TWIN siblings shared in their schools GCSE success as students at a Northumberland Academy were showered with stars.
Matthew and Rebecca Douglas achieved nine A*s, 11 As and two Bs between them as pupils at Bede Academy, Blyth, raised the bar recording the schools highest ever benchmark GCSE pass rate up 15 per cent on last years results.
Top performing boy Matthew, 16, of Blyth, who achieved seven A*s, three As and one B said: “I’m absolutely elated.
“It’s been a lot of effort and I’ve relied heavily on Rebecca to push me when we’ve been working – she was the real driving force behind our revision sessions.
“It’s a bit overwhelming to be to top performing boy, I knew it was possible but I didn’t expect it and I’d like to thank the superb help I’ve had from all of the teachers here especially in the last few months.”
Matthew will be returning to study his A levels in Chemistry, Biology and Maths at Bede Academy in the hope of pursuing a career as a doctor.
Twin sister Rebecca, who is 40 minutes younger than her brother, gained two A*s, eight As and one B.
“I’m over the moon,” said the aspiring pediatrician who will also be taking her A levels at Bede Academy in the same three subjects as her brother.
“I knew Matthew would do slightly better than me as he has more natural ability but I’m very happy to come a close second.”
Continuing its rapid progression in students achievement the academy saw 66 per cent of grades hitting A*-C including English and maths, up from 51 per cent last year.
Principal Gwyneth Evans said: ‘We are encouraged by these results since they show improvement both in attainment and progress. Students have exceeded both the academy’s target and externally predicted results.
“The percentage of higher grades has increased in the majority of subjects with some exceptional departmental performances. The results are our best ever for English and maths, where we saw an improvement rate of at least nine per cent.”
In music, 89 per cent of grades were an A (up 16 per cent on last year), in chemistry a third of all grades were an A* while the figure was 17 per cent A*s for biology.
The overall top student was Kirsty Routledge who achieved seven A*s and four A grades.
“I’m so happy I think I am still in shock,” said the 16-year-old, from Blyth, who is set to study biology, chemistry and geography A levels at Bede Academy.
“I would have been happy to get all As so to get seven A*s is amazing.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, ever since year seven, but this is an amazing school and I couldn’t have done it without the incredible teachers that we have here.”
As well as Matthew, Rebecca and Kirsty, four other students achieved ten or more A grades or better:
Katie Barrett matched Kirsty’s 11 with three A*s and eight As;
Claire Brown, Evie Clark and Stephanie Cullum, all gained five A*s, five As and one B
Other high achievers were:
Lewis Dunsmure and Matthew Hunter with five A*s, four As and two Bs;
Elenore Gibson, with five A*s, three As and two Bs;
Beth Chadwick, with one A*, eight As and two Bs;
Neave Herridge, with two A*s, six As and three Bs.