GCSE: Record rise in top grades at The Littlehampton Academy

The academy saw an eight per cent increase in the number of student achieving the coveted five A* to C grades, including English and maths, this year compared to last year – with 44 per cent of youngsters reaching the goal. The school’s principal, Marianne Gentilli, was overwhelmed by the rapid improvement, although stressed the academy would not rest on its laurels. “It’s testament that the academy is on the move,” she said. “It’s a really good base for future improvements. We want the very, very best for our young people and this is a good start.” The school has been in special measures for more than a year and last year’s GCSE results saw only 36 per cent of teenagers achieve the benchmark A* to C, including English and maths. Former head boy Ryan Field, 16, picked up his results this morning. He paid tribute to all the teachers who had ‘worked so, so hard’ to help students achieve the very best results possible. Ryan, who clinched four A*s and seven As, said: “The school is still on a bit of a rollercoaster ride but it’s on the up now. “To anyone that says we’re not as good as other schools in the area, just come here and see for yourself. “The teachers gave up all their holidays so we could have extra revision sessions and even bought us donuts. “That’s how committed they are to helping us achieve.” Speaking of his results, Ryan added he was ‘shocked’ when he saw the set of straight-As. However, it wasn’t just Ryan who was one of the school’s high-fliers. Emily Wootton secured some of the academy’s best-ever grades for a single student, with a total of nine A*s and one A. Emily, 16, of Littlehampton, said: “I was just so surprised and happy that I got the grades that I really wanted.” She is heading to Chichester College to do AS levels in history, English literature, creative writing and media studies and hopes to one day be either an author or a copywriter. Marlowe McCaffrey, 16, picked up two A*s, five As and four Bs this morning and said he had been ‘terrified’ about collecting his results, while Will Lloyd, 16 – who achieved seven A*s, three As and a B – now hopes his grades will help him on his dream to pursue a career in law and study at one of the UK’s top-flight universities. Other top students at the academy included: Samantha Rushworth (four A*s and seven A’s), Frank Nightingale (eight A*s, two As and Bs), Abby Bruford (an A*, nine As and a B), Lucy Hellen (two A*s, seven As and a B), Nadia Muncey (two A*a seven As and two Bs), Jelie Gongora (four A*s, five As and two Bs) and Davinia Fielding-Cooke (two A*s, three As and five Bs). Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 1) Make our website your homepage at www.littlehamptongazette.co.uk/ 2) Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LittlehamptonGazette 3) Follow us on Twitter @LhamptonGazette 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! The Littlehampton Gazette - always the first with your local news. Be part of it.