Written by Garry Russell, Head of Secondary School
However, on top of all of this they need to gain world-class qualifications that open doors and ensure a bright future. I am, therefore, delighted to report on another year of outstanding academic achievement.
It seems only yesterday that we were saying goodbye to our Year 13 Graduates – wishing them good luck for their exam results and life beyond BSG.
They certainly did us all proud, along with those students that took AS and IGCSE exams last year. In fact, as the Secondary School grows, the summer saw the largest number of exam entries in the school’s history and, for the fourth year in a row, we managed to attain over 50% A*/A grades at A Level – double the success rate in the UK. There were many outstanding individual performances, including:
- Sophie De Boer AAB
- Matheus Maciel AAA
- Judy Huang A*AA
- Jan Janeczek AAAA
- Daniel Jeon AAA*
- Tae Kyu Lee AAB
- Valerie Lye AAA
- Marcelina Wojewska A*A*A
- An Yu AAB
These results represent an incredible and sustained effort by our students and their teachers – without doubt, the most dedicated team of teachers I have ever worked with. Our graduates are now preparing to join some of the world’s best universities, including The University of St Andrews, Imperial College London, Durham University, Hong Kong University, University of York, Glasgow School of Art, Manchester University, University of Leiden and Loughborough University. We hope to see them all again soon as they will always be part of the BSG family.
At AS Level, our students broke new school records, including a mammoth 78% A/B grades (A* grades are not awarded at AS Level). We are also extremely proud that one of our students, Grace Xie, was awarded the ‘Best in China’ award from Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) for Business Studies. This highly prestigious award is testament to Grace’s determination and Ms. Hearn’s support (Head of Business/Economics). Grace, now in Year 13, commented ‘This is unreal. Now I believe that miracles can happen’! No miracles, Grace – just relentless dedication and commitment and, as Ms Hearn put it, ‘a thirst for understanding that allows her to thrive at AS Level’.
Not to be outdone, our IGCSE students achieved a 100% pass rate and not only doubled the percentage of A*/A grades than UK averages, but also received a ‘Best in China’ award for IGCSE Art and Design. Emma Mo, the honoured recipient, has a passion for Art as Ms Slaughter, our inspiring Head of Art noted: ‘To be an exceptional art student you need to show a genuine passion for drawing, painting, sculpting and creating, and have the capacity to think beyond the superficial. Emma encompasses all of these qualities. It was a pleasure to see her flourish and reach her true potential.'
There were some truly astonishing individual performances at IGCSE, including Emma:
- Rikke Ronnow - 11 A*s
- Rie Ronnow - 10 A*s
- Jojo Guo - 10 A*/A
- Henk De Boer - 9 A*/A
- Kelly Yang - 9A*/A
- Emma Mo - 8 A*/A
- Ryan Vicedo - 8 A*/A
Whilst celebrating these headlines, there were many students who achieved personal goals, whether A*s or Cs. What is important that they never gave up and worked tirelessly with their teachers to hit their target grades.
Of course, receiving a Best in China award is an incredible accomplishment and we are delighted that BSG students have done so for the last 4 years. This year, however, we have gone a step further as Rikke Ronnow (pictured) received the top accolade that CIE award, ‘The Best In the World at IGCSE’. When you consider that over 10,000 schools worldwide offer CIE qualifications, you get a sense of Rikke’s achievement. However, this historic award is fully-deserved – Rikke’s commitment and drive were a lesson to us. She simply did not accept there that were any limits.
Her teachers, who were outstanding in their support for Rikke, were constantly impressed…
- 'Rikke personified dedication, hard work and determination in Physics. A magnificent student.’ (Dr Chris Chilvers - Physics)
- ‘An exceptional Mathematician with an incredible ability to decipher complex problems and solve them efficiently and elegantly.’ (Stephen Dodds - Maths)
- ‘Her attention to detail is second to none. Rikke always set herself ambitious and challenging targets and achieved them all!' (Andy Hallas - Geography)
- ‘An exceptional student in every way’ (Danny Davall - Computing)
- 'She maintained high levels of commitment week in week out for the whole two year course, which is not easy to do' (Matt Noyek - Chemistry)
Well done to all of our students. They have done themselves, their families and the entire school community proud. Their passion, commitment and ambition are an inspiration to us all. Congratulations to them and to our teachers - in all phases. Our success is a team effort, from Early Years through to our Sixth Form. Go BSG!