Jewish schools toast GCSE success

Jewish schools have taken toughter new GCSEs in their stride, with a several recording at least half their passes at the higher grades.

For the first year, most exams were marked under the new 9 to 1 grading system (introduced for English and maths last year), which reflect a more challenging syllabus.

Grades 9 to 7 have replaced A*s and As, with 9 harder to get than the old A*: 4 .3 per cent of exams were awarded grade 9, compared with 6.5 per cent for A*s in 2016. Grade 4 ranks as a lower C.

There were just 732 students in the country who gained a grade 9 in seven or more subjects this year.

At JFS ,more than one in six exams 17.3 per cent, were passed at grade 9 n the new system.

Fifty-one per cent were passed at 9 to 7 or A* to A (some subjects were still marked under the old grading system). Over a third of students, 104, achieved eight or more GCSEs at 7 or A or above.

Ninety-one per cent of exams were passed at 9 to 4 or A* to C.

Headteacher Rachel Fink said pupils’ commitment to learning was “reflected not only in the number of top grades but more importantly in the progress measure for the entire cohort.” It also showed “the strong partnership between school and home”.

Layla Sklar attained an exceptional 11 9s and 1 A*, with Charlotte Bentley close behind with 10 9s and two A*s. Others at the top of the academic tree were Jack Olsburgh 10 9s; Gideon Bernstein nine 9s and two A*s: Hannah Kisner and Toby Onona nine 9s and one A*: Natan Ornadel eight 9s and two A*s; Ezra Sharpe, Daniella Baruch, Miri Frankl, Declan Nelson, Oren Levene, Sophie Noah eight 9s: Gilad Fibeesh seven 9s and three A*s: Calum Isaacs seven 9s and two A*s: Daniel Leboff, Ore Gazit and Zachary Hilburn seven 9s and one A*; Hannah Stanton and Adam Woolf seven 9s; and Lara Goodman, Samuel Kelly and Eva Ruiz-Daum six 9s and one A*.

At Yavneh College, headteacher Spencer Lewis was delighted by a “fantastic set of GCSE results. The pupils of Yavneh College have worked extremely hard and should be very proud of what they have achieved in an environment where GCSE examinations have become more difficult than ever.”

His pupils passed half their GCSEs at 9 to 7 or A* to A: nearly a third, 31 per cent, were gained at the top two grades 9 and 8.
Ninety-two per cent of exams were passed at A* to C or 9 to 4.

In English, 13 per cent achieved the top grade 9 and in maths, 11 per cent.

Sophie Horne and Nathan Silver were the top performers each with nine 9s and one A*: followed by Natasha Sweiry eight 9s, one 8 and an A*: Jamie Grossman eight 9s and one 8: Sophie Baxter seven 9s, two 8s and an A*: Danny Berlin seven 9s and two 8s: Rebecca Franklin and Benjamin Gruneberg six 9s, two 8s and one A*: Renee Yantin six 9s and three 8s: Joshua Beach six 9s, one 8 and one A*: Rebecca Miller five nine 9s, three 8s and one A*: and Daniella Khalastchi five 9s, one 8 and two A*s.

Mr Lewis commented, “As well as these GCSE results we are very proud of an excellent set of vocational results through our BTEC courses, which have provided a wide range of opportunities for the pupils of Yavneh College.”

Mr Lewis commented, “As well as these GCSE results we are very proud of an excellent set of vocational results through our BTEC courses, which have provided a wide range of opportunities for the pupils of Yavneh College.”

Hasmonean pupils passed 53 per cent of their exams at 9 to 7 or A* to A - and 92 per cent at 9 to 4 or A* to C.
An outstanding science performance saw the three top grades achieved by all those taking physics and more than 90 per cent in chemistry and biology.

The school had “a great deal to celebrate” once again, said executive headteacher Andrew McClusky.

“We are particularly proud of our students’ achievements given that they have sat more challenging GCSE examinations,! said acting head of the Hasmonean girls’ branch, Debbie Lebrett.

At the top of the ladder this year were Rosa Pearlman eight 9s, two A*s and an A; Joanna Pearlman, seven 9s, two A*s and an 8; Rafi Davis, seven 9s, two 8s, an A* and an 7: Hannah Pearlman, five 9s, four 8s and three A*s; and Refael Davis, five 9s, two 8s, three A*s, an A and a 7.

At King David High School, Manchester, pupils on average achieved the equivalent of eight As.

Highest fliers were Dalya Glickman eight 9s and two A*s: Amy Gould seven 9s, one 8 and one A*: Olivia Zemmel seven 9s , an A* and a 7: Hinda Perez six 9s, three 8s, an A* and a 7: Jessica Valins six 9s and two 8s: Alexander Harris five 9s, three 8s and two A*s: and Dan Shomron three 9s, one 8, four A*s and a 7.

JCoSS students achieved one in eight grades (12.5 per cent) at grade 9: with 40 per cent at 9 to 7 or A* to A. Results were particularly strong in history and chemistry where 23 per cent attained grade 9 and in French, 20 per cent.

Overall, 82 per cent of passes were at 9 to 4 or A* to C. A quarter of students collected at least eight GCSEs at A or 7 and above.

James Saker and Stefan Tucker were the front-runners with an extraordinary 10 9s and A** (double-maths distinction each).

Other notable JCoSS performances came from Chiara Whitefleld nine 9s, one 8 and an A**: Ronnie Kutzbard eight 9s, two 8s and an A**: Benjamin Conway eight 9s, one 8, an A** and an A*: Ethan Leveson eight 9s, one 8 and an A**: Zoe Harris eight 9s and an 8: Guy Nitzani seven 9s, two 8s, an A* and an A: Sam Glasner seven 9s, an 8s, an A* and a 7*; Joseph Pollock six 9s, four 8s and an A**: Oscar Pollock six 9s, three 8s, an A* and a 7; Manny Smith six 9s, three 8s and an A*: Hannah Byrne-Smith six 9s and three 8s: Alyssa Jacobs six 9s, two 8s, two A*s and a 7: Hannah Bentwood six 9s and two 8s: and Joel Chapman six 9s, two eights and an A.

Headteacher Patrick Moriarty hailed “another set of fabulous GCSE results — now the fourth in our collection and sustaining consistent high standards despite the challenges of new specifications and grade systems."

Hannele Reece, headteacher of Kantor King Solomon High School, said it had maintained its “amazing success” and continued to “move from strength to strength.”

Over 70 per cent of pupils passed in English and maths and nearly a third passed Jewish studies at 9 to 7.

Jack Chevin took the academic honours this summer with seven 9s and three 8s. Others with a clutch of high grades were Sophie Daniels, four 9s, four 8s and two 7s: Jacob West, three 9s, five 8s and a 7: Saule Miskinyte two nines, five 8s and three 7s.

Immanuel College headteacher Gary Griffin praised “excellent” results, where 15 per cent of papers marked under the new system were at grade 9 and 38 per cent 8 or above: and 57 per cent under the old system were at A* and 78 per cent at A or above.

Nearly a quarter of the pupils at the strictly Orthodox Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls' High School achieved eight or more GCSEs at 7 or A or above. Nearly one in 10 exams were passed at grade 9: 47 per cent were A* to A or 9 to 7: and 92 per cent of entries at grade 4 or C or above.

The school's principal, Rabbi Avrohom Pinter, commented, : “Our students always amaze us with their results and this year’s pupils have achieved more than we could have ever imagined. To set-aside the disruption and emotional distress students faced at the hands of Ofsted's secularist agenda is a tribute to our students ability and the fantastic team we have at Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls’ High School."

The school was placed in special measures earlier this year after Ofsted rated it inadequate.