Students at Notre Dame RC Girl’s School have their sights set on careers in journalism, law, engineering, teaching and architecture following their “remarkable” GCSE results.
The Elephant and Castle Catholic school saw 90 per cent of students achieve grade 4 or above, in Physics (96%), Spanish (95%), Chemistry (92%) and Biology (92%).
One high achiever was Marie who secured seven 9s, two 8s and one 7. She will study Physics, Maths and Economics at A Level and hopes to attend Oxbridge in the future.
Head Girl Paula Salem is chuffed to have secured two 9s, three 8s, one 7, three 6s and one 5 and, pursuing a career in journalism, will study English, History and Psychology at A Level.
Philipa’s hard work paid off as she achieved six 9s, one 8, two 7s and one 6 and will now study Maths, Sociology and Economics at A Level.
Kiena aspires to read Law at either Harvard or Yale University. Having attained four 9s, three 8s, two 7s and one 6, she’ll study Psychology, Philosophy, English Literature and History at Newham College.
Her advice to younger students is “to believe in yourself as you can achieve anything you put your mind to”.
Head of School Ms Byrne said: “Today we celebrate each individual path to success – whether that be 9s or a personal best of any grade.
“We pride ourselves on getting to know every one of our students personally, cultivating their interests, passions and talents to ensure that their time at Notre Dame is a successful one.
“It has been a pleasure watching them grow into resilient, competent and confident young women, prepared for their next adventure. We wish them the very best of luck.”
GCSE grades explained
The number scale is not directly equivalent to the old letter scale, which changed in 2014, but this is how they roughly match up:
- The three number grades – 9, 8 and 7 – correspond to the two previous top grades of A* and A
- The bottom of grade 7 is aligned with the bottom of grade A
- The bottom of grade 4 is aligned with the bottom of grade C
- The bottom of grade 1 is aligned with the bottom of grade G
Exams watchdog Ofqual has said grade 9s “identify exceptional performance” and as such, fewer will have been awarded nationally than A*s (pre-2014).