Best ever A* GCSE performance at Bedales

PETERSFIELD, U.K. - Aug. 22, 2013 - PRLog -- Bedales celebrated impressive exam results on GCSE results day with over half the grades awarded at A* or A. Unlike any other school, Bedales students tailor their studies by choosing a combination of GCSEs, the more challenging IGCSEs, and the school’s unique GCSE alternative, Bedales Assessed Courses (BACs). All three qualifications use the same A*-G grading system. This year’s cohort achieved 29% A* grades, higher than any of their predecessors since the current curriculum was started in 2008.

The content of BACs is broad and stimulating offering cross curricular opportunities that are suited to a wide variety of learning styles. Internal assessment includes a mixture of written assignments, presentations, projects and performances, together with terminal examinations as appropriate. Bedales is the first school to be recognised by UCAS as offering its own GCSE-replacement qualification.

12 Bedales students achieved a minimum of nine A* grades; three of those achieving 11A*s and three achieving 10A*s.  In total 21 students (from a cohort of 92) achieved a minimum of nine grade A*/As.

Lili Bidwell from West Meon, Poppy Duncan from Stroud and Juliette Perry from Petersfield all achieved 11A*s. Chloe Green from Liss, Robert Miller from London and Phoebe Noble from Chichester all received 10A*s. Lili obtained A*s in Bedales Assessed Courses Classical Music, English Literature and Philosophy, Religion & Ethics, IGCSEs in Mathematics and Triple Award Science, and GCSEs in English, French, History and Spanish.  Poppy achieved her A*s Bedales Assessed Courses in Classical Music, English Literature and Geography, IGCSEs Mathematics and Triple Award Science, and GCSEs in English, French, Latin and Spanish. Juliette received A*s Bedales Assessed Courses in Design, English Literature, Geography and Philosophy, Religion & Ethics, IGCSEs in Mathematics and Triple Award Science, and GCSEs in English, French and History.

Twins Emily and Natasha Blackley from Priors Dean achieved a total of 18A*s and 4As between them; nine A*s and 2As each. They both achieved A*s in their Bedales Assessed Course in Geography, IGCSEs in Mathematics and Triple Award Science, and GCSE French, as well as an A in GCSE English. Emily also received A*s in her Bedales Assessed Courses in Ancient Civilisations and Dance, and GCSE Spanish, and an A in GCSE History, while Natasha obtained A*s in her Art, Design and English Literature Bedales Assessed Courses and an A in GCSE Latin.   

Commenting on the students’ achievements, Keith Budge, Headmaster, Bedales Schools said:

“Congratulations to our students on their excellent results. The Bedales curriculum is now mainly a combination of the more challenging IGCSEs and Bedales Assessed Courses, with fewer GCSEs, which makes the results even more impressive. Bedales has a history of educational innovation. The replacement of some GCSEs with our own Bedales Assessed Courses has, I believe, not only created a better platform for A Level success but also led to more success with offers from prestigious universities as these courses are not only more imaginative and motivating, but also offer a more academically stretching curriculum.”

Other Bedales successes include:

·         Oscar Braun-White from Rowland’s Castle achieved 9A*s and 2As.

·         Phoebe Landers from Headley achieved 9A*s and 1A.

·         Jojo Mosely from Hambledon achieved 9A*s and 1A.

·         Sophia Falkner from London achieved 9A*s.

·         Sofie Kitts from Swanmore achieved 8A*s and 1A.

·         Ally Swain from Sevenoaks, Kent achieved 8A*s and 1A.

·         Lizzie Compton from Rake achieved 7A*s and 3As.

·         Jack Shannon from Steep achieved 7A*s and 3As.

·         Maya Wilson from Rowberrow, North Somerset achieved 5A*s and 4As.

·         Ellie Soper from Hambledon achieved 5A*s, 4As and 1B.

·         Hux Chambers from London achieved 3A*s and 6As.

·         Roly Botha from the Isle of Wight achieved 2A*s and 7As.

·         Margaret Rice from Bampton, Oxfordshire achieved 1A*, 8As and 1B.

Bedales Assessed Courses are externally moderated and recognised by UCAS. Bedales’ unique curriculum is built around a group of five compulsory subjects: IGCSEs in English, Mathematics, Science (Double or Triple Award) and a Modern Foreign Language (the 2013 cohort was the last to take GCSEs in English Language and a Modern Foreign Language). This ensures both that the full range of core skills is covered and also that the minimum requirement for much of higher education is met. Students then choose from other options, which include up to five BACs from a total of 11 courses on offer that include subjects such as Ancient Civilisations, History and Classical Music, an additional IGCSE Modern Foreign Language or GCSEs (e.g. Latin or Computing).

The overall combined GCSE/IGCSE /BAC pass marks in 2013 were:

·         A* - A: 54%

·         A* - C: 93%

 

As Bedales students study a combination of three different qualifications, the figure quoted is a combined statistic for GCSE, IGCSE and Bedales Assessed Courses. No other school studies this unique combination of qualifications. Data is provisional.