Proud students celebrate GCSE success at Mansfield's Samworth Church Academy

After an extraordinary journey through their secondary education, which saw students dealing with the disruption of the pandemic alongside their studies, there were scenes of joy at the academy in Mansfield as students collected their results on Thursday, August 24.

Students and their families also enjoyed a taste of the limelight as they were joined by ITV news education correspondent Peter Bearne, who filmed and interviewed students on their big day.

Lisa McVeigh, Samworth principal, said the Sherwood Hall Road academy's GCSE results beat pre-Covid levels.

She said: “After a very disrupted education over the past few years, our Year 11 students have done themselves, their families and the academy proud.

“Overall, their grades have improved since 2019 when the last normal exams were sat, reflecting the hard work our students have put into their studies.

“They are a caring, fun and classy bunch of young people and we are looking forward to hearing about the incredible things they will do with their lives.

“As always, we have a long term and ambitious wide-ranging vision to help all our students have fantastic lives after they leave us, and we will do everything we can to continue to build on this success in the years ahead.”

One student delighted with her results was Lucie Hall.

She said: “My results are very good, much better than I thought they would be. I was very nervous leading up to the day but now I am relieved and happy. My teachers were so supportive, all of them, and I am now staying at Samworth Church Academy to study A Levels in English, dance and drama.”

Anais Whittaker was equally delighted with her results and was even a little emotional after travelling all the way from Durham with her family to collect her envelope. She received five grade nines, three grade eights and two sevens.

She said: “I honestly thought I would fail something and thought my results would tell me what my next steps should be, but they are really good results, I am relieved. I have been thinking about it quite a lot. I don’t know what to think, I keep crying. I’m so pleased.”

Pupil Harry Bryant achieved amazing results, including four nines, two eights, three sevens and a six. He said: “I was hoping I would get 9s in my sciences and maths because that’s the way I want to go with my career. I am really happy with the other results too - they are a bonus. I am staying on at Samworth Church Academy to take A Levels in biology, chemistry and maths. My family are proud.”