Staff and Year 11 students at Outwood Academy Normanby came together for the final time to celebrate the hard work and commitment of our young people as they collected their GCSE grades this morning. It was a particularly special year for the school, being the first time a year group has sat examination papers in person since we opened in September 2019. Our Class of 2022 did not disappoint!

We have been delighted with the commitment and conduct of the year group during a very challenging two years of GCSE study, with so much disruption due to Covid. They have responded superbly to the additional support on offer to help them secure life-changing qualifications; the majority rose to our challenge of applying for college before Christmas to help them focus their studies, including striving to meet or exceed entry requirements! Students grabbed all the help that was on offer, with record numbers attending our regular after-school enrichment sessions to boost understanding and support their revision throughout the year. Over 80% attended our 7.30am revision breakfast sessions ahead of the actual GCSE exams each day, as well as during the two sets of trial examinations earlier in the year. Our one-to-one tutors supported those needing even more specific help with key areas of their maths and English, and were impressed by the willingness to engage and overcome misconceptions.

None of this could have been achieved without the amazing support of parents, from checking revision timetables and study logs, to getting students to those breakfast sessions and working with us on healthy eating and sensible sleep patterns! Our determined teaching and support staff tried their very best to make sure that students were not going to be disadvantaged by the pandemic, working hard not just in the classroom, but outside too at additional sessions and through individual mentoring and praise reports.

We are pleased to report an improvement of over 10% at both 4+ and 5+ mathematics for example, and similarly an improvement of 10% in English at 5+ compared to 2019. Many students have made excellent progress against their own personal, challenging targets, regardless of ability. We are very proud of them!

Other highlights across subjects include 83% of students in art and textiles securing a grade 4 or above, and 73% securing a grade 5 or above! Students in childcare made outstanding progress, on average exceeding targets by over a grade and a half. 24% secured an A*, and 59% secured grade A or A*! In design technology, 64% of students secured a grade 5 or above, and 40% a grade 4 or above. Health and social care students did particularly well, with over 46% securing a Distinction, and 25% a Merit!

Andrew Wappat, Principal, said: “Students, with their results, have secured an impressive range of post-16 courses and apprenticeships. The determination of our Year 11 to aim for their best, alongside building their confidence and self-belief has made all the difference. They were particularly supportive of each other, and I have no doubt that those friendships mattered when the going got tough. I would like to say a huge ‘well done’ to all of our students and a massive thank you to staff, parents, governors and colleagues from across Outwood Grange Academies Trust.”

Every Year 11 student has achieved personal success but to highlight just a few: 

Madi Nasser (2 grade 9s, 2 grade 8s, 2 grades 7s, a Distinction* and grade 5)
Ruby Hanlon (1 grade A*, 1 grade 9, 1 grade 8, 3 grade 7s, 2 grades 6s and a Distinction
Josh Hamilton (2 grade 9s, 2 grade 8s, 3 grade 7s and grade 6)
Elisha Lings (2 grade 8s, 4 grade 7s, a grade 6 and a grade 5)
Luke Northend (1 grade 8, 2 grade 7s, 4 grade 6s and 2 grade 4s)
Nicole Richardson (2 grade 7s, 4 grade 6s, a Merit and a grade 5)
Danny Pengilley (3 grade 7s, 2 grade 6s, 4 grade 5s)

We are particularly impressed by the progress made by Arisa Chaimang and Danny Pengilley. They made the most progress in the Academy, with scores over +1.5, meaning on average they exceeded their challenging targets by more than one and a half GCSE grades across ALL their subjects! Congratulations too, to Madi Nasser and Sonny O’Neill who beat their challenging targets by over one GCSE grade across all the subjects, a huge achievement in some challenging times. Joel Fleming, Maddie Norton, Harvey Nasser, Jake Haley and Ruby Hanlon exceeded all their targets by over half a GCSE grade on average.

We are incredibly proud of our students and wish them every success for their futures.