Pupils in the Boys’ Division of Bolton School have achieved an outstanding – and record breaking – set of GCSE results. 44.1% of grades were graded at 8 or 9, the equivalent of what was once an A*, 69.1% of papers were graded 9-7 (A*-A) and 99.7% were graded 9-4, the former A*-C pass rate.
A delighted and proud Headmaster, Philip Britton, reflected: ‘So often in education we talk about praising the importance of effort and application more than outcomes and this is exactly what we must do today. The boys have achieved some great results but much more impressive is the manner in which they have achieved them. Most of their GCSE study time has required enormous personal resilience and motivation to keep going and engage with study, both at home and also when in school in the most unusual of circumstances.
‘This generation are not “snowflakes” as people like to call them – they might well be the most resilient and personally responsible generation we have seen for half a century. The great grades are based on hard yards walked in lockdown, when it would have been all too easy to lose focus and they didn’t. That is what we celebrate with them today.
‘It is with a sense of optimistic anticipation that I look forward to welcoming most of the boys to our Sixth Form and to enjoy all I know they will achieve and contribute to school life in those senior years.'
Amongst the results, there were lots of individual success stories with 4 boys – Laurence Britton, Max Carter, William Fothergill and James Logan – achieving eleven grade 9s. Twenty six pupils gained 10 or more A* or 8/9 grades and 35 boys achieved 9 or more A*s or 8/9 grades. Despite the past 18 months, many boys also achieved highly in extra-curricular activities: Joel Burgess (seven 9s, three 8s and a grade 7) showed a prodigious footballing talent and will join Bolton Wanderers after winning a scholarship; Jamie Death, one of the finest competitors nationally in Judo collected a 9, four 8s and five 7s, Marcus Williams gained a string of 6s and 7s whilst excelling in Thai boxing and Will Fothergill (eleven 9s) represented his country at trampolining whilst harbouring ambitions to compete in a future Olympics.
100% of students achieved at least five 9-4 grades (A*-C) and 86.1% achieved at least 9-6 grades (A*-B), whilst 33.8% took home ten 9-7 (A*-A) grades despite the year group having both their GCSE years severely impacted by the pandemic.
