College principal ecstatic at outstanding GCSE results

With over 99.7% of the year group achieving the top grades of A* to C in at least seven subjects, which is well in excess of the NI Grammar School average, this is another wonderful year of academic success at the College Walk school.

Carrying on the selective grammar school’s long and proud tradition of outstanding academic excellence, former King’s Park PS pupil, Victoria Flavell, and former Carrick PS pupil, Andrew Preston, achieved an incredible 11 A* grades each.

This is a feat which will not be matched by many other pupils attending any other school anywhere in the province. Five extremely talented pupils in total amassed 11 A*/A grades each. Such is the calibre of pupils who commit year on year to the very popular and very successful Dickson Plan system of education.

Matching the fantastic results at A Level by their Year 14 counterparts, as reported in the Lurgan Mail last week, the Year 12 pupils of 2014 have produced some of the very top GCSE performances in the College’s rich and illustrious 141 year academic history.

Mr Robinson said: “I offer my sincere congratulations to my hardworking pupils, their highly committed teachers and their very longsuffering and supportive parents on these remarkable examination results. Once again I am keen to highlight the commitment of our dedicated colleagues in Lurgan Junior High School and, of course, in our local feeder primary schools who continue to furnish our popular 14-19 selective Grammar School with able, mature and enthusiastic pupils of the very highest academic calibre.

“A more in-depth examination of the grades achieved by the Year 12 pupils in their GCSE examinations reveals an extremely impressive set of results by any standards. Grades A* and A accounted for just under half of the total grades achieved (compared to the NI average of just 28%) while the overall pass rate of over 96% was significantly higher than the NI average of just 78%. Another outstanding statistic is that every single pupil obtained at least five GCSEs at grades A* to C, which, again, is significantly higher that the NI grammar school average. The encouraging number of A* grades (over 14% in total), sitting well above NI average of just 8.7%, was also very gratifying.

“For the first time in the College’s proud history, two pupils, Victoria Flavell and Andrew Preston, managed to secure an amazing 11 straight A* grades each. A truly remarkable achievement by two exceptionally gifted young people.”

The following pupils were awarded 11 straight A*/A grades: Caitlin Cassells (King’s Park PS), Victoria Flavell (King’s Park PS), Robert Hall (King’s Park PS), Tara McIlwaine (Waringstown PS) and Andrew Preston (Carrick PS).

The following pupils secured 10 straight A*/A grades: Peter Beck (Waringstown PS), Chloe Carson (Waringstown PS), Sarah Carson (King’s Park PS), Emma Joyce (Dickson PS), Owen Maxwell (King’s Park PS), Amy McCulloch (King’s Park PS) and Matthew Walker (Waringstown PS).

Tom Bailey (Maralin PS), Faith Byers (King’s Park PS), Sophie Gorman (Carrick PS) and Jack Hutchinson (Waringstown PS) all recorded 
9 A*/A grades.

The following pupils achieved eight A*/A grades: Annabel Cockcroft (Waringstown PS), Sarah Graham (King’s Park PS), Jack Hannigan (Moira PS), Daniel King (King’s Park PS) and Adam Pickering (Carrick PS).

The following pupils recorded seven A*/A grades: Kathryn Edgar (Clare PS), Emma Forbes (Bleary PS), Timothy Hancock (Waringstown PS), Mark Harris (Waringstown PS), Courtney Hill (Bleary PS), Daniel Johnston (Maralin PS), Jordan Jones (Carrick PS), Timothy Kennedy (King’s Park PS), Joel McCreery (Portadown Independent Christian School), Robert Norton (Maralin PS), Ryan Osborne (Carrick PS), Jordan Salt (Portadown Independent Christian School), Amy Stafford (Waringstown PS), Matthew Turner (King’s Park PS), William Walker (Waringstown PS) and Carla Webster (King’s Park PS).

Mr Robinson added: “One of the many benefits of the Dickson Plan is that this year, once again, has seen the successful transfer of a significant number of Craigavon Senior High School pupils into the Sixth Form of the College, following the academic success enjoyed by the pupils in our sister school this year. The College staff have been working very hard to ensure that these pupils and, of course, the school’s own returning pupils have been provided with the very best careers advice and guidance before the young people settle on their final choice of subjects for study at A Level. The pupils have access to a very wide range of subjects which goes well beyond the demands of the Entitlement Framework.

“These results, coupled with the outstanding A-level and AS level performances last week, highlight, once again, the tangible and unequivocal success of the Dickson Plan with its envied system of delayed academic transfer at age 14. These fantastic achievements by the young people of Lurgan should be celebrated by our whole community and encourage us all within the system to work closely together to ensure that the well tried and tested Craigavon Two Tier System is promoted and enhanced in the coming years.”