Newsletter
2017 Results Special
Reach for the sky: Villiers students celebrate success in their exam results
Record-breaking year for Villiers students Villiers High School is celebrating its best-ever GCSE results with pupils scoring among the top results in the country. The school scored high on the Progress 8 measures, introduced last year, which track how much progress pupils have made between starting school and finishing their GCSEs. Based on this year’s results, the school would be ranked in the top 200 nationally for GCSE results and be among the best performing in Ealing. They also scored the best-ever results in English and Maths with a combined pass rate of 65 per cent. Pupils achieved the excellent results against a backdrop of the biggest shake-up to GCSE exams in a generation. New exams in English Language, English
Literature and Maths were taken by the Year 11 students – which were graded in numbers, with nine as the highest mark and one the lowest. At A Level, the school celebrated yet another record-breaking year with our highest-ever A*-C grade levels – at 82 per cent. Almost half of all children earned A*-B grades, while 22 per cent took home A* and A grades. Jubilant BTEC students were also celebrating as every student earned a pass, with seven being awarded a distinction. Deputy Headteacher Chris Richards said: “This is a really proud moment for Villiers High School. “At GCSE, these results would put us among the best performing in the country for progress
and close to the top of the borough table. There have also been some quite outstanding individual results with multiple students bucking national trends to do extremely well across a range of subjects. “We are also celebrating our best year for A Level results. This means many of our pupils will now be heading to some of the best universities in the country. “We instil a very hard work ethic in our pupils to ensure they know that nothing comes easily. They have repaid us with fantastic determination. “We look forward to welcoming many of our Year 11 pupils back to Villiers in September to study for their A Levels at our sixth form and, to our Year 13s, we wish them the best of luck for the future.”
n Villiers High School 2017 Results Special
Students’ fantastic results are also a testament to our teachers’ hard work New Headteacher Ms Sharma reflects on the school’s GCSE and A Level results... student achieves the best they can. They implemented a whole range of interventions to get our students successfully through what is probably one of the most stressful and difficult times in teenagers’ lives. My congratulations to everyone and a particular ‘well done’ to all those who achieved exceptionally high grades overall and in particular for English and maths. Villiers School is on an upward trend
with pupil outcomes improving year on year. Our new Year 11 and 13 students have certainly been set quite a challenge and a hard act to follow. I am absolutely convinced that the outcomes for GCSE and A Level will be even better next year. We will continue to ensure that our students get all the guidance, encouragement and support they need to maximise their potential.
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I am very proud of the fantastic results achieved by our students both at GCSE and A Level. It is a befitting outcome to all the hard work of our students and teachers. Villiers prides itself in bringing the best out of each student and helping them to make excellent levels of progress. It is particularly pleasing to see some of the students achieve such high grades against a backdrop of uncertainty about grade boundaries and lack of practice materials for the new exams specifications. Our staff are very talented and committed to ensuring that every
Rayna defied the odds to achieve her dream A BUDDING doctor who spent months studying from her own hospital bed has won a place at one of Britain’s most prestigious universities – despite the fact that just months earlier, she could not even walk. Dogged determination saw Rayna Bhogal fight for a place at university despite being unable to get to school. The 18-year-old was struck down with a cyst in the bottom of her back and in April was hospitalised for three months. With the countdown to exam day fast approaching, Rayna was facing a massive operation and months of treatment. The cyst left her unable to walk, sit up or attend classes. Rayna was devastated but determined she would sit her exams. On A Level results day, her family was overjoyed to see she achieved an A* in Biology and two As in Maths and Chemistry. She said: “I didn’t sleep all night and I got the acceptance from Leeds University at 7.30am this morning. “I was so frustrated when I was ill but I know there are no excuses at all. I couldn’t afford to miss anything, I had to keep going because I couldn’t miss my opportunity.” Miss Bhogal said her “amazing” teachers helped her study but her family and their unending support got her through. She added: “The support I got from the teachers at the school was just incredible. I don’t know if I would have been able to achieve such good marks without them.” The teenager forced herself into school and had to sit on special cushions, while in pain, to complete the tests. Father Jaspal Bhogal said his daughter, who will now attend a Russell Group university to study medicine,
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Proud moment: Rayna shows off her exam results
has inspired him. He said: “We thought she would not be able to sit her exams and she was heartbroken. She was in so much pain and it was horrible. “But she is incredible. There is this myth about private schooling and it doesn’t mean
anything. If you really want something, you can get it no matter what. “From the age of five she had one goal, to be a doctor. She is so determined and I am so proud of her.” She will begin her course in Medicine this year.
n Villiers High School 2017 Results Special
Villiers students celebrate after achieving excellent GCSE grades
Aisha’s hard work proves worthwhile
Delight: Aisha admits her achievements at GCSE gave her ‘the best feeling ever”
BUDDING journalist Aisha Warsame scored six A* and four As and will study Politics, History, English Literature and Philosophy at Villiers sixth form. The 16-year-old has set her sights on a place at either Oxford or Cambridge to study Law after completing her A Levels. She said: “It is the best feeling ever. I needed these results to get on the A Level courses I want to study, so it was important for me to do well. “They really teach you the value of hard work at this school. To do well consistently across a range of subjects is tough but at Villiers we learn the value of hard work and determination.”
Sukhbir’s happy to stay on
Revision the key for Aya STUDENT Aya Asse scored a remarkable 10 A* or equivalent grades – making her one of the highest achieving pupils at the school. She said intervention sessions and after-school revision was the key. She added: “It feels like a bit of a dream. I expected to do well but this has exceeded all expectation. You always doubt
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yourself after the exams but it just goes to show that hard work does pay off. I have to give a lot of credit to Villiers. The teachers are so committed at this school. “The intervention sessions, after-school revision and working at weekends really does make a difference.”
BRAINY Sukhbir Singh Mann scored top marks in his GCSEs and plans to remain at Villiers to study for his A Levels. Sukhbir thanked teachers and support staff at Villiers for giving the extra help he needed to achieve his targets. He said: “Because I have done so well I really think I would like to stay on at the sixth form here. “You get so much support and the teachers and staff know me really well. There is a family atmosphere to the school and sixth form that I really like.”
n Villiers High School 2017 Results Special
After A Level success these youngsters are preparing for the next step in their education
Students dreaming of a new life at university Haaris follows family tradition
MOVING ON: Haaris hopes to become a vet in the future
BRIGHT Haaris Shaukat is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his relatives by becoming a third-generation veterinarian. The teenager took his first steps towards his dream job after landing a place at the Royal Veterinary College. The 18-year-old, who scored a two Bs and a C in his A Levels, hopes to specialise in large animals. Haaris’s dream of becoming a vet started in the unlikely place of Southall Market when he was a young boy. He said: “I remember seeing the markets from my pushchair, the poultry auctions on a Tuesday, and my interest just went from there. “I was inspired by my family, too. Having two other vets in the family makes you very interested in it. He added: “The first year at school was hard but if you work hard then you can achieve what you aim for.”
Teacher inspired Purva to succeed STUDENT Purva Kamboj achieved an A* and two A grades and is going on to study Psychology at Warwick University. The 18-year-old said: “My English teacher really, really inspired me at Villiers. “Everyone here is really patient and understanding. Now I can go to Warwick and I am so happy. The exams were much harder than I thought, the hardest thing I have ever done.”
Lovepreet eyes on a software career Lovepreet Singh is over the moon after scoring the top grades he needed to confirm his place at one of the top universities in the world. The 18-year-old achieved three A grades and an A* in Maths and will now study Computer Science at University College London (UCL). Lovepreet said: “I really want to be a software engineer so this is definitely the first step on that journey. “When you get the right support from your school and you put in a lot of hard work and
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n Villiers High School 2017 Results Special