Across the nation there was the biggest ever year-on-year decline in GCSEÂ exam passes, with those receiving A* to Cs dropping from 69 per cent to 66 per cent.
But schools in Tunbridge Wells told a different story, with the likes of Kent College getting its highest number of A* grades.
Here, the top grade was achieved in 27 per cent of exams, a seven per cent rise from last year. Fifty-seven per cent of the grades were an A* or A, with some girls achieving the top results in all of their 11 subjects. Additionally, every girl studying Latin achieved an A* or A.
Abigail Evans, who joined Kent College when she was three years old, scored 11 A*s and one A. Beth Peachey followed up a second place in the GCSE Young Fashion Designer of the Year competition with eight A*s and three As.
Champion swimmer Annabel Guye-Johnson scooped five A*s, five As and one B. While aspiring vet Marie Srotyr, 16, scooped seven A*s, three As and one B.
At Skinners’ Kent Academy there was a three-fold rise in students getting three or more A* and As, with 71 per cent achieving an A*-C in mathematics and 66 per cent in English.
Aaron Lennon, Headmaster of Beechwood Sacred Heart, said students ‘achieved significantly higher numbers of A and A* grades’, with a tally of 38.4 per cent.
At St Gregory’s Catholic School, scores were more than a third of a grade higher than predicted in all of their subjects. Top performers included Scarlet McCarthy, nine A*s and two As; Natalia Chlebowska, two A*s and eight As; Clarissa Mondeh, two A*s, eight As and one B; and Gaia Neiman, one A*, seven As and three Bs.
Jamie Bingham was a top performer at Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys, achieving a perfect set of 11 A*s. Overall, 98 per cent of the boys achieved five or more A*-Cs, including English and mathematics.
All 139 girls who sat their GCSEs at Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School scored five A*-C grades. The rate of A*-A grades was 78.8 per cent – up on last year – with 41.6 per cent of these A*s.
Team GB sailor Molly Sacker, 16, achieved five A*s, four As and one B, despite doing much of her studying abroad while representing the country in under-18s dinghy sailing, in which she sails alone. She hopes to appear in the Olympics in the future.
At Benenden School, 81 per cent of all grades were at A* or A – up from 78 per cent last year. A*-B grades were also up to 96 per cent from 94 per cent. Eighteen girls gained at least nine A*s, including Stephanie Jat’s incredible haul of 13 A*s. Another student achieved 12 A*s and four others 11 A*s. Overall, 50 per cent were graded
at A*.
Bennett Memorial had a rate of 85 per cent of its students with five or more A* to Cs. More than 50 students achieved five or more A to A*s.
Eight out of ten secured A* to C grades in both English and mathematics. Overall, more than half of the grades awarded to the large cohort of 227 students were A*s, As and Bs, with a quarter of all entries awarded A* or A grades.
Pupils at Bethany School in Goudhurst made excellent progress, according to Francie Healey, the Headmaster, who said: “Our pupils have achieved excellent outcomes which, as ever, are considerably above the national average.”
More than half of the grades achieved by Year 11s at Cranbrook School were As and above.And the proportion of grades at A* to C remained consistent with previous years, at just less than 98 per cent.
Students at The Skinners’ School celebrated excellent results with 97.8 per cent of the 118 pupils being graded A*-C. Overall, 28.8 per cent of grades were A* and 65.1 per cent were A* or A.
