St Mary’s College celebrates excellent GCSE results

Students and staff at St Mary’s College in Crosby are celebrating another excellent set of GCSE results in the school’s centenary year.

This year marks the third phase of the introduction of the new GCSE 9-1, highest-to-lowest grading system which now covers almost all subjects.

In this summer’s exams at the school almost a third (30 per cent) of GCSE passes were at the highest 9-7/A*-A grades, and almost a quarter of candidates (23 per cent) achieved seven or more passes at these top levels.

Almost two thirds of students (62 per cent) recorded ten or more GCSE passes, with many achieving 12 GCSEs, reflecting the broad and balanced curriculum at St Mary’s and the fact that the school does not restrict the number of GCSE subjects students can take.

In terms of individual performances, Atsayan Sachchin from Waterloo was top of the class achieving 9-7/A*-A passes in all 12 of his GCSE subjects, including eight 9 grades, two 8s, an A* and an A.

Atsayan said: “I was overjoyed with my results. It was a pleasant surprise when I opened the envelope and saw that I got top grades in all my 12 subjects. I believe my success is the result of hard work by myself and the work put in by my teachers, and I’m incredibly grateful to them.”

Among the girls Laura Kearns from Maghull was the top performer with 13 GCSE passes, including five at the top 9 grade – including a 9 in Ancient Greek – and four at grade 8.

Laura said: “It was quite surreal to open my results and see I’d got such good grades – it just proves that hard work really does pay off. I’m looking forward to joining the Sixth Form at St Mary’s to study biology, chemistry, history and Ancient Greek.”

A group of six students – Atsayan and Laura, along with Hope Brown, Amy Denn and siblings Abigail and Jesse Amara – achieved an incredible 72 GCSE passes between then, 63 of which were at the highest possible 9-7/A*-A grades.

St Mary’s College principal, Mike Kennedy, said: “I am very pleased with these results which are a testament both to the hard work of our pupils over the past five years, and the ongoing support they have received from staff and parents.

“Achieving excellent results in these important examinations is a firm foundation on which young people can build future success at A level, at university and in their chosen careers.

“All our students and their families should be very proud of what they have achieved,” added Mr Kennedy.

The new GCSE grading structure – in which a grade 9 pass is higher than the former A* grade – is being phased in over a number of years.

This process began with English and maths in 2017, with a further 20 subjects being added last year and most others this summer.