STUDENTS at a Teesside Academy have celebrated their latest GCSE results with a host of star-studded performances.
Up to 95 per cent of all students achieved five A* to G including English and maths. Under the government’s new accounting rules 68 per cent achieved five A* to C.
The school recorded excellent results in subjects such as GCSE French (85 per cent), German (100 per cent), additional science GCSE (80 per cent), physics (95 per cent) and English literature (73 per cent).
A notable achievement was attained by Pupil Ross Graham, 16, of Billingham, who sat his exams knowing his mother, Helen, 51, was fatally ill with skin cancer.
Helen, who had been fighting cancer for five years, but was only told the condition, was incurable in August last year, died shortly after Ross completed his final exam.
Alongside studying for his exams Ross, who achieved 11 GCSEs (including six A*A), also dedicated his time to helping raise over £10,000 for the MacMillan Nurses to keep a promise he made to his mum before she died.
The overall results mark a continued journey of improvement for St Michael’s Catholic Academy which has undergone a series of radical changes within the past year.
With a new dedicated team of teachers and leaders, new facilities, new uniform and new name it is now part of the multi-academy Carmel Education Trust led by Carmel College, Darlington.
Head teacher Andrew Ramsey, who took over the leadership of the school in September 2013, said: “It’s great to see so many smiles on successful faces. We have been delighted with the number of students achieving highly across all of their subjects.
“It is a reflection of the supportive and nurturing ethos of St Michael’s that so many staff and students have been in school today celebrating with our students. It is this strong ethos and focus on values that underpins all our success.”
