'The sky is the limit': School is ranked among country's best after exam success
A Staffordshire school claims to have beaten the odds to be ranked among the best in the country following the recent exams.
Teachers and pupils at Kingsmead School were shocked when they found out that, following their most recent exam period, they were placed among the top 10 per cent.
The results for school grade rankings were announced by the Department of Education, which show that Kingsmead's performance was in the 90 percentile range, meaning it's placed about nine tenths of the country's schools when it comes to exam grades, something normally achieved by private and selective schools.
Ms Maria Mincher, Headteacher at Kingsmead School, said: "Obviously we are very ecstatic, at the time there was a lot of press about the tougher exams. So honestly we entered into the exam period with a sense of foreboding.
"However, to find out that the students had done so much better than in previous years and to find out that were continuing our upward trend – I think everyone was quite stunned."
Kingsmead School, on Kings Avenue, Cannock, praised teachers, staff and especially students, for achieving the high exam scores that have placed them in the top echelon of schools in the country.
The headteacher continued: "We are very proud of our position and more importantly our students. Hednesford is an area that has a bit of low aspiration, our students will be applying for university soon and this will definitely go towards that.
"The students absolutely deserve to be proud. This really shows them that they can do anything and the sky is the limit. Hopefully, this will all feed back to the students and they realise that they can achieve their dreams.
"We actually had one student who in English literature achieved a perfect score, the work that goes into that is so impressive."
The school accredits the hard work of its students as the main factor in their high school, also planning a celebration end-of-year event for the students as a reward.
Ms Mincher said: "We do believe in work hard play hard, so we have an end-of-year activity week where the students take part in all sorts of things as a reward for their hard work. This year will be bigger than ever I think.
"I also want to say congratulations, especially to the students for achieving these fantastic results. This is all the result of the dedication and hard work of you all."
