AS IT HAPPENED: GCSE results day in Maidenhead, Windsor and Slough

Good morning,

We go again. Today it's GCSE results day and we'll be aiming to bring you all the reaction as students pick up their exam results.

Stay tuned for plenty of pictures of students holding their results aloft as they (hopefully) get the grades they need to take the next step on their educational journey.

4.11pm:

We've picked out our favourite shots from GCSE results day and compiled them into galleries.

To check our snaps from Maidenhead schools, click here.

For Windsor and Slough, head this way. 

3.30pm: 

Sir William Borlase's Grammar School’s headteacher has celebrated their students ‘excellent achievements’ on GCSE results day.

29 per cent of results were a Grade 9,  with more than half (57 per cent) being at least a Grade 8. 79 per cent were graded from 9-7.

Kay Mountfield, headteacher, said: “The students and staff worked incredibly hard,  showing determination and resilience in what have been a couple of challenging years.  They fully deserve their success and we wish them all the very best for the next exciting two years of learning.

“There were excellent achievements across all subject areas with many exceptional individual achievements.

“We are incredibly proud of all our students who sat these exams after spending two years studying online through Borlase@Home and disrupted returns to live school.  Thank you to all of them and a huge congratulations to the students - we could not be more proud.”

3.20pm:

Ella Vasilov was one of the few parents present at Burnham Grammar School today. She was delighted to share in daughter Anna’s joy at receiving seven 9s, two 8s and a 6.

 “I can’t believe the results - they are so good. She hoped for the best and to get seven 9s is amazing. Really amazing. I am more than happy.  

“I think she coped through the last two years because throughout the last five years she worked so hard so there was no ‘going over things’ in the final few months. She was prepared and it paid off. I am very proud.”

Anna said: “With all the stuff on the news about ‘it’s going to be lower’ it was a bit of a worry but now I am looking at my results and I am so happy. They are better than my mocks.”

Anna described how she coped with studying and doing exams during the pandemic: 

“I am good at learning independently. I like teaching myself things. I research, I like academics. It can be easy to procrastinate – I did that for a while - but I got there eventually and worked hard.

“We did our year ten mocks in proper conditions (but wearing masks) and then I had to self isolate when the results came out.

 “I am going to stay on here for the sixth form and do four subjects. After that I’m looking at Oxbridge. I’m aiming high.”

2.53pm: 

At Beechwood School, pupils 'bucked the trend' to earn higher results than last year and 2020.

A total of 66 per cent of all entries gained a pass at Level 4-9, a 10 per cent increase on 2019.

Its 4+ passes in both English and maths has increased by 14 per cent – and its 5+ passes have increased by the same.

Headteacher Anita Spires said:

“Our Year 11 students have achieved the best ever set of results for Beechwood School this summer.

“The resilience, hard work and determination of our staff and students have led to us bucking the national trend by showing an improvement on both 2021 and 2020 results.”

“We are expecting record numbers to enter our sixth form next year.”

2.52pm: The headteacher at LVS Ascot has shared her delight over the GCSE results and paid tribute to the ‘brilliant work’ of students and staff.

The school achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in English, maths, and triple science, with an overall pass rate of 92 per cent.

Students achieved a higher pass rate than last year, with a 100 per cent pass rate for BTEC and 36.74 per cent for grades 9-7.

Principal Christine Cunniffe, said: “We are delighted with the GCSE results this year, it is a testament to the brilliant work of our staff and pupils at LVS Ascot.”

2.50pm: The headteacher at Charters School has praised students on GCSE results day following a ‘challenging two years’.

A total of 82 per cent of students achieved five or more 9-4 grades including English and maths.

Overall, 86 per cent of students achieved five or more 9-4 grades, 64 per cent received five or more 9-5 grades including maths and English and 39 per cent of students achieved five or more 9-7 grades.

Headteacher John Fletcher, said, “Very well done to all the students who have received their GCSE and BTEC results today. 

“It has certainly been a challenging two years for them all through Key stage 4 as they studied. 

“Through determination and support from both school and home they have achieved results that will help them onto the next stage of their educational careers. We are proud of each one of them and their achievement. 

“There are many individual stories of success as well as overcoming adversity. 

“We wish them well as they start the next stage of their learning and look forward to welcoming the majority back into our Sixth Form to continue their successful educational journey with us.”

Al Hancock, head of year 11, said, “I am immensely proud of all our Year 11 students.

“There have been some outstanding results in this year’s GCSE examinations, and the cohort have acted as wonderful role models for our younger students throughout their time at Charters School.

“I am pleased that we will be welcoming the vast majority back to study in our Sixth Form and for those who are leaving us, I wish them the very best for their future studies.”

2.46pm: Students at Desborough College expressed their happiness after receiving their GCSE results this morning.

A pass rate of 84 per cent was achieved for grades 9 to 4, including maths and English.

Student Adam Ashour, 16, said he was ‘pretty happy’ to receive seven 9s and two 8s.

Adam is looking to study biology, chemistry, maths, and further maths at Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School.

Hamza Bhatti, 16, said he was ‘quite happy’ with his results, which saw him achieve grades including an 8 in Business, a 7 in English language, a 6 in maths and a 6 in history.

He said: “I’m quite happy with them. I did work hard and I think the grades have come, the effort’s paid off and I can do what I want to do at sixth form so I’m really happy with it.”

Touching on his experience of studying during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hamza added: “It was quite difficult as COVID did put some problems, some barriers in the way of my studying, but I do think I persevered through and I’m quite happy with how it all turned out.”

He is moving on to study IT, business studies, and economics at Desborough College sixth form.

Principal Maggie Callaghan, said: “These results make me so proud. I am delighted that in spite of the challenges COVID provided for schools and their students nationwide, the love, care and aspirations we have has for our students and our vision for their success has been realised.

“I am delighted to hand over the next steps of Desborough's success to the new Head, there is a lot to be proud of and celebrate and build upon. I wish every success to our community.”

2.41pm: Year 11 students at Altwood School expressed their happiness as they received their GCSE results this morning.

A total of 71 per cent of students achieved a grade 4 or more, with the overall pass rate standing at 99.5 per cent.

Overall, 79 per cent of students achieved a grade 4 or more in English and 70 per cent received the same in maths.

Student Adaeze Ezea, 16, said she was ‘really happy’ to receive her results, which included a grade 9 in RE, and grade 7s in maths, English language and English literature.

She said: “I’m really happy. I was worried about both my English [grades] and I was worried about art and business. I’m very happy.”

Adaeze is off to college to study psychology, maths, and media.

Bobby Norris, 16, said he was ‘quite excited’ about his results, which saw him achieve three grade 9s, three grade 8s, one grade 7 and one grade 6.

He said: “I’m quite excited about it. I didn’t expect to get that at all, I’m really really happy with that.

“I moved school in year seven, but I quickly settled here, and the school have done an awful lot for me. I’m incredibly grateful for it.”

Bobby is moving on to study English literature, history, and biology at Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School.

He added: “I’ve really enjoyed my time here and I’m not going to forget it.”

Student Nicole Ceasu achieved two grade 9s, six grade 8s and one grade six.

Headteacher Neil Dimbleby, said: “We are all incredibly proud of the achievements of our Year 11 students.  

“They are a very talented group of young people who have coped admirably with an incredibly challenging couple of years.  

“We look forward to welcoming students back to continue their studies in our sixth form and to those moving onto new opportunities, we wish the very best of luck.”

2.33pm: Westgate students Jenna Smith, Goncalo Roque and Taryn King strike a pose.

2.30pm: The Westgate School, Cippenham: There were smiles on faces at the Cippenham secondary school as 75 per cent of students achieved a standard pass in both English and maths.

The school, in Cippenham Lane, said this year’s GCSE results surpassed those in 2019, the last time students at the school sat formal exams.

Headteacher Michelle Cooper said: “Seeing students open their GCSE results based on formal examinations has been amazing.

“The smiles on faces reflects the preparation and work that has gone into them.”

2.21pm: Over at St Joseph's Catholic High School in Slough, reporter Kieran Bell spoke to inspirational teenager Clinton Njoku. The 16-year-old is completely blind but achieved some of the highest grades at the school.

2.16pm: More great snaps from Newlands. Temi Odasanya, 16, looks proud as punch with her grades. 

2.12pm: A look of elation captured at Newlands Girls' School this morning

2.10pm: Photo dump coming up from some of the schools our photographers visited across Maidenhead, Windsor and Slough...

12.44pm: 

Cox Green School has congratulated its Year 11 cohort after ‘such a challenging period of time’.

Among the top performers were Stuart Fragence who received five Grades 9’s and four Grade 8’s, Megan McDonnell who received two Grade 9’s and seven Grade 8’s and Josh Zgorzynski who got three Grade 9’s, four Grade 8’s and two Grade 7’s.

On the achievements of all pupils this year, Headteacher Danny Edwards said: “These results are a culmination of five years hard work, and high-quality teaching, and I would also like to recognise the outstanding work of our teachers and support staff. Alongside this thank you to all of staff, parents and carers whose support of our students is gratefully appreciated.

“We are immensely proud of all the work and achievements of our students who have shown so much resilience and courage over the past five years whilst at Cox Green School.”

12.37pm:

Claires Court is one of the many schools celebrating their students’ grades this afternoon.

97 per cent of all grades achieved were above a Grade 4, with approximately two-thirds being graded from 9-6.

James Wilding, academic principal said: “It’s been my privilege to ensure our students have enjoyed excellent access to their teachers and academic programmes of study, and these heartwarming results confirm the school has managed the pressures brought by lockdowns really well.

“What must be emphasised though is that every student is so much more than just a set of grades, and we have worked with each individual to ensure they have the character and confidence to make the most of those next steps ahead for them.

“Enabling every child’s personal development is Claires Court’s raison d’être, and clearly enabling their academic skills is a central core part of life at our school.”

12.15pm:

Burnham Grammar School’s headteacher Dr Andy Gillespie said that this year has been the ‘best set of GCSE results ever.’

Nearly a quarter of the GCSEs taken have resulted in a grade 9 and 70 per cent of all GCSEs taken resulted in grades 7,8 or 9. 80 per cent of students have got five or more grade 7s,8s or 9s.

“They are an incredible bunch of students who had to cope with a huge amount over the last two years: lockdowns, not being in school, getting used to remote learning, and they had to get used to different information at the last minute about their exams which they’ve coped with brilliantly,” Dr Gillespie said.  

“So it’s really their hard work and the hard work of the teachers that has given us by far our best set of GSCE results ever.

“I know in the national press, the national picture is things being suppressed a little bit but across the board our results this year are higher than last year and much higher than 2019 so we’re absolutely delighted.

“It’s great. There’s lots of happy smiley faces.”

12.09pm:

At St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School, 77 per cent of students achieved grades 9-7 in English and Maths, while 97 per cent achieved grades 9-5.

In addition, 76 of its Year 10 students took their GCSE Statistics exam this summer.  All of them achieved grade 5 or above and 70 per cent achieved grade 8 or 9.

Headteacher Paul Kassapian said:

"The most important aspect for us to celebrate is the wonderfully caring and supportive manner of the year group.

"They truly embodied the example the Bernardine sisters left us, having prayer in their hearts, showing a loving and caring nature and being of service to others."

11.58am:

Adaeze Ezea, 16, was all smiles at Altwood School in Maidenhead. Photo: Ian Longthorne

11.46am:

Nawshin of Windsor Girls with her proud dad, RBWM councillor Shamsul Shelim. #gcses2022 #gcseresultsday2022 #gcseresults pic.twitter.com/NZaXoofmu3

— Adrian Williams (@AdrianW_BM) August 25, 2022

11:43am: Pupils at Windsor Girls were pleasantly surprised by their grades, given the expectations on them were just as high as pre-pandemic.

Rebecca Carpenter said: "When I checked the grade boundary in the morning I was a bit worried – they were quite similar to the 2019 grade boundaries. I was counting on them to be lower.

“I did way better than I thought I would.”

She added that working from home brought its own challenges, including having to grapple with the infamous mute button that played such famous havoc in the lives of many during lockdown.

Lucinda Thompson had an extra challenge on top of COVID to contend with.

“I got diagnosed with epilepsy during lockdown, so having to deal with that and then having to miss more school after we’d gone back, I think that caused a lot more disruption than just lockdown,” she said.

Despite that, Lucinda got all 7s, 8s and 9s.

Lucinda Thompson

11.38am:

Upton Court Grammar School in Slough is celebrating its best GCSE results in four years.

Headteacher Mark Pritchard is pictured below with student Sahana Pathmathasan, who achieved 11 grade 9s and an A grade in additional maths, putting her as one of the top students in the country. 

Overall, 45 per cent of grades today were 9s or 8s, with 69 per cednt graded 9-7.

A total of 100 per cent of students 9-5, including English and maths.

11.28: Pupils including those at Windsor Boys powered through extraordinary challenges this year.

Pupil Ben Nuttall-Smith struggled with anxiety while studying, partly down to the pressures of COVID.

He also hard to work hard to resist the temptation to boot up the Xbox while working from home – but still scored a sweep of top grades – including two 9s, four 8s, and two 7s.

Not all were put out by the pandemic - fellow students Joshua Claassen and John Carter were among those who felt that learning from home and taking exams for the first time in years was ‘not as hard or stressful’ as expected.

Many students lauded the ‘peaceful’ environment of working from home and felt that learning through COVID was not necessarily harder, just ‘different’.

Joshua Claassen

11.27: The youngers at Windsor Girls did well ‘despite the uncertainty of the past two years’, with 84 per cent achieving their English GCSE and 75 per cent nabbing their maths.

Co-headteachers Peter Griffiths and Eimear O’Carroll said:

“The hard work and dedication of both staff and students is reflected in this fantastic set of outcomes.

“During this uncertain period it has been invaluable to have such a base of knowledge and experience within our staff body.”

11.25:

Pupils from The Windsor Boys School looked cheerful as they celebrated good grades despite all the disruption.

Overall, at GCSE, 74 per cent of students achieved grades 4-9 in both English and maths, with 51 per cent achieving a strong pass (grade 5 and above) in both subjects.

Headteacher Sean Furness said the school has seen an improvement in its figures since 2019, which is the last time they got externally assessed.

Grades 4-9 in English and Maths and 5-9 in English and Maths have gone up by five or six per cent.

“Given the circumstances and context, we’re really proud of the students – they haven’t had one uninterrupted year at Windsor Boys,” he said,

“They started here in Year 9, did half of Year 9, half of Year 10 – it’s been really disruptive. To achieve those results on the back of that is outstanding.

“A lot of the challenge has been having to relearn they way they learn. No one was prepared for that so that’s been a steep learning curve, the ability to learn independently.”

“Exams can be a daunting experience if you haven’t done them before, so [we did] more mock exams and revision sessions than we’ve ever done.

“GCSEs are a stressful time and there’s all the stresses beyond that – it’s required a lot of resilience.”

11.18am:

Baylis Court School principal Christine MacInnes said today was all about celebrating and supporting students after an interrupted two years of education at the Slough school. 

"As always, our students have been supported by our dedicated staff who have worked tirelessly and with relentless enthusiasm," she said.

"We could not be more proud of our incredible community."

11.16am:

Over at Langley Grammar School, head teacher John Constable is celebrating another set of impressive GCSE results.

Percentage of grades at 9-4 were 99.8 per cent; 68.6 per cent at 9-8 and 84.7 per cent at 9-7.

A total of 17 students got a clean sweep of grade 9s across all ten of their subjects.

“As we all know, the last two years have been hugely disruptive to students across the country, and individual students have been affected by the pandemic in many different ways," said Mr Constable.

"We are delighted and encouraged by these GCSE outcomes, which show that our students and staff have worked hard to compensate for all the difficulties.

"Congratulations to all our Year 11 students on their achievements, and we know these results will give them real confidence as they move on to Sixth Form studies.”

11.14am:

Results are in from Herschel Grammar School in Slough.

The percentage of grades at 9–7 increased from 69 per cent in 2019 to 79 per cent this year, and the very top grades, 9-8, increased from 47 per cent in 2019 to 58 per cent this year.

Head teacher Jo Rockall said: "We are absolutely delighted to be celebrating excellent GCSE results this summer, in fact the best we have had including for 2020 and 2021 when exams were not taken.

"Congratulations to all our students who have risen to the challenges of the last two and a half years. Their resilience and determination to succeed is to be hugely commended and we are immensely proud of all of them."

11.10am:

Over at St Joseph's Catholic School in Slough, there were some inspiring tales as students picked up their GCSEs.

We spoke with Clinton Njkou, who is completely blind - but that didn’t stop him achieving some of the highest results at the school.

St Joseph’s stats saw 77.2 per cent of GCSEs graded at 9-4 inc English/Maths, while 65 per cent were graded 9-5 inc English/Maths.

Headteacher Ciran Stapleton said: As a non-selective community school we are delighted to celebrate these outcomes for the children."

He added that St Joseph's is 'holding its own at the top end of the country's progress figures'.

Another inspiring story from St Joseph’s School in Slough. Clinton Njkou is completely blind but that didn’t stop him achieving some of the highest results at the school, with one 9, four 8s and three 6s. He has ambitions to work in accounting or biomedicine. Ft @NickParford pic.twitter.com/RMrIxcWpIB

— Kieran Bell (@KieranB_BM) August 25, 2022

11.02am:

Results are in from The Piggott School with reports that it’s the Wargrave-based secondary’s ‘best combined English and mathematics Level 4+pass rate at 92 per cent.’

The pass rate of ‘five or more’ at Level4+ (including English and mathematics) is 91 per cent.

94 per cent of pupils passed English Language and 95% passed mathematics GCSE at Level 4 or above.

Eleven subjects received 100 per cent pass rates: Art and Design, Biology, Chemistry, Chinese, Dance, Drama, French, Further Maths, Music, Physics and Statistics.

“Our students and staff have worked incredibly hard and this year’s results are a testament to this,” said executive headteacher Derren Gray.  

“Thanks all the teaching and support staff for their continued dedication and professionalism. Congratulations to all our students on their richly deserved success and thank you to all of their parents for their unstinting support.”

The vast majority of students will be returning to The Piggott School’s sixth form in September.

10.53am: 

Furze Platt Senior School has congratulated its students following ‘uncertainty over the last couple of years’ and a ‘superb team effort’ to achieve their results’

Headteacher Dr Andrew Morrison said he was ‘absolutely delighted’ at the results.

He added: “Their focus and commitment since returning from various lockdowns has been notable and I am pleased that students hard work has paid off.

“These results have not simply been achieved by the students alone. Our young people have been ably supported by their families and Furze Platt Senior School staff.

“This support network has helped create the ambition, drive and positivity that has ensured our students are rewarded today and I would like to thank all members of our community who contributed to these achievements.

“Finally, like all Furze Platt Senior School staff, I would once again like to congratulate our students and hope that they enjoy celebrating their grades.”

10.44am: Acting co-headteachers at Newlands Girls’ School Jo Capon and Matthew Henshaw have congratulated their Year 11 cohort on a ‘phenomenal set of results’.

The results follow the first set of external examinations since 2019 after disruption from the pandemic.

In a statement, Jo Capon and Matthew Henshaw said they were ‘very proud’ of their pupils, adding: “We would like to pass on congratulations to our Year 11 cohort on a phenomenal set of results.

“We are also very grateful for the support given to the students by their parents and carers.

“89 per cent of Newlands students passed both English and Maths this year and every grade achieved is extra special, especially given the background to their last few years of study. 

“These results reflect a lot of hard work and dedication over five years, with students having to be incredibly positive and resilient to reach these high standards.”

10.28am: Reporter Adrian Williams has been chatting to students at Windsor Girls' School about the challenges they have faced during their GCSEs. Year 11 student Lucinda had to overcome some significant hurdles but still achieved fantastic grades.

As if COVID wasn't enough, this year's GCSE graduates in Windsor had to battle challenges like anxiety, and in Lucinda's case, getting diagnosed with epilepsy during lockdown. She still got all 7s, 8s and 9s. #gcseresultsday2022 pic.twitter.com/BbPoYBn6br

— Adrian Williams (@AdrianW_BM) August 25, 2022

10.18am: Heathfield School, Ascot: Students from the independent school in Ascot achieved 40 per cent of grades ranged at 9-8 while more than 60 per cent of grades were 7-9, writes Aliyah Bi.

All students who studied chemistry, physics and biology as separate sciences achieved grades 9-7. As for creative writing, 85 per cent of art students and 100 per cent of music students received 9-8.

Headteacher Sarah Wilson said: “These young women have succeeded in both their studies and in their individual development, thanks to their high level of dedication and determination.”

10.04am: Some set of results from Desborough College's Adam Ashour. He picked up seven grade 9s (High A*) and two grade 8s (Low A*). But what was the secret to his success?

At Desborough Adam Ashour, 16, shared his results pic.twitter.com/f2yT4Zi5t9

— Jade Kidd (@JadeK_BM) August 25, 2022

10.00am: Update - it's grim out there!

Ordinary there would be a bunch of Windsor Girls outside celebrating on GCSE results day... But maybe not today so much Pictures don't do justice to this thundering rain pic.twitter.com/qZ8L1v0Fbb

— Adrian Williams (@AdrianW_BM) August 25, 2022

9.46am: Moving schools can be difficult at the best of times but Issy Homes started at Newlands Girls' School in the middle of the pandemic. Here she is with her proud Head of Year 11.

Issy Homes moved to the schools in Year 9, during the middle of the pandemic! Here she is alongside a very proud Head of Year 11, Grainne Kennedy-King. pic.twitter.com/49YeKIeuf1

— Shay Bottomley (@ShayB_BM) August 25, 2022

9.28am: Reporter Adrian Williams is the first to tick off 'resilience' on the results day bingo card today. He's catching up with Year 11 pupils at The Windsor Boys' School.

Joshua from @TWBS is one of many pupils who told me that studying 'wasn't as hard as you'd think', working from home and battling through COVID times. A testament to their adaptability and resilience. #GCSEResultsDay #gcse2022 pic.twitter.com/mF2nwyAo2j

— Adrian Williams (@AdrianW_BM) August 25, 2022

9.20am: It looks like a lot of students are taking refuge inside after the heavens opened this morning. 

More great results from the Windsor Boys School @TWBS for GCSEs - well done for fighting the allure of the Xbox while studying from home! pic.twitter.com/EzKNSrUKkI

— Adrian Williams (@AdrianW_BM) August 25, 2022

9.16am: First stop for reporter Kieran Bell is Baylis Court School in Slough where he's spoken to aspiring dentist Bushra Farheen. She'll certainly be a welcome addition to the profession.

It’s a wet and windy #GCSEResultsDay and I was at Baylis Court School, Slough where aspiring dentist Bushra Farheen, 16, picked up two 9s, two 8s, five 7s and one 6. She’s going to sixth form to study biology, chemistry and psychology. We’re certainly in need of dentists atm! pic.twitter.com/44gGP9g7cA

— Kieran Bell (@KieranB_BM) August 25, 2022

09.07am: Our reporters are out and about in Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead this morning and it's bucketing down.