A Highbury academy’s class of 18’ today breathed a collective sigh of relief after they overcame new exams to achieve some stellar GCSE results.
Months of anticipation came to an end this morning when St Mary Magdalene Academy students arrived in droves to collect their grades.
They are the first year to sit the new and more stringent GCSE results, which grade pupils from 1-9, with 4 being a pass and 9 an equivalent to A*.
Luca Mason, who has been at the school since year seven, got strong passes in English Literature, English Language, Maths, Geography, combined Science and Product Design.
He told the Gazette: “My results make me feel really good because I have achieved what I set out to do.”
Luca added: “I come from a background with so little so I’m really happy and now I know what I can do in the future.”
There are only a handful of kids across the country, estimated at about 3 per cent, who have achieved 9s in this years GCSE results.
But that didn’t stop the three Lambert sisters, who are all staying on for sixth form, from bagging 22 top marks among themselves.
Beth and Abbie Lambert are both 16, and their younger sister, Abbie, is 15 but was moved up a year.
Speaking on behalf of the trio, Abbie said: “We’re really, really happy because we were not expecting to get so many 9s. It’s amazing.”
Francy Kiflay joined the academy in 2015, after moving to Islington from Eritrea, and he said: “The new exams were actually really easy.
“I was actually hoping to get lower grades because of the new marking boundaries but I got good results.
But Mohan Keryk didn’t agree and said “I just want to wish Michael Gove a massive ironic thank you for his service.”
Despite his opinion of the former education secretary, Mohan achieved high grades in: Art (6), Maths (6), Geography (7), French (6), English Literature (8), English Language (6) and Religious Education (8).
Another high-flyer, Emma Aart, got straight 9s and said: “I’m feeling really happy because it’s easy to slip up in an exam.”
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