No one at our multi-academy trust could have imagined the last six months, and no one would have wished the stress and pressure of the last few weeks on the hundreds of young people in our Trust schools who have been waiting for their A-level and GCSE results. Yet here we are at the end of what has been a dark tunnel and I want to pay tribute to the students and teachers who have got here – and recognise their achievements.

Within all of our secondary schools – Wellsway, Sir Bernard Lovell, Bedminster Down, IKB and The Bath Studio School – hundreds of GCSE students achieved a mass of top grades at 9, 8 and 7 (equivalent to an A*/A grade).

There are too many names to pick out individually, but at school level:

• There has been significant progress at SBL (60% of key subject grades were 5 or better, compared to 40% last year) as the school continues to drive ahead under the still relatively new headship of Dean Anderson, with a significant number of students returning for A-levels and 10% accessing apprenticeships and training.
• At BDS after a challenging year for new interim principal, Debbie Gibbs, there were 119 grades at 7 or above – another strong development story. The majority of students are going on to A-levels and just over 10% of students have successfully secured apprenticeships.
• At Wellsway a third of all grades were 9, 8 or 7 - reflecting the school’s historically high academic performance. The highest number of students for the last few years will be entering the school’s sixth form, looking to continue their success.
• IKB, which specialises in STEM subjects, delivered over 20% of all grades in those subjects (biology, chemistry, physics, maths, computing and product design) at a grade 7 or above. More students than ever will continue into the sixth form, creating the largest year 12 cohort to date.
• TBSS, even with a small cohort, produced good results in the creative arts and media areas, ensuring students could move forward to post-16 studies.

Turning to A-level results and students’ futures:

• At SBL, 36% of all entries were at A*-B. 50% of students are moving on to university with several going to Russell Group universities. 30% have gained apprenticeships – despite the current employment challenges.
• Wellsway achieved 73% of all entries at A*-B and once again is sending a large number of students on to university. All 52 students who applied have achieved places, including three going to Oxford or Cambridge and one to read dentistry.
• IKB entries again focused on the STEM subjects at A-level and achieved 56% of grades at A*-B.  By any standard this showed a significant improvement in performance from last year (24%). Amongst the destinations for students are STEM Degrees in Civil Engineering, Motor Sport Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Architecture and Computing.
• At TBSS 86% of entries achieved an A*-B grade reflecting the specialist nature of the subjects taken. Although a very small year group, several TBSS students are going on to exciting Post-18 study in music, television and film, and fashion marketing.

The Chair of the Wellsway Multi Academy Trust, Malcolm Broad, said:

“A fundamental touchstone of our Trust and its schools is to fulfil and optimise the potential of our students – not least when they leave secondary education. Achieving this during the last six months has required discipline and resilience from our students and great support from parents/carers. But just as importantly, remarkable dedication from our teachers and staff – at every level – and to them trustees would like to say well done, huge thanks and your perseverance has delivered.”

As to the future, what has the last six months, and in particular the last two weeks, shown us? Is this a moment for new initiatives? How do we continue to help vulnerable children overcome disadvantage when it comes to schooling? Do we value enough the independent judgement of teachers?

What we have learned is that flexible and imaginative approaches by school leaders and teachers to learning and assessment can, and does, support students, but online learning won’t replace the huge benefits of the classroom and the social aspects of school. Raw exam numbers don’t always show the true educational and personal achievements  of students  and perhaps a range of activities  (including exams) produces a truer assessment – online research, course work, projects, presentations and practical work, for example. Also that headteachers’ and teachers’ knowledge of their students, their professional acumen and sensitivity to pastoral care have a greater value than perhaps the public and government ever recognised before.

The last six months has taught us much, not least the benefits of working as part of a trust – a family of schools – working together for mutual support and benefit. Despite the challenges, Wellsway Multi Academy Trust is emerging from the shadows of lockdown in a position of strength and is looking to the future with hope, positivity and optimism.

Andrea Arlidge
Chief Executive

Year 11 students in Wellsway Multi Academy Trust schools are celebrating some excellent GCSE results in spite of the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Young people at Wellsway School, Sir Bernard Lovell Academy, Bedminster Down School, IKB Academy and The Bath Studio School have worked hard over five years to achieve grades that will set them on the path to their future.

The trust’s director of education Gary Schlick said: “We are delighted that, after such a challenging few months, our students have earned grades in line with what we had predicted for them at the start of the year. We are so pleased that the majority of students have chosen to continue their studies in our sixth form.

“There have been some outstanding results in each of our schools. This follows our excellent A-level outcomes, which are even better than first reported following the decision to accept centrally assessed grades.”

At The Bath Studio School, Alex Price did exceptionally well, achieving a grade 9 in maths and a 7 in English language. Alex also achieved two 8s in science, and distinction and distinction* in travel and tourism and creative media respectively. Alex is going on to do A-levels.

Axel Woodfield achieved two grade 9s in English and photography, 6 in maths and English literature and Distinction * in travel and tourism and creative media. Axel will take these results with her to complete a post-16 course in creative media.

Principal Pete Headeach said: “We are incredibly proud of all the Year 11 and their achievements in what has been a very challenging year for them.”

A number of students at Wellsway School in Keynsham earned high grades across the board. They include Henry Williams: nine grade 9s and an 8; Rebekah Bolton and Ffion Bright: both eight 9s and two 8s; Izma Hussain: eight 9s, one 8 and one 7; Oscar Lopez-Cottrell: six 9s, four Emma Pearce: seven 9s,two 8s, one 7); Mykenzie Evans and Joseph Snarr: six 9s, three 8s, one 7; Melanie Harber and Holly Jones: both five 9s, four 8s and one 7.

Principal Matthew Woodville said: “Our overall performance this year has been exceptional. We are immensely proud of the achievements of all our students and we look forward to welcoming a record number back to the sixth form in September.” 

Sir Bernard Lovell Academy in Oldland Common is celebrating some very strong results, including several high performers and a number of students who have made outstanding progress.

Stephen Kerfoot scored grade 9s across the board, while Charlotte Kington achieved eight 9s, Jakob Medlin five 9s and four 8s and Olivia Curry four 9s and three 8s. Other high achievers were Ruby Gabler, Chloe Fear, Oliver Adams, Jessica Duck, Megan Hadley and Chiana Butterfield.

Joshua Bond, Anna Fielden-Smith, Kai Johnson, Freya Andrews, Millie Rothwell, Eve Alford, Lucie Dagger, Hannah Leonard, Sophie Lumber, Maver Ribeiro and Fin Davis made exceptional progress in their time at SBL across the full range of subjects.

Principal Dean Anderson said: “Our Year 11 students have long been identified as a group capable of exceptional examination performance. It is with a sense of relief therefore that students have been issued with results which do reflect the excellence of the cohort of students.

“Full results are not available since some vocational subjects will have results issued formally later this month. However, there are strong indications today of students who have truly met their potential and can now go on to the very best study routes.

“It is our pleasure and privilege to extend our congratulations to our students this year. They have conducted themselves in a highly dignified and positive way in challenging circumstances. It will be a huge pleasure to welcome back the vast majority of the year group into our Post 16 education in September. We look forward to seeing all of our students back at school at that time.” 

IKB Academy in Keynsham, which specialises in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), has seen some excellent GCSE results in those subjects, as it did for A-levels.

This year, more than 20 per cent of all grades in STEM subjects (biology, chemistry, physics, maths, computing and product design) were at a grade 7 or above.

Among the high achievers was Renee Weber, who earned three grade 9s, five 8s and one 7, and has secured a scholarship to Taunton College, where she will study the International Baccalaureate. Maya Hargreaves achieved five 9s, one 8 and two 6s, while Aryna Ali achieved 9s in maths, product design and chemistry, with 8s in all other subjects. Niamh Murphy achieved one 9, six 8s and one 7 to add to the 9 she achieved last year when she sat GCSE English a year early.

Another notable success was John Augustin, who joined IKB part way through Year 10 after moving to the UK from Spain and gained a clutch of high grades.

Principal Danny Wilkinson said: “IKB opened in 2015 to meet the local and national need for skilled and highly qualified students in STEM and our students have always achieved particularly highly in these key subjects.

“We are delighted with our students’ GCSE performance. Many of them will continue their successful academic journey with IKB into the sixth form, studying a range of facilitating A-level subjects and vocational qualifications, creating our largest Year 12 cohort to date. Following last week's excellent A-level results we cannot wait to get started with them all! 

Bedminster Down School is also celebrating some strong results, including students with top grades across a range of subjects and others who have made exceptional progress to achieve outcomes well above what they might have expected.

A particular success story is Luca Jakab, who arrived at the school from Hungary in Year 7 speaking not a word of English. Her mum cried at her first parents’ evening, saying that Luca had been top of her class in her home country but was worried she would never catch up in England. Luca achieved six grades 9s, three 8s and a 6.

Other high achievers were Lillie Anderson, three 9s, seven 8s; Connor Bowman, four 9s, four 8s and two 6s; Alexander Clark, four 9s and two 6s; Libby Davis, two 9s, four 8s and four 7s; Tommy Flook, two 9s, two 8s, four 7s and two 6s; Callum Gabica, four 9s, two 8s, one 7 and two 6s; Luke Hutchings, four 9s, three 8s, two 7s and one 6: and Katy Parmenter, ten grade 7 or above.

Principal Debbie Gibbs said: “We are so pleased that all our students are receiving the grades that truly reflect their hard work and achievements. At Bedminster Down school we took extreme care and consideration applying a rigorous approach with integrity for every single grade we submitted.

“They may not have sat an exam but they have certainly earned their results and we are so proud of each and every one of them. Although they have missed out on so much this year, they have not missed out on opportunity and it was lovely to see so many happy faces as students came to collect their results.”