Following stellar, record-breaking A level results last week, Blue Coat posted another fine set of GCSE results today. Overall, nearly a third of all grades were an A* (31.2%), and almost two thirds of grades were A*/A (65%). 89.5% of all grades were A*-B, in line the previous years. Despite the news in the press about stiffer grading at GCSE, Blue Coat has remained extremely consistent over the past five years with ~90% A*-B since 2012.

STEM subjects featured particularly strongly this year. Maths was 83% A*/A, continuing to shine as a leading department in the School. Biology had an impressive 98% A*/A, and Chemistry, Physics and Geology were all over 80% A*/A. All students who took Further Maths secured A* or As with distinction. It is exciting to see such strong results in STEM subjects, balanced with exceptional performance in the creative subjects and the humanities.

100% of this year’s Geography students achieved A*-B and the Art students have delivered another set of strong results with 78% of grades at A*/A.

Dr Magill, Deputy Head (Academic) said: ‘It is very satisfying to see these strong results. I am proud of our pupils who have worked hard to achieve another set of excellent GCSE results for the School, and of course there are many individual success stories as well.’

Three students: aspiring medic Ronnie Jha from Reading, Henry O’Brien, who will join team mates on next week’s pre-season rugby training camp, and Chris Peat, who successfully balances his commitment to the J16 rowing squad along with his Public Speaking activities, each achieved 10A*s. Chris Peat, who is thinking about pursuing a career in aviation, opened his results with some trepidation but was soon celebrating with his close friends and family.

Francisco Nabais joined the school in the summer of 2015 when his family relocated here from Portugal. Despite English being his second language, he has gone on to achieve an impressive 7A*s and 4 As in his GCSEs. In addition to his academic studies, Francisco has embraced the sports programme on offer at Blue Coat. He is a member of the school’s senior basketball team and represents the school at 1500 and 800 metres in athletics. Francisco said “I am relieved GCSEs are now over and I can look forward to specialising in sciences at A level. I would like to study Mechanical Engineering at university or perhaps robotics, which I find really interesting.”

Talented tennis player, Callum Rendle from Wokingham, achieved 7 A*s, 1 A and 2 Bs. Callum competed this summer in the Nationals and hopes to earn a tennis scholarship to the USA after Blue Coat. Also from Wokingham, Max Cooper was pleased with his results, which included 3A*s and 5As. Max represented Berkshire at the English Schools Championships this summer in the 1500m steeplechase, and he was the only pupil to beat the Headmaster in the school cross-country competition last year.

Commenting on the results, Headmaster Jesse Elzinga said: “This is another fine set of GCSEs for Blue Coat, and I am immensely proud of the diligent work of our pupils and staff. The pupils at this school enjoy a rich co-curricular programme, but we also take academic achievement seriously, and these results show just how committed this community is to excellence. We look forward to welcoming these boys into the Sixth Form in a couple of weeks, as well as the many new joiners, who have also achieved impressive results at their respective schools.’

Students in Year 10 are also celebrating their Religious Studies GCSE results with 94% achieving grades A* to B.

Summary of Year 11 Results

Number of candidates: 95

A* 31.2%

A*-A 65.0%

A*-B 89.5%

A*-C 98.9% (including English & Maths)

Average number of subjects per candidate: 10.5

Average number of grade C and above per candidate: 9.4