Students collecting GCSE results today (From This is The West Country)

3:47pm

STAFF and students at Court Fields Community School were delighted in another year where GCSE results broke school records, with 78% achieving at least 5 A*-C grades.

Unlike the national figure, Court Fields also saw a rise in the percentage of students who achieved an A or A* grade. 

Of those, 59 students out of the Year group of 153 students achieved the highest grades of A or A* in at least one subject. 

The most outstanding student for this year was Alex Dyson, who achieved 9 A*s, 3 As, 1 B and an A at AS level in use of maths. 

Other students who did particularly well were Nicole Brown  who achieved 2 A*s, 3 As, 5 Bs, 2 Cs and an E at AS Level Maths; Sarah Brown (3 A*s, 2 As, 5 Bs and 2 Cs); Amy Gillard (1 A*, 4 As, 6 Bs and 1 C);  Stuart Kenworthy (1 A*, 5 As, 3 Bs and 3 Cs); Victoria Lane (8 As, 4 Bs, 1 C and an E in AS Level Maths); Emily Sage (1 A*, 6 As, and 5 Bs), Rhiannon Sampson (2 A*s, 6 As, 2 Bs and 1 C), Adam Stephens (2 A*s, 2 As, 4 Bs, 3 Cs and a B at AS Level Maths), Charlotte Strawbridge (1 A*, 7 As, 1 B and 2 Cs); and Tom Swain (3 A*s, 5 As, 1 B and 3 Cs).

3:41pm

IT was a record-breaking day for students at Kingsmead Community School in Wiveliscombe.

The school outperformed its challenging targets with 85% of students achieving at least 5 A*-C grades.

67% of all students achieved 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Maths, and 98% achieved 5 or more A*-G grades.

Head teacher, Geoff Tinker, is delighted with the results. He said: "They are a true reflection of the hard work and commitment of our students and the tremendous professionalism of all our staff.

“I am particularly pleased for those many students of all abilities who outperformed what were very challenging personal targets.  This clearly shows they have great pride in their learning.”

The students achieving the very highest grades were:

Dan Humphries 11A*, 1A
Genevieve Burns 10A*, 1B
James Byrne  8A*, 3A
Catherine Farrelly 7A*, 4A
Francesca Gabriel 7A*, 3A
Pippa White  6A*, 5A
Amy Leach  4A*, 6A
David Bashford 4A*, 4A, 2B
Ellen Cottrell  3A*, 8A
Olivia Evenden 3A*, 6A, 1B
Georgia Wilkes 3A*, 4A, 3B
Dan Burton  3A*, 3A, 4B
Kathryn Loader 2A*, 8A, 1B
Holly Curd  2A*, 7A
Matthew Pollock 2A*, 6A, 3B
Sally Davies  2A*, 4A, 4B
Adam Martin  2A*, 4A, 2B
Callum Melrose 2A*, 3A, 3B
Megan Lowe  2A*, 3A, 3B
William McColl 1A*, 10A, 1B
Georgina Stiby 1A*, 5A, 4B
Sam Gibbs  1A*, 4A, 3B
Josh Stoddart 1A*, 3A, 3B

2:28pm

OUR photographer has been snapping smiling students at schools across Taunton and Wellington.

View our photo gallery, and order re-prints, here.

2:22pm

BRAINY students at Taunton School recorded an impressive set of results with nearly 50% achieving A* and A.

That completes a summer of success for the school following outstanding performances at both A-Level and International Baccalaureate.

Head teacher Dr John Newton said: “As always, the statistics mask some huge endeavours and personal victories for many individual pupils. I am proud of them all.

“We are not slaves to league tables.

“If we believe that a qualification is better suited to the needs of our pupils we shall take it – thus the adoption of IGCSEs in Maths some time ago and English for the first time this year, the results of which were particularly impressive.

“Next year we shall expect our first scores in IGCSE science.”

This year group at Taunton School has not just seen success in the classroom.

The girls won through to the national indoor finals at hockey and a number of the boys have just returned from a successful rugby tour of South Africa and Namibia, winning seven out of ten matches against tough opposition.

And at least two pupils from the group are currently starring in Taunton School’s show, The Musicians, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

“It is a truly well rounded year group,” added Dr Newton. “We look forward very much to what they will achieve in the Sixth Form.”

1:32pm

AT King’s College in Taunton, half of all the exams taken were graded A* or A.

Two pupils, Chantal Fifield and Jack Holmes achieved A*s in all their subjects, whilst 17 pupils, in a year group of 92, achieved nine GCSEs or more at A*/A grade.

These include Emily Albery, Camilla Arliss, Cameron Barclay, Amelia Clark, Penelope Guess, Joe Merriweather, Georgina Thomson, Rebecca Vickery and Edward Warmington.

Maths results were excellent, with a quarter of all candidates achieving an A* and 55% achieving A*/A.

In music 82% candidates achieved A* or A grades; the figures for history and Latin were 59% and 60% respectively.

Headmaster, Richard Biggs, said: “We are of course delighted with the fact that all of our pupils managed good pass grades in important subjects, and also that our boys and girls have excelled in traditional, rigorous disciplines like science, maths and history.

"Their achievements are all the more impressive because they sustained their many other commitments at King’s and continued to play a full part in sport, music and drama right to the end of the term.

"They have shown that it is possible to succeed in exams and to develop at the same time as well-rounded and interesting human beings. I congratulate them all and wish them every success for the excitement and challenge of the sixth form.

"The great majority of our pupils in this excellent cohort are staying on to study for A-levels at King’s.

"They will, I know, set high standards in their enthusiasm and scholarship and I look forward to welcoming them back in a few weeks’ time."

1:21pm

YOU can leave messages of congratulations for students by using the comment facility at the bottom of this live feed.

1:17pm

QUEEN'S College in Taunton is celebrating outstanding GCSE results.

The figures show 54% of all exams taken by pupils were graded A* and A.  24% gained all A*s, 81% were A*, A and B and 95% were graded A*-C.  Four students were awarded some of the top marks in the country - A*s with Distinction in Further Maths

Richard Venn from Bishop’s Hull not only achieved one A*, six As and three Bs butalso runs his own business keeping pigs.

Richard, 16, who started his business at the age of eight years old to make some pocket money, works both before and after school feeding and cleaning out his pigs which he buys from Sedgemoor Market at auction.

His pigs, which are kept in top condition on the family farm, are fattened up and sold as joints, chops and sausages ready for the freezer. 

Not only has running his own business given Richard invaluable work experience - he is aiming to join Harper Adams Agricultural College after his A Levels before becoming a farmer - he also has developed skills in purchasing and sales, licensing, marketing, managing finances, and market bidding.

Richard said:  “My parents don’t believe in giving us pocket money for doing nothing, we are expected to work for everything we want to spend.

"This has really taught me and my brother and sisters to be self sufficient and to look for opportunities in life rather than just relying on the family for handouts.

“My parents are dairy and cereal farmers and life in the dairy industry is economically very challenging plus the weather has made harvesting crops difficult this year.

"As well as running my pig business I also spend the holidays and weekends driving a tractor and helping out on the farm so I am used to hard work.

"I have been lucky to have benefitted from an excellent education and some great teachers which, coupled with on the ground work experience, has really given me a clear direction going forward.”

Queen’s College headmaster Chris Alcock said:  “We are fortunate here at Queen’s that we have some inspirational staff who excite intellectual curiosity and provide a stimulating and happy environment which is ideal for learning."

12:33pm

HEATHFIELD Community School beat all previous school records in its latest GCSE/BTEC results – 97% of students gained 5 or more GCSE passes, with over 94% achieving five or more A* to C grades, 77% including English and maths.

Head teacher Elliott Furneaux said: “This is the twelfth year in a row that we have far exceeded our highest DFE targets. 

"To have well over 90% of both our boys and girls achieving at least five higher grades is an extraordinary achievement.

"This success could not have happened to a nicer and more deserving group of young people. 

"In over 30 years as a teacher, I have rarely, if ever, known such a committed and hardworking year-group. 

"They threw themselves into all aspects of school life with great gusto and were excellent role-models in supporting younger students. 

"They have been like this since day one in Year 7 which reflects great credit on their primary schools as well as our outstanding teaching and non-teaching staff.

"They are a real credit to their families and to their year-head, Ian Caddy, and his team."

Amongst the academic high flyers, nearly 50 students achieved seven or more A*/A grades, another school record - Karen Adams, Ryan Andrews, Katie Ayres, Lara Ball, Bella Bayley, Kieran Bennett, Harrison Bishop, Felicity Brazington, Georgia Buckhurst, Anais Comer, Hannah Earl, Jade Elliott, Azi Flynn, Louis Gallagher, Rohan Gardner, Max Green, Alex Harvey, Jordan Hembrow, Kate Hemmings, Sophie Hooley, Owen Kearn, Callum Kerr, Nikolai Klein, Sarah Lambert, Rebecca Loud, Molly Meikle, Ali Poole, Ryan Potter, James Priddle , Laura Pullen, Lydia Reeves, Tom Roach, Zoe Robinson, Ben Sharpless, Hayley Smith, Chloe Snell, Josh Stafford, Hannah Stevens, Martha Stone, Jack Sweet, Katherine Totterdell, Charlie Westlake, Ivan White, Andy Wood, Michael Wood and Nia Wylie.

Stand out individual performances for the girls were Alex Harvey (11 A*/1 A) and Martha Stone (ten A*/2 A) and for the boys Nikolai Klein (nine A*/2 A) and Rohan Gardner (seven A*/8 A).  A real A team, with 50 A*/A grades between them!

12:18pm

WELLINGTON School students are celebrating outstanding GCSE and IGCSE results.

Twenty year 11 pupils gained nine or more A*s and As with 48% of marks gaining A* or A.

Head teacher, Martin Reader, was particularly pleased to note success across the classical languages, Latin scoring over 41% A*, and the group of students taking classical Greek outside the timetable for pleasure gained 75% A*.

The maths department continued its A-Level success with a third of grades at A*.

Another 19 year 11 students took additional mathematics, a stand-alone qualification in advance of IGCSE Mathematics.

Of those, 17 scored the top grades.

Mr Reader said: "This year group was extremely committed to all they did at school with significant success in sport, music, drama and the CCF. 

"Many of them have been at school since Year 6 and the school is very proud of all their contributions."

Amongst those with nine or more As and A*s, the top performers were Ruth Aird (11 A*s) Ruth Harris, Bethany Kilbey, Eleanor Mallinson, Katie Paul, Amy Wilson (9 A*s and 1 or 2 A grades), Eleanor Mallinson, Corazon Stirling-Stainsby (8A* and 2 A grades).

12:03pm

AT Bishop Fox's School in Taunton, 89% of students achieved five or more A*–C grades at GCSE.

Head teacher, Paul Scutt said: “Results for the school continue to improve year on year. Once again the school has delivered impressive examination results.

"This evidence of continuous improvement is very pleasing. I am delighted for the very many students and staff who worked so hard to achieve these  grades.

"These results follow on behind a very successful Ofsted inspection at the end of 2010 where the school was judged to be good to outstanding.

"We have been on a journey of continuous school improvement for some time now and I am enormously proud of the fact that our school continues to march forward offering a genuine culture of achievement in a framework where every child is special and is expected to achieve."

Mr Scutt said he was concerned at an apparant disparity between the grades awarded to students in English Language compared to English Literature.

He said some grades were “somewhat bizarre and warranting appeal on behalf of students”.

High achievers included Abbie Colwell and Amy Lock, who achieved 19 and 17 A* or A grades respectively.

Other high achievers included:

Sian Wakely           14 A*/A grades
Noah Atkin             12 A*/A grades
Amy Ward              11 A*/A grades
Cameron Pearson   10 A*/A grades
Beth Lewis             10 A*/A grades
Amie Ward            10 A*/A grades

11:59am

IT'S not just GCSE results today - students studying on other courses have also been picking up their grades.

The students above have been studying hospitality and catering at Somerset College and clocked up 72 distinctions between them in their course units.

They are now going on with their classmates to study Level 2 Professional Cookery / Food and Beverage Service – along with students on a host of other vocational courses.

And as GCSE students receive their results, Somerset College is holding special careers guidance days today on Thursday August 23 and Friday August 24, to help them consider their options.

For Philippines student Christian Palisoc, 18, catering turned out to be the perfect choice when he came to live in the UK just three days before the course started, speaking very little English. 

In spite of this he undertook an English course as well as catering studies at the College - and managed to score six distinctions.

“I love life in England and I really enjoy the course. It was hard studying in English, I could only say yes or no when I first started,” said Christian, who has been a hit with customers in the student-run Quantock Restaurant.

Now he’s going on to the next level of his catering studies, along with classmates described by their lecturer as “real high flyers".

10:29am

AT West Somerset Community College, students have reacted with joy after receiving their grades.

Orla Walsh, 16, said: "They are better than I expected.

"I am really pleased with English Literature because I want to do it next year.

"I think all the hard work has paid off. I was so happy I cried."

Anna Kelly, 16, said: "I am so happy because we worked so hard.

"It's just nice because we were all so stressed out at the time.

"It gives you the confidence for next year."

10:01am

STUDENTS at West Somerset Community College have received their grades - and outgoing principal Nick Swann has praised their efforts.

He said: "In a year when there appears to have been moves nationally to introduce tougher grading criteria for GCSE examinations, it is pleasing that our students have secured some impressive results.

"Whilst there are a number of grades still outstanding, the overall picture looks promising. At least three quarters of all GCSE passes (or equivalents) were at A* to C, with a similar number of students achieving 5 or more A* to C grades.

"Students across all abilities have performed well, reflecting considerable amounts of hard work from them and their teachers. The highest performing students secured more than 480 A* and A grades between them – an impressive achievement.

"Results in the three core subjects shows sustained improvement, with over 60% of students achieving a grade C or better in both English and maths respectively. 85% of students achieved a grade C or better in science subjects.

"When all the results have been received, the usual detailed analysis will be undertaken to identify the most impressive successes and areas where there is still further potential for improvement.

"In the meantime, I congratulate all our students for their achievements and their sustained commitment to their learning, at the same time as wishing them and their families all the very best for the future."

STUDENTS WITH 8 OR MORE A*/A GRADES

Megan Cammidge
Laura Chaffey
Jamie Christmas
Abigail Farmer
Laura Green
Tayla-Jayne Healy
Anna Kelly
Ffion Meagher
Javeson Sabale
Jake Thompsett
Melissa Wells
Rebecca Willmetts
 

STUDENTS WITH 12 OR MORE GCSE GRADES AT A*-C

Ciaran Barker
Joshua Camp
George Cassell
Josh Chilcott
William Daughtrey
Alyssa Dunlop
Sarah Edwardson
Mark Elford
Fran Hoare
Joshua Hooper
Tara Howard
Megan Howe
Amelia Morris-Don
Jack Morris-Edwards
Emma Owen
Thomas Pearson
Shannon Reed
Alice Stamp
Orla Walsh
James Ware
Chris Wilmoth
Rachel Withycombe
Natalie Woodward

9:41am

GCSE grades nationally have fallen for the first time since the exam was introduced 24 years ago, it has emerged this morning.

Overall 69.4% of papers were graded A*-C compared with 69.8% of grades last year.

5:14pm

DOZENS of helpline staff will be on hand to help students who are receiving their results on Thursday morning.

While many will go on to study A-Levels, others may be considering other types of course or leaving full-time education altogether.

Advisors from the Exam Results Helpline, run by the Department for Education, will be on hand to offer advice.

Careers advisor Sarah Bull said: “The main message we are giving to students is that if they haven’t or don’t get the results you expected, don’t get stressed.

“Get plenty of information by talking to us, your teachers, or school careers adviser and don’t rush into anything.
“Take your time before deciding what to do next.

“It’s particularly important that students get good advice about the range of options available to them after GCSEs.

“Taking A-levels is not for everyone.

“It may be that an apprenticeship or a BTEC is a much more suitable option - giving the opportunity to gain employability skills, achieve a qualification and earn a wage at the same time.

“The bottom line is that each student must decide what is right for them.”

You can reach the Exam Results Helpline on 0808 100 8000.

5:10pm

THOUSANDS of students across Somerset will endure a nervous evening tonight ahead of Thursday's GCSE results.

This website will be offering live coverage of results day in Taunton Deane and West Somerset - with pictures and stories updated throughout the morning.

Make sure you click back to this story on Thursday morning to find out how your local school got on.