Double delight as Whitburn Church of England Academy twins achieve stunning GCSE results

Madeleine scored an amazing nine grade 9s and one grade 8 while Dylan achieved an impressive five grade 9s, three grade 8s and one grade 7.

After opening her results, Madeleine, 16, said: “I was very pleased when I saw my results and I’m very, very happy.

“I’m going to stay on at Whitburn Sixth Form to study A Level chemistry biology and maths.” Dylan, 16, added: “I’m so happy, but I’m shocked with the amount of 9s. I worked hard, but didn’t expect so many 9s.

“I’m now going to study A Level art, maths and physics.” Another one of the school’s top performing pupils was Alistair O’Neill who attained seven grade 9s, three grade 8s and a grade 7.

He said: “I was so nervous this morning that I felt physically sick. I was very surprised when I opened the envelope and the main feeling when seeing my results was relief.

“I’m going to go out for a meal with my family and my plan is to study A Level maths, further maths, chemistry and biology.” Another student who was pleasantly surprised with her results was 16-year-old Caitlin Douglas who attained an impressive four grade 9s, four grade 8s and two grade 7s.

She said: “I was really nervous heading into school and was thinking the worst. When I opened my results I was so shocked that I had to check the grades were mine.

“I’m going to study biology, chemistry and psychology and Whitburn Sixth Form.”

Emily Davison, 16, was “happy and relieved” after attaining seven grade 9s and three grade 8s.

She added: “I’m over the moon with my results as it means I can stay on at Whitburn Sixth Form and study biology, chemistry and physics A Levels.” Whitburn Church of England Academy headteacher John Crowe was “absolutely thrilled” with the school’s results, with 70% of pupils achieving grades 9 to 4 (old A*-C attainment benchmark) in the core subjects of maths and English.

Mr Crowe also said that “around 20%” of grades awarded to pupils were in the top 9-7 bracket.

He added: “Once again, we are thrilled with the results in French, Spanish and Mandarin. Three grade 9s were awarded in Mandarin, which included non-native speakers, and the number of students studying a foreign language continues to grow.

“There were some truly outstanding results and we congratulate all our young people on their success and thank our families and our staff for their support through the last two years.”

As one of the cohorts who had two years of their secondary school education disrupted by the Covid pandemic, Mr Crowe feels the students achievements are even more commendable.

He said: “This year, students have been given negligible allowances from any of the examination boards for the disruption they faced during the pandemic.

“Despite this, our results this year are testament to the resilience and hard work that the students have demonstrated over the past years.”