Thomas Middlecott Academy, Kirton, embraces GCSE results day with pride

Despite facing a challenging rise in standards and increasing pressure on staff, Year 11 students still managed to achieve more than 50 A* and A grades between them.

Among the smiling students was Estelle Wiles who followed up her sports record for the school last summer with a similar reward for academic effort.

Estelle said: “Revision was taking up my life and I think that I went to every extra revision session that the academy put on.

“The exams were tough but, with lots of effort, I got some results that I am really pleased with.”

Executive principal David Yates said: “Overall, our results are broadly similar to last year and whilst, on the surface, this is not what we hoped for against key Government measures, there are a lot of underlying stories that show progress is being made.

“Over half of our students passed English or Maths and we had some popular subjects in which students performed incredibly well, with over 85 per cent of them getting a C or above.

“On top of that, over the last year the progress that our students have made significantly strengthened, meaning that those who just missed out on a C grade in key subjects are in a much stronger position than they were at the start of the year to achieve and exceed in their futures.

“It has been an incredible journey to get to this point and the staff at Thomas Middlecott Academy have worked tirelessly over the last 12 months, embracing the challenges that have been set.

“All that has been achieved sets the academy up for a very successful future and for that, the students and their families deserve a huge amount of praise and recognition.

“Since I have been at the academy, I have been overwhelmed by students’ desire to learn and succeed.

“Between them, they have attended hundreds of hours of revision sessions, both before and after school, as well as during the holidays, and they have pushed themselves harder than has ever been expected before.”