Jubilant photos of GCSE results across Cirencester area

It was an emotional moment as students received their grades, which can hold the keys to further education courses as well as employment and training opportunities.

Many of the pupils receiving results had spent just a handful of months in secondary school before the first coronavirus lockdown.

Malmesbury School

At Malmesbury School, over 80 per cent of all grades were awarded 4+.

In addition, a third of all grades were at the highest grades of 9 to 7.

Headteacher Brett Jouny said: “It is with great pride that we recognise and celebrate the hard work and dedication of all our students collecting their GCSE results today.

“This year group has faced more disruption than any other as the pandemic and lockdowns came into force as they started secondary school.

“They remained at home for the majority of those early years, facing the consequences and disruption ever since.

“We are thrilled to welcome a large number of Year 11 students back into our outstanding sixth form and wish all our students the very best of luck for their exciting next steps.

“It is important for me to recognise the commitment and expertise of our staff, without whom these amazing results would not be possible.

“They work tirelessly to ensure that every student has the opportunity to make brilliant progress, and these results show what a consistently-fantastic job they do in our Happy, Caring and Excellent school.”

GCSE results day 2024 at Malmesbury School (Image: Malmesbury School)

Cirencester Kingshill School

Commenting on its ‘tremendous’ GCSE results, Cirencester Kingshill School said that the dedication and hard work of pupils, parents and staff ‘have culminated in a remarkable set of achievements that reflect the school’s commitment to academic excellence’. 

This year, 84 per cent of students gained a grade from 4 to 9 in English.

The figure for maths was 73 per cent, and the figure for combined science was 82 per cent.

Meanwhile, 15 per cent of pupils secured grades 9 to 7 across all of their subjects.

Among the top achievers at the school were Anna, who secured eight grade 9s, one grade 8 and a grade A in additional maths.

Another, Rachel, gained two grade 9s, five grade 8s and two grade 7s.    

Headteacher Jo Lindley said: “I am incredibly proud of our students for their outstanding performance in this year’s GCSEs and BTECs.

“Their resilience and ambition have truly paid off.

“These results are a testament to the high standards of teaching and support provided by our dedicated staff, as well as the unwavering encouragement from parents and carers.

“Congratulations to all our students - you have done yourselves and our school proud.” 

A spokesperson for Cirencester Kingshill School added: “As we celebrate these achievements, we also look forward to the future with optimism and enthusiasm.

“The excellent GCSE results are just the beginning of the students’ journeys, and we are confident that they will continue to achieve great things in their future endeavours.”

Cirencester Deer Park School

Cirencester Deer Park School’s GCSE results for 2024 saw 78 per cent of pupils secure five or more standard passes at grades 9 to 4.

Furthermore, 75 per cent gained five or more standard passes at grades 9 to 4 including English and maths.

85 per cent of students attained standard passes in English at grades 9 to 4, 81 per cent achieved standard passes in maths at the same grades and 77 per cent secured English and maths combined at 9 to 4.

26 per cent of all grades awarded were grades 9 to 7, and 50 pupils (more than a quarter of the year group) achieved five or more of these grades.

In addition, 21 pupils secured eight or more grades at 9 to 7.

One student who gained great results was Albert, who said: “I’m delighted with my grades overall.

“I realise I could have worked more consistently in English, and this would have really helped me get even better grades. 

“But I am going where I want to and am on the course I applied for.

“I’m really pleased.”

Headteacher Richard Clutterbuck said: “Huge congratulations from everyone at Cirencester Deer Park School to our Class of 2024 for their GCSE results.

“It was a joy and privilege to celebrate with the year group in the hall.

“They have made us and their families proud and should be incredibly pleased with what they have accomplished. 

“On their behalf, I would like to extend huge thanks to our staff, who have been instrumental in guiding our pupils towards these results.

“The Class of 2024 is my final year group as headteacher and ends my association with Cirencester Deer Park School on a very positive note.

“I have been honoured to be their headteacher, playing a small part in their success.

“I would like to remind everyone that this year group is very much part of the Covid generation whose education was impacted by the pandemic.

“The headline figures our Class of 2024 have achieved indicate that they have outperformed our 2019 results - the last of the pre-Covid results.

“This is significant given that the exams have returned to 2019 metrics.”

He added: “These pupils have left an indelible mark on everyone who has taught them or supported them pastorally.

“True ambassadors for the school, they are polite, friendly, caring and kind and extol the values of Deer Park.

“Being trustworthy, kind and full of determination has led them to these great results.

“For those pupils who found the experience even more challenging than most, I know some will be disappointed, but I would urge them to fall back on their strength of character they have developed over the last five years, along with the knowledge and skills they have acquired, and get ready to ‘go again’ with their studies.

“They have time on their side, and there are many paths to the destinations they seek.

“I wish every pupil in our Class of 2024 every success in the future.

“They thoroughly deserve to go on to greater success in their next stages in life.”

Farmor's School

There was delight at Farmor’s School in Fairford as students collected their GCSE grades, with results up on last year.

75 per cent of students achieved both maths and English GCSEs at grade 4 or above, while 50 per cent achieved both at grade 5 or above.

23 per cent of all grades awarded were at grades 7 to 9, with more top grades achieved in maths and sciences despite the return to pre-Covid grading. 

The school is looking forward to welcoming pupils into its refurbished sixth form for the next stage of their studies.

Headteacher Matthew Evans said: “I am delighted that our students have achieved so well in their GCSEs this year.

“Results remain consistently high despite the disruption of the pandemic, and we continue to perform above the national average.

“We’re immensely proud of our students.

“I would like to thank the fantastic teachers that taught them and all the staff who have supported them through their time at the school.”

Westonbirt School

Westonbirt School is celebrating with its students following increases across the board in the percentage of top GCSE grades awarded compared to last year, plus a number of impressive individual successes.

31 per cent of entries achieved grades 9 to 7, an increase of four percentage points from 2023.

Three-quarters of entries achieved a grade 5 or higher, with a further 89 per cent achieving grades 9 to 4.

There was also a very strong showing in English language and English literature, with 100 per cent of students achieving grades 9 to 4 in both subjects.

Digby Munson achieved nine 9s and one 8 and is looking forward to staying on at Westonbirt Sixth Form to undertake A-levels in maths, further maths, physics and Latin.

“I feel great,” he said.

“The exams went as well as I could have imagined. 

“The great thing about sixth form will be the people - it’s always been the people since I joined in Year 8.

”It’s a great group going forwards.”

Digby’s twin sister, Poppy Munson, achieved two 9s, two 8s, two 7s and three 6s. 

“I’m delighted with my two 9s in English as these were what I struggled with the most,” she said.

“I’m taking A-levels in biology, chemistry and psychology as these are my favourite subjects.

“I’m excited about the sixth form community, new areas and the new people I’ll meet – and continuing with my lacrosse!”

Arthur Asawanuchit, an overseas boarder from Thailand, also achieved highly, being awarded four 9s and five 8s.

Meanwhile, Amelia Barron, Thomas Antrobus and Edie Wheelhouse-Watts each achieved a high number of grades between 9 to 7.

They plan to stay on at Westonbirt.

Edie plans to study A-levels in English literature, music and psychology.

“I’m very happy,” she said.

“It definitely feels good to get these results.

“Westonbirt has been amazing.

“I wasn’t very well at Easter, and they really helped me in the run-up to the exams.

“I’m looking forward to being in sixth form as I love the teachers and the camaraderie.” 

Thomas will study maths, physics, economics and business at A-level.

“I am very happy with a lot of the results,” he said.

“I have put in a lot of work over the two years and done well in the subjects that I need to do well in for my A-level choices. 

“All the subjects I’ve picked are the ones I am good at and enjoy, and I’ve got a good group of friends doing the same subjects.”

Amelia’s A-level subjects will be history, English literature and drama.

“Westonbirt’s been really good,” she said.

“I am really grateful for all of the support I’ve been given by the staff. 

“I want to go into further depth in my studies and meet new people, plus gain more independence.”

Deputy head academic Simon Balderson is delighted that students’ hard work and commitment have been rewarded.

"We are delighted with the increases in achievement overall, as well as the academic excellence of our high achievers,” he said.

“The school has proved that we are able to support them to gain the best-possible grades and fulfil their academic potential.”

Westonbirt head Natasha Dangerfield is immensely proud of the cohort and excited for the forthcoming academic year.

“These results are the reward of much hard work from our students and the continued commitment and expertise of our staff,” she said.

“I am looking forward to watching them grow and thrive as students in our sixth form, which offers a huge amount of opportunity and is an inspiring place to be.”

Sir William Romney’s School

Students making exceptional progress at Sir William Romney’s School were Sienna Baines, Lilly Banning Wilde, Sophie Norris, Archie Hatt, George Hemmings and Rebecca Slater.

Will Ruscoe, SWR headteacher, said: “We are incredibly proud of all our students at SWR.

“They have achieved excellent GCSE grades.

“We will remember them fondly for their positive attitude and resilient way they approached life at SWR.

“This year group had their education significantly affected by the pandemic and they should be proud of how they overcame this and still achieved great success.

“We have had a fantastic morning with students, staff and parents/carers celebrating the students’ achievement.”

He added: “We have seen significant increases in a number of subjects this year, and this reflects how tirelessly staff and students have worked.

“I would like to congratulate and thank all our students and staff, as well as The Athelstan Trust’s team, for working with such commitment and energy to enable this to happen.

“I would also like to thank the parents, carers and families working in partnership with us to ensure this success.

“At SWR, we feel it is important to celebrate all our students, regardless of their grades on the day, and recognise every student, their accomplishments and what they have brought to the school community embodying our values of aspiration, collaboration and resilience and purpose of ‘Striving for Excellence Together’.

“I could not have asked to work with a better cohort of students in Year 11 for my first year at SWR as headteacher.

“I am very proud of what they have achieved and wish them all the very best in their exciting next steps.

“I would also like to thank the staff and all parents and carers for their fantastic support to the school over the last 12 months.”

From left: Amelia Barron, Digby Munson, Poppy Munson, Thomas Antrobus and Edie Wheelhouse-Watts from Westonbirt School (Image: Supplied)

Rendcomb College

At Rendcomb College, 39 per cent of students achieved grades 9 to 7, demonstrating a significant improvement over the last couple of years (including the 2019 results).

Meanwhile, 62 per cent of students secured grades 9 to 6.

Some outstanding results this year include Alice Padget achieving grade 9 in nine subjects and grade 8 in two others.

Nathan Mathur achieved grade 9 in eight subjects and grade 8 in two others.

Sabrina Zaidi and Dean MacDonagh also achieved impressive results, with their hard work producing grades 9 to 7 across 10 subjects.

Head of College Rob Jones said: “We are incredibly proud of all our pupils - they have achieved remarkable results.

“Given the challenges of the past few years, it is a testament to their hard work and dedication that we have seen such significant improvements compared to pre-pandemic standards.

“Congratulations to everyone on their outstanding achievements.”

“These results are a reflection of our dedication to academic excellence and our focus on holistic student development,” a spokesperson for the school said.

“Rendcomb College congratulates all students on their well-deserved success and wishes them every happiness as they embark on the next stage of their education.”

The Cotswold School

The Cotswold School’s Year 11 cohort is celebrating after students were awarded their GCSE grades.

Highlights within 2024’s results include 85 per cent of grades in all subjects being at 9 to 4 and 80 per cent of students achieving the benchmark of five or more 9 to 4 grades, including maths and English.

70 per cent of grades achieved were at 9 to 5, and 33 per cent of grades achieved were at 9 to 7.

In addition, 48 per cent of students achieved the English Baccalaureate, or EBacc.

Among the many stories of outstanding progress, high achievement and delight at the school was Elliott, who gained grade 9 in nine subjects plus one grade 8.

Lillian achieved grade 9 in eight subjects, two grade 8s and a grade 7, as did Josh.

Bobby gained grade 9 in six subjects, four grade 8s and a grade 7, while Declan gained grade 9 in five subjects, grade 8 in five and one grade 7.

Meanwhile, Jack gained grade 9 in four subjects, six grade 8s and a grade 7.         

Commenting on the results, headteacher Will Morgan said: “It was wonderful to spend time with students and their families celebrating such superb results.

“It is testament to the maturity and perseverance students have shown towards their learning, revision and exams; the commitment and support of our fantastic teaching and support staff; and the ongoing encouragement of families.

“I am always proud of our students, and while we congratulate them for their academic achievements today, I am equally proud to have watched them grow into wonderful young people who demonstrate a wide range of sporting, music, drama, creative and entrepreneurial talents.

“I wish them all the very best of luck in their future studies, and I have no doubt that they will continue to achieve as they go forward.”

Stuart Smith, deputy headteacher added: “Our Year 11 cohort of 2024 should be extremely proud of themselves.

“Their results exemplify years of hard work, motivation and commitment.

“I want to express my gratitude to the families for their unwavering encouragement and to staff here at The Cotswold School for always going that extra mile in preparing and supporting students in their learning.

“I wish all students the very best with the next stage of their studies, whether they stay on to sixth form at The Cotswold School - which the vast majority do - or move to new schools, colleges or work-based training.”