Bury St Edmunds GCSE results: King Edward VI School staff express their pride and praise Year 11 students for achieving strong grades

Staff at King Edward VI School have expressed their pride and praised their Year 11 students after achieving strong grades in their GCSEs.

The school in Grove Road saw 63 per cent of pupils receive a grade 4 or above in English and maths, with 23 per cent of all GCSEs at grade 7 or above.

A total of 14 students also attained 10 or more grades 7 to 9.

Notable academic successes included Megan Walker, who achieved nine grade 9s, and Jack Law, who was close behind with eight grade 9s.

Megan, who lives in Horringer, said: “I’m really happy and I was definitely preparing myself for the worst as I am quite hard on myself.

“There were some tears during the exams but I know I worked hard and I’ve waited a long time for this so I’m now very relieved.”

Megan is unsure of what she wants to do in the future but will be studying A-levels in maths, business and environmental science at Abbeygate Sixth Form College next year.

Head girl Beth Blackwell, who lives in Pakenham, received nine grades from 7 to 9.

“I’m very happy and so proud of everyone and it definitely feels like the hard work has paid off,” she said.

“I was a bit nervous building up to the exams but I spoke to a lot of teachers and they were so amazing and helpful.”

Head boy Amias Rushby was satisfied after accomplishing a grade 7 in maths which he was hoping for.

He said: “I’m pretty happy with how everything has gone this year and I know everyone has helped each other out.

“I want to particularly thank my history teacher, Mr Bull, who completely turned it around for me after I got a grade 6 in the mock exam but I’ve now finished with a grade 9.”

Harry Proctor received grade 7s and above including 9s in maths, art, computer science, geography and further maths.

“I’m pretty happy with my results as they’re not quite what I was expecting,” he said.

“I actually thought the mocks were harder to be honest so I’m glad to get these scores.”

King Edward VI teachers were additionally amazed by the dedication of Sarah Lawal who transferred from the Republic of Ireland in September and managed to achieve four grade 5s and three grade 4s, despite only starting GCSEs nine months ago.

Headteacher Deri O’Regan said staff were exceptionally proud of their Year 11s for achieving some strong results and believes that every one of the students has a bright future ahead of them.

He added: “The achievements of our students are all the more impressive as this is the cohort who didn’t complete their Year 6 properly due to the pandemic.

“We are so proud of how our students have supported each other and we look forward to them going from strength to strength as they move onwards in their education.

“We are not just proud of our students’ academic achievements though, we are equally proud of the amazing performing arts events they have put on, their remarkable sporting achievements and the high number of students who completed the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award this year.

“They have been wonderful role models to our younger students.”

Click this link for live updates and photos from other schools in Suffolk as students celebrate their GCSE results.

Coverage includes schools in Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket, Haverhill, Sudbury, Newmarket, Mildenhall and Thetford.