WITH an impressive haul of 13 A*s, two As and one B, Sinead Buckenham has claimed the title of top girl at St Joseph’s Catholic School.

“I got what I had hoped and improved on my mock results” said the 16-year-old.

Now she is focused on fulfilling her lifelong aspiration of becoming a vet by eventually heading off to university to study veterinary science.

But for the next couple of years, Sinead will remain at St Joseph’s, attending their sixth form along with about half of her classmates.

The majority of the others will attend local colleges including Swindon College, Cirencester and New College.

St Joseph’s said that approximately 99 per cent of their current year 11 students had made realistic arrangements following their departure from secondary school.

This means they will either continue into further education, be taking vocational courses or starting full-time employment. A minority will also be occupying apprenticeships.

Sinead will be studying an impressive set of AS levels that consists of maths, physics, chemistry and biology.

However, when she’s not studying hard, she is clearly a lover of the great outdoors.

“I do the Duke of Edinburgh award and I also love to horse ride,” she said.

Her participation in the prestigious DoE award has also led to her to successfully pass the silver expedition section, a challenge she completed in the Brecon Beacons last September.

Representing the boys was Gavin Cowie, another talented student with similarly impressive results.

Overall, he collected nine A*s, three As and two Bs.

He too will be remaining at St Joesph’s and is taking a similar combination of AS levels.

“I’m taking maths, physics, geography and chemistry,” he said.

“And I’m hoping to continue maths and physics at university.”

Gavin also takes advantage of the school’s extra-curricular and said: “I also really like sport and football in particular.”

Onwards and upwards at academy

SWINDON Academy students were jumping for joy after receiving their results, and showing an improvement year on year.

A total of 36 per cent of youngsters achieved five or more A* to C grades including English and maths, and 83 per cent received five or more A* to C grades, up from 71 per cent in 2011.

Among the students who had been particularly successful were Ricky Whitefield, who gained nine A* and A grades, including two Distinction stars; Rebecca Platt, who gained nine A* to A grades, including four Distinction stars; and Sam Poynter; who gained nine A* to A grades, including two Distinction stars.

Principal Ruth Robinson said: “I am pleased for our students who are celebrating today.

“I congratulate them all on their results and would like to thank our staff who worked so closely with them.

“These results build on our success last week with a 100 per cent pass rate at A Level and equivalent and 31 per cent of grades being awarded A* to A.

“We have students now staying on to continue their education who previously would never have considered going to university.

“We are raising the aspirations of our children and young people and they are relishing the challenge”.

‘Getting students where they want to be’

NEW College may be best known for its outstanding A Level results, but 990 learners collected their GCSE results from the college yesterday.

This year, learners achieved an overall pass rate of 99.8 per cent across the range of subjects studied.

A 100 per cent pass rate was achieved in a wide range of subjects, including maths, science, Russian, biology, astronomy and media studies.

Overall, 57.1 per cent of pre-16 students and 49.1 per cent of 16-18 year old students achieved A* to C grades.

Their top two subjects for A* and A grades were French (53 per cent) and Spanish (62 per cent).

Principal Graham Taylor, pictured, said: “Today’s results are a great achievement for the learners and for the college. The learners’ success reflects their hard work and enthusiasm and is a tribute to the fantastic teaching and support provided by all staff here.

“New College welcomes students of all ages and abilities and is committed to helping students get to where they want to be, whether that’s achieving a higher grade in their maths and English GCSEs so that they can go into a certain career or preferred university, or an adult learner looking to brush up on their languages or take the art course that they’ve always wanted.

“We congratulate all of our students that have received GCSE results today and wish them all the very best for the future.”

GCSE advice and careers advice sessions for people interested in applying for level three programmes or learners who did not achieve what they were expecting are available today in college between 10am and 2pm.