved a string of really high grades and we congratulate all of them."

Bournemouth Adult Learning. Ninety-four per cent of adult learners passed, with 70 per cent of those gaining A to C grades against the national average of 60 per cent, and 28 per cent attaining grade A or A* against the national average of 23 per cent."I am very proud of all our learners who combine part time study with very busy lives, some working full time, or with family commitments, and to achieve such excellent grades is a testament to their hard work and dedication," said Margaret Davidson, head of Bournemouth Adult Learning.

Bournemouth School. Head teacher, John Granger, said: "We've got one lad, Alex Simmons, with 11 A*s. We also have a number of others with ten A* and As. Overall, the marks are slightly up on last year, with a pass rate of 99.3 per cent of at least five grade A* to Cs. The vast majority of boys got at least nine grade A to Cs.

"Well done to all the boys, teachers and parents for their hard work."

Bournemouth School for Girls.

Head teacher, Alistair Brien, said: "Another excellent set of results at GCSE with a record percentage of A* and As achieved by the girls. Twenty- seven girls achieved all As or A*s and three pupils were among the top five nationally in French. They are Nicola Merrifield, Holly MacDonald and Alice Winter."

Canford School. Nearly a quarter of pupils achieved straight A*/A, with 33 per cent of youngsters achieving A*, 74 per cent getting A*/A, and 99.3 per cent notching up A* to C. Head teacher, John Lever, said: "These results are a triumph and reflect the hard work of all the pupils and staff."

Carter Community Sports College is celebrating the achievement of Amir Hassan who got a C grade in English language, history and PE after having to learn English in one year.

More than half the students got a C grade or above in English and pupil Rachel Stacey got 11 A to Cs, including an A for history which she had to study in her own time.

Clayesmore School. It is celebrating its best GCSE results on record with an 82 per cent overall pass rate at grades A* to C. Thirty-two per cent of pupils achieved A* and A grades - a ten per cent increase on last year's top grade passes.

Head teacher, Martin Cooke, said: "It is marvellous that our best-ever results in GCSE and A-Level have occurred in the same year. The staff and pupils should be extremely proud of their achievements - especially across such a broad spectrum of ability."

Corfe Hills School. Head teacher Alan Hinchliffe said: "The overall school GCSE results rose by five per cent. One hundred per cent of students gained at least one GCSE pass, 98 per cent of students got five passes and 69 per cent gained five grades A to C."

Homefield School. With almost a fifth of students from overseas the school increased its overall pass rate this year to 90 per cent, with 60 per cent of pupils gaining five or more A* to C grades.

Headmaster, Tony Partridge, said: "Certainly we are very, very pleased."

Highcliffe School. The class of 2004 maintained the trend of annual improvement of already above average results, with every student gaining at least one GCSE grade, and more A* to C grades achieved than in previous years. "GCSE results this year continue to be consistently very good. It is pleasing to see that our results over the last three years have improved on the previous period," said head teacher, Judith Potts.

Kings High School. Head teacher, Gareth Jones, said: "Pupils have achieved a 58 per cent pass rate of five A* to C, compared to 35 per cent last year and less than ten per cent four years ago when we were Kingsleigh. This year's results are fantastic.

"A special mention must go to Tara Stearn, Sian Western, Kelly Barlow, Kirk Whatley, Chris Gilbert and James Ashdown."

Lytchett Minster School. Senior staff say it's the school's best results to date, with 70 per cent of students achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, and 100 per cent of students achieving five or more at A* to G. Almost half the year group got ten or more A* to C grades with students Sarah Jane, Lauren Downes and Sally Abbott getting either 12 or 13 A* or As. Top boy is David Earley with nine A*/A grades and four B grades.

Oakmead College of Technology. The class of 2004 received their GCSE results amid the lights of a BBC film crew who were covering the event for national television. Results for the college were in line with expectations with 35 per cent of students obtaining five or more grades A* to C. Deputy head teacher, Alyn Fendley, said: "Among the results were some exceptional performances with a number of students obtaining seven or more grade As and A*s.

"We are all very pleased with the results obtained by our students with a large number having enrolled into the sixth form."

Parkstone Grammar. The girls notched up 100 per cent five A*s to C. Students with exceptional achievements were Adele Robertson, Elinor Thomason and Suzanne Goodwin, getting ten A*s. Suzanne came in the top five out of 163,000 students across the country with her results for French, and Elinor came in the top five for her marks in business studies - out of 19,300 candidates nationally.

Head teacher, Anne Shinwell, said: "We have a head start in that we have some very bright students, but it is also due to hard work and the dedication of very professional staff."

Poole Grammar. One hundred per cent of pupils gained five or more A*s to C. More than half of the pupils got at least five A grades and 38 achieved A-level computing, having passed the GCSE in year nine.

Students who got ten or more A grades were Ivey Geoghegan, Jack Quaddy, Ryan Lothian and Andrew Nickinson. Three also scored in the top five nationally - James Pipe in design technology, Ivey in French and Daniel Washbrook in English literature.

Head teacher, Alex Clarke, said: "These statistics reflect enormous effort and ability across a huge range of subjects up to the highest level - including A-level."

Portchester School. Head teacher, Chris Brady, said: "The boys have done really well. We have a 49 per cent pass rate at A* to C which is a fantastic achievement for all the students and staff. It shows that boys can achieve if they are challenged appropriately. Particular mention must go to Jonathan Love, Peter Chan, Chris Legg, Paul Hemmingsley and Liam McMahon who are commended for their achievements."

Priestlands School. It is celebrating its best ever GCSE results with 65 per cent of students gaining five or more passes at grade C or higher, and a dozen candidates achieving ten or more A* and A grades.

"These are excellent results. This is a thoroughly deserved conclusion to five years work by students who worked hard to achieve high standards," said head teacher, Chris Willsher.

Queen Elizabeth's School. Staff and pupils are celebrating their best-ever GCSE results, with 64 per cent of students having achieved five A to C grades and 97 per cent achieving five passes or more.

Among the students singled out for particular praise are Harriet Noble and Joanna Wadsworth who gained eight A* and two As, and Ben Pugh who got eight A*s, an A and a B.

Head teacher Andy Puttock said: "I am delighted with the success of every single student, whether it be the excellence of top grades or the fantastic achievement of individual potential in attaining GCSE passes through sheer hard work and

commitment."

Rossmore Community College. Senior staff say the school has been improving in the past couple of years since ceasing to be a failing school.

Results were similar to last year with 28 per cent of pupils achieving five A* to C grades. Cheryl James was the outstanding student of the year with seven As and two Bs.

St Edward's RC School. Pupils have improved by nine per cent from last year with 70 per cent of pupils getting A*s to Cs. Outstanding performances came from Hannah Royles with three A*s and eight As, Emily Lamprey with five A*s and five As, and Jonathan Collins with three A*s and seven As.

Head teacher, Derek Richmond, said: "We're delighted every student in the school got a qualification. The girls are still ahead but the boys are catching up."

St Peter's RC Comprehensive. Deputy head teacher, Angie Wazesjewski, said: "A year of fantastic results for our pupils at all levels of entry. Particular mention must go to five pupils who achieved 56 grade A* and As between them. They are Faisal Bokhammas , Victoria Smith, Josephine Duncan, Nicola Barry and Alexander Aquilina."

Summerbee Comprehensive. Head teacher, Jean Mcbain, said: "We are delighted with the results which are the best for five years. There are some outstanding individual results and percentages, with a 27.3 per cent pass rate of five A* to C, 72.1 per cent of five A* to G, and 86.1 per cent of one A* to G."

Talbot Heath School. Staff and students are celebrating a GCSE pass rate of 99 per cent with 77 per cent of grades at A* and A.

Head teacher, Christine Dipple, said: "There are smiling faces all round. Everyone deserves congratulations. We are particularly pleased for Sarah Kirkman who came to us from Victoria School and has achieved eight GCSEs."

Twynham School recorded a 99 per cent pass rate with 67 per cent at grade C or higher including twin sisters Jade and Nikita Ramsay who each scored 11 straight A's. Head teacher, Dr Terry Fish, said: "We are delighted with the success of our students right across the ability spectrum from the most able to those with special needs."

Uplands School. Pupils achieved 87.1 per cent pass rate of A* to C grades. Alexandra Guerra-Unwin, 13, took her GCSE Spanish early and managed to get one of the top five results in the country.

Wentworth College. Senior staff have reported excellent marks, with a 92 per cent pass rate of grades A* to C, and more than 90 per cent of girls achieving five or more A* to C grades.

Star pupils include Hannah Hibbert who achieved ten A grades of which eight were A*.

The Daily Echo attempted to contact all schools, but some were unavailable.

First published: August 27