Aspire, Achieve, Enjoy
Richmond West Schools Trust
Newsletter
VALUES l Perseverance l Dedication l Empathy l Integrity l Responsibility Results Special 2017
Students shine despite big changes to exams THE school celebrated even further improvements in our GCSE results despite a challenging new grading system. With the new exams being introduced this year, an impressive 60 per cent of students gained the new 4+ grade in English and maths. There was also an improvement to the highest marks with 14 per cent of grades being A* or A, while 55 per cent of students achieved five equivalent A*-C grades. The number of students achieving the new top grade of 9 in English and maths was expected to be lower than previous years.
Nevertheless, Twickenham School this year produced three students – Daniel Clouter, Sidney Thomas and Ludmila Branda – who all attained the top grade for maths. Headteacher Assal Ruse said: “I am delighted for the students and staff who have worked incredibly hard to achieve these results with all new examinations. “It has been a tough two years for all schools teaching new specifications and not always with access to new practice papers or grade boundaries. “As such, I am happy the school has enabled the students to do as well as they did and be
able to access the next stage of their education with the results they needed. “These results reflect the hard work of students and the professional commitment of all of our teaching and support staff at Twickenham School. “As a school, we have met and exceeded some challenging targets for this cohort of students and I would want to thank our families too, as they have been so supportive yet again throughout the long examination season.” Aspire, Achieve, Enjoy
Twickenham School newsletter n Results Special 2017
Ludmila has excelled during her first year in the UK A HARDWORKING student who only arrived in the UK last year has scored top grades in her GCSEs. Ludmila Branda said she didn’t even know what GCSEs were when she moved here from Portugal last October. But despite arriving during Year 11, the 16-year-old has surpassed all expectations to score a grade 9 in the new tougher maths exams. Remarkably, she also scored an 8 in the English exam, despite not having perfect English on arrival, as well as a string of top marks in other subjects. She credits support from the school with her success. She said: “When I arrived in England I had no idea what GCSEs even were. Of course, I had been studying in Portugal but to come to a new country in your final year is very difficult. “Add to that there was a new grading system for the exams so it wasn’t easy to get a good grade. “Thankfully I have very good teachers who have supported me a lot since I came here. They have taken the time to make sure that I keep up with the other students and do well. “I am very happy that I came to this school as I am not sure I would have done as well somewhere else. “It has also been easy to settle at the school and I have made lots of new friends. I will celebrate this success with them.” Dedication, Perseverance
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Twickenham School newsletter n Results Special 2017
That extra effort can make the difference...
Sidney’s revision proved essential STUDENT Sidney Thomas said extra revision study sessions were the key to getting the top grade in the new maths exam. He said: “Maths was the one I wanted to get a 9 in, so I’m really pleased. It was a demanding year with the new grading system so it is even more satisfying to do well. “The school did extra study sessions to help push us with the harder areas and I think that’s what made the difference. “You need to really push yourself to do well and thankfully I go to a school that makes sure you do that with every exam.” Dedication, Perseverance
Delight: Amina Zien admitted that she surpassed her own expectations
Top mark: Sydney Thomas achieved a grade of 9 in the new-style maths exam
Zac lives up to expectations EMOTIONAL Zac Philippou described a feeling of relief after opening his GCSE results to find he had scored top marks. Zac, 16, said he was shocked to find that he had achieved seven A*, two As and two Bs, as well as an 8 in the new maths exam. He said: “All the emotions are just
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coming out now. I was hoping for As and Bs across the board and I’m relieved, shocked, and still a bit terrified for some reason. “The school has been great. They are great teachers who listen and believe in you and I’m glad to have met their expectations, as well as my own.”
Amina smashed her own targets STUDENT Amina Zien thanked the school for helping her to “exceed her target”. The 16-year-old scored top grades which means she can now study maths, physics and 3D design at A Level. She said: “I got a 7 in maths which I did not expect at all. In fact, the grades I achieved across most subjects were higher than I had targeted. “It just goes to show that if you put the effort and you get the support of teachers you can go beyond even what you expect.” Perseverance
Twickenham School newsletter n Results Special 2017
Fast progress in just one year We are very proud of our students’ achievements this year. In spite of all the recent changes made by the government to ‘toughen up’ GCSEs, our students in Year 11 managed to improve on the previous year’s results, with 60% of the cohort achieving 4+ passes in both English and mathematics. These are some of our best-ever results as these students were the first to take the new-style examinations. We are mindful that our improvement plan started just 12 months ago and of the fast progress that has been made since then. The academic year 2016-17 was a very positive year with many solid foundations built and robust systems and policies put in place. It was however just the beginning of many more years of improved outcomes that we can look forward to. There were many fine results across all subjects with special congratulations to Sidney Thomas, who achieved four As and two A* along with a grade 9 in
By Headteacher Assal Ruse mathematics, Hannah McLelland (four As and two A*), Hannah Flashman (four As and one A*), Amina Zien and Christopher Nguyen, who both achieved four As. Thirteen of our students achieved either a grade 8 or 9 in English or mathematics, with Ludmila Branda achieving 8 in both English literature and language and a 9 in mathematics. Fourteen of our science students opened their results envelopes to find that they had gained As and A* across biology, chemistry and physics. Congratulations to Sarah Field, Dominic Jansen and Zac Philippou, who gained A* in all three sciences. The average grade for physics was an A, which is a huge achievement. The average grade score in more than half of all other subjects improved by a
grade or more from 2016. This is testament to the hard work and dedication of staff and the overwhelming support from families. We expect much more success for our students in the years to come and all of our staff are working tirelessly with our students and families to make that a reality. We are fully staffed in September with staff joining us from outstanding schools. I am confident and pleased that progress in our current year groups is improving at a very fast rate. Our school data tracking processes show us that at the end of last academic year, our students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 had made very strong progress. I would like to thank our whole school community for believing in our vision, in particular thanks to staff, my leadership team, the governors and the Executive Headteacher, John Wilkinson, without whose support we could not have got this far. Aspire, Achieve, Enjoy
New department heads THE school are pleased to welcome two highly experienced and talented heads of department for maths and science. Mr Fennell (maths) and Mr Meinke (science) both joined the school in September. Deputy headteacher David Martin said the two teachers will play
Profile
Profile
How long have you been teaching and at which schools? “I have been teaching for 12 years. I started my career at Thomas More Catholic School in Croydon.” What do you enjoy about teaching? “No two days are the same and there is no clock watching. It is extremely fulfilling to help shape and mould young people. What makes a good teacher? “Building relationships and having a good sense of humour is really important.” What are you looking forward to most about joining Twickenham School? “Arriving at Twickenham School at this stage of the journey and making a key contribution to help turn it into an Outstanding school.”
How long have you been teaching and at which schools? “I started my teaching career in 1991, so for 26 years. These include three years teaching in Botswana, Africa, and seven very happy years working at Waldegrave School as Head of Science. What do you enjoy about teaching? Science as a subject has a lot to offer everyone. You don’t have to have a degree or an A Level. All science qualifications are useful and economically valuable in many professions. What makes a good teacher? “A good teacher needs to be resilient. It can be a very demanding job at times and you need to be push through this.” What are you looking forward to most about joining Twickenham School? “This is a very exciting time to be joining Twickenham School. You can sense how it is changing and improving all of the time. “
John Meinke
Patrick Fennell
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a crucial role in our relentless drive for constant improvement at the school. We have talked to both of them about their careers, what they enjoy about teaching and how they feel about joining Twickenham School.
Twickenham School newsletter n Results Special 2017