News and Updates

20th August 2020

GCSE Results 2020

Today we are celebrating the hard work and achievements of our GCSE students here at Guildford County School – my sincere thanks go to the exams teams for making sure that the morning ran so smoothly and also to the many other staff who attended to help with the distribution of results and to offer their congratulations and support to the students themselves. Whilst their studies and preparation for the exams were abruptly halted by the lockdown at the end of March and the cancellation of the GCSE exams for this summer, we want to celebrate their many achievements over the course of the 5 years that they have been with us.   Our students did not get a chance to show what they would have achieved in formal GCSE exams but instead, there has been a complex process to allocate a ‘Centre Assessment Grade’ (CAG) and a ranking for each student in each subject.  Over recent months, and continuing as we write this, there has been some debate and controversy in the media about the CAG process, but we must not allow this to distract us all from celebrating the hard work of our students over the last 5 years. Indeed, we cannot allow our students to be defined by this most unusual of times. These students did not get the chance to have their Prom, so it is important that they see today as the chance to move on to the next stage in their education with the sense of achievement and recognition that they all so rightly deserve.  We are delighted that for so many of these students the next stage is here with us in the Sixth Form at Guildford County School – where we are still accepting applications from external students for a place on our courses from September 2020. Due to the way that results this year have been calculated, the DfE are not compiling or publishing any school performance figures and so in keeping with this, Surrey schools and others more widely will not be publishing school level performance figures for this summer.   We are, however, delighted to be able to share with you some individual stories of success.  Deserving of special mention are Ada Kirczenow, Emma Robertson, Ella Brooks, Bethany Muir and James Tidbury who have all achieved outstanding individual results.  We are also tremendously proud of Nicolas Gruter, Marina Warchus, Chloe Carmichael Parsons, Kit Kethero and Demi Kun who topped the value-added charts, achieving well above their individual target grades.   Steve Smith, Head of Guildford County School, comments that, ‘today represents the end of one phase of each student's education and the opportunity to recognise and celebrate what they have achieved.  The uncertainty over the grade allocation process has been unfair to our Year 11 and 13 students, but I am glad that the right decision has been made and that teacher judgements are now seen as the trusted means by which to allocate grades to students.  We are delighted to be able to congratulate the Class of 2020 for their many achievements and also to wish them well as they move on to the next phase of their lives with our full support, love and best wishes.’ Read Full Article
13th August 2020

A Level Results 2020

Today we are celebrating the hard work and achievements of our students here at Guildford County School – my sincere thanks go to the Sixth Form and Exams teams for making sure that the morning ran so smoothly and also to the many other staff who attended to help with the distribution of results and to offer their congratulations and support to the students themselves.  Whilst their studies and preparation for the exams were abruptly halted by the lockdown at the end of March and the cancellation of the A Level exams for this summer, we want to celebrate their many achievements over the course of the 7 years that they have been with us.  Our students did not get a chance to show what they would have achieved in formal A Level exams but instead, there has been a complex process to allocate a ‘Centre Assessment Grade’ (CAG) and a ranking for each student in each subject.  Over recent months, and continuing as we write this, there has been some debate and controversy in the media about the CAG process, but we must not allow this to distract us all from celebrating the hard work of our students over a great number of years.  Indeed, we cannot allow our students to be defined by this most unusual of times.  These students did not get the chance to have the usual leavers' events, so it is important that they can move on to the next stage in their education with the sense of achievement and recognition that they all so rightly deserve. The A Level results this year have been allocated according to a standardisation model which uses the results of previous years, rather than being a reflection of the standards in the school in the academic year 2019-20.  As a result, the DfE are not compiling or publishing any school performance figures and so in keeping with this, Surrey schools and others more widely will not be publishing school level performance figures for this summer. We are, however, delighted to be able to share with you some individual stories of success.  Three County students, Bethan, Rebecca and Jamie have secured places at Oxford University. We are also tremendously proud of Cameron who has secured a place at the Royal Academy of Music and Ellie and Leah who are the first of their families to go to University. At the time of writing this, all of our students who have applied to University have secured places at prestigious Universities across the country including Russell Group Universities. Steve Smith, Head of Guildford County School, comments that, ‘today represents the end of one phase of each student's education and the opportunity to recognise and celebrate what they have achieved.  We are delighted to be able to congratulate the Class of 2020 for their many achievements and also to wish them well as they move on to the next phase of their lives with our full support and best wishes.’Read Full Article