WEST Somerset College, Minehead, headteacher Nikki Doughty ‘could not be prouder’ as students celebrated their GCSE examination successes.

Ms Doughty said the cohort of students had shown ‘incredible resilience and determination throughout the disruption to their education during their time at school’.

There were a number of individual students who secured top grades across the board, including Sundari Scarborough, who gained eight grade 9s, and Abigail Pentland, with six grade 9s and a Distinction*.

The college saw outstanding subject performances, particularly art in which 26 per cent of students achieved grade 8+ and 65 per cent achieved 9-4, while French saw 70 per cent of students achieve 9-4, sport achieved a 72 per cent pass rate, and motor vehicle achieved an incredible 100 per cent Level 2 pass rate.

Ms Doughty said: ‘We could not be prouder of their achievements, and we congratulate them and thank our amazing set of teachers for the brilliant way they have supported the students.”

Among other individual outstanding performances were Jacob Murphy with three grade nines, two eights, two sixes, and two fives, and Olivia Zachrisson with two grade 9s four 8s, two 7s, and a Distinction*.

Other students scoring top marks were Veronika Isakova, Liz Smith, and Phoebe Slade, with many others bucking the national trend and doing so well, including Arabella Browne, Esme Pegrum, and Rafi Pilcher.

A total of 30 grade 9s were achieved overall against a background of nationally falling top grades.

Ms Doughty said: “We look forward to welcoming many of these students back to join our sixth form in September and for the opportunity to support them through their A Levels.

“We are all incredibly proud of all our students’ achievements and that their immense hard work has paid off to produce a great year of results.

“This is all the more impressive with the additional challenges these students overcame during their time with us which had such an impact on their normal schooling.

“We all know that this success is also the result of the dedication and commitment from our dedicated staff, as well as the support of parents and families.

“It is this close partnership working and the excellent and supportive teaching and learning within the school that has made these achievements possible.

“As a school community, we continue to focus on core learning skills but also on building effective relationships in school, with space for fun and shared dialogue between teachers and students. “However, our core purpose is to ensure that all students can achieve their potential.

“For any students who are disappointed to have not done as well as they had hoped, these results are not the end of the road – we urge you to come into college and talk to staff about how we can support you with your next steps, or contact our assistant head of sixth form, Rachel Wellfair-Priest, for advice and guidance at [email protected].”