News

Students at Painsley Catholic College have achieved above and beyond their potential, reflecting the outstanding quality of education that Painsley offers, as our Ofsted report (May 2022) documents. The GCSE outcomes reflect this success as the College is celebrating an excellent set of GCSE results with 90% of the Year 11 students at the non-selective academy achieving the standard pass (grade 4) in English and 84% in mathematics. Furthermore, the College is delighted with the fact that 81% achieved the standard pass and 63% the strong pass (grade 5) in both English and maths. Indeed, well over a third of all grades were at the higher 7-9 grades.

Staff at the College crafted the curriculum and assessment to tailor the students’ exam preparation. Mrs Waugh, Principal, commented: “I am proud and delighted that the teaching staff worked with such commitment and professionalism to support, guide and reassure the students throughout the academic year. The outcomes of this are evident in the excellent results received by the students.”

Top performances include: Keira Bennett (grade 9 x4, grade 8 x6 and grade 7 x1), Samantha Dalgleish (grade 9 x4, grade 8 x6 and grade 7 x1), James Davies (grade 9 x8, grade 8 x3), Sophia Ferocino (grade 9 x8, grade 8 x2, Distinction * x1), James Howard (grade 9 x10, grade 7 x1), Samuel Mcallister (grade 9 x10, grade 8 x1), Jamie Potts (grade 9 x8, grade 8 x2, grade 7x1), Gracie Turner (grade 9x7, grade 8x3, grade 7 x1).

The students who have made the most significant progress from KS2, averaging 2 or 3 grades higher than the expected standard, include Sebastian Best, Louis Campbell, Oliver Carrington, Alfie Clarke, Joseph Harrison, Rebecca Haynes, Jack Hodge, Madeleine Horne, Grace Sheehan, Luca Worthington-Harris. Special mention must also go to William Simpson who not only achieved fantastic GCSE results, but is also recovering from a heart transplant which he received days after completing his examinations.

Mrs Waugh continued: “I am thrilled to be able to share these phenomenal results with the students. The students have worked with drive and determination throughout the last five years, despite the obvious difficulties they have faced. Regardless of the legacy of disruption to their learning and with little contingency in place they have gone on to shine. I wish the students every success as they continue their journey and I look forward to welcoming the majority of the students into the Painsley’s Outstanding Sixth Form in September (as graded by Ofsted in May 2022). I would like to pay particular thanks to the dedication and commitment of the staff at Painsley, teaching and non-teaching, who constantly provide an exceptional learning experience and willingly go the extra mile on behalf of the students. I am truly grateful to them all for their professionalism. I would like to thank our parents who have supported the students and the staff of the school throughout their time at the College; the effective partnership between home and school is instrumental to the success of the students.”

Painsley Catholic College is the home to The Golden Thread Teaching School Hub, Behaviour hub and Maths hub. In this capacity, Painsley works closely with other schools to ensure the very best practice in relation to teacher recruitment, retention, and professional development and behaviour systems for the benefit of all the students.

Parents interested in sending their child to Painsley should be aware that parents have the opportunity to attend Open Evening on Wednesday 13th September at 6:00pm, which will include a tour of the college, an address by the Principal and an opportunity to discuss questions with the Leadership Group and Senior Student Leaders. To sign up to the Opening evening please visit www.painsley.co.uk

Blessed William Howard Catholic High School in Stafford is delighted to report that GCSE results have improved again and can confirm today that the 2023 GCSE results are the best in the school’s history.

Mr Karl Brown, Principal, commented, “Students at Blessed William Howard have risen to the many challenges, including the impact of the pandemic. I would like to congratulate the students on their fantastic achievements and resilience. I would also like to thank the staff for their true dedication and commitment, which have enabled students to achieve their true potential. Our students should be very proud of their GCSE results, which reflect the fact that Blessed William Howard remains amongst the top-performing schools.”

Some of the top performers include:

Kaitlin Spidey achieved 7 grade 9s, 3 grade 8s and a grade 7

Harry Round achieved 3 grade 9s, 8 grade 8s and a Distinction*

Archie Wareham achieved 4 grade 9s, 4 grade 8s and 3 grade 7s

Maebh Lennon achieved 4 grade 9s, 5 grade 8s and 2 grade 7s

• 75% achieved a standard pass/grade 4 or above in English and Mathematics
• 56% achieved strong pass/grade 5 or above in English and Mathematics
• Over 242 top grades awarded were at 8/9/Distinction/Distinction*
• One in three grades awarded in 2023 were grades 9 to 7
• 41% of students achieved a fantastic distinction* or distinction in their vocational qualifications
• Over 80% of grades awarded were a standard pass (grade 4 and above)

Mr Brown continued, “It is difficult to pick out individual subjects, but results are especially pleasing in English, Mathematics, Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Combined Science), History, Art and Sport. Across the year of 2023, we have seen a significant improvement in the number of students achieving their target grades.

We wish all our Year 11 students the very best of luck in the future and look forward to welcoming many of them back into the sixth form. Anyone interested in joining our Sixth Form, in September 2023, should contact Mrs R Broomhall (Head of Sixth Form) - rab@bwh.staffs.sch.uk or Mrs Deakin (School Business Manager) on 01785 244236 ext. 204. We would also like to welcome parents and students in Year 6 to our Open Evening on 12th September at 6.00pm – please secure your place by using the registration link” https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqNzQikm2oWBRnoGwMJj2WUAXSLDNCAFlvg8IVmG2s23C6pQ/viewform

Blessed William Howard students are again celebrating excellent A–level results. This cohort is particularly notable because Year 13 students sat public exams for the first time due to the pandemic.

Mr Karl Brown, Principal, commented, “Students at Blessed William Howard have risen to the many challenges including the impact of lockdown and the pandemic. Their achievements this year are excellent and well-deserved. I would like to congratulate the students on their wonderful achievements and thank the staff for their true dedication and commitment, which have enabled students to achieve their true potential.

We are delighted that all subjects have performed brilliantly. Success runs throughout the academic and applied general routes. Every Blessed William Howard student was able to make the next step in their learning journey and we congratulate them for doing so well!”

Half of all grades awarded were A* - B.

Some of the top performers include:

• Conor Vince achieved A* in English Literature, A in Economics and B in History and will study Economics at the University of Manchester.
•  Phoebe Ashton achieved two As in Geography and Religious Studies, B in Economics and A* in EPQ and will study Environmental Science at the University of Birmingham.
•  Elena Grechi achieved 2 A*s in Art and English Literature and 2 As in Business and Spanish. She will study Architecture at the University of Manchester.

The school is particularly delighted that students, on average, achieved their target grades across all their subjects.

We wish all our Year 13 students the very best of luck in the future. Anyone interested in joining our Sixth Form, in September 2023, should contact Mrs Deakin on 01785 244236 ext. 204 or by email sbm@bwh.staffs.sch.uk.

Painsley Catholic College is delighted to report that initial results show a 25% A*/A, 58% A*/B and 99% pass rate at A level. Additionally, all students completed an EPQ (Extended project qualification) achieving 43% A*/A, 57% A*/B and 100% A*/E.

Mrs Rachel Waugh, Principal said, “2023 has been a hugely successful year for Painsley Sixth Form College in so many ways.  We were rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in May 2022.  The inspectors praised our enrichment, careers provision and quality of education.  Not content to sit on our laurels we have continued to build on this success. This is the first cohort to receive grades via full examinations with no prior release information since 2019. Our sixth form students have made us and themselves extremely proud. They have achieved outstanding grades and many have secured places in the top universities whilst others are embarking on some fantastic degree apprenticeships.

Having not sat full official GCSE examinations, our learners were naturally anxious about sitting their A levels. Thankfully, our rigorous and robust assessment programme provided numerous opportunities for our learners to develop their examination skills and our students have certainly reaped the benefits of this in their results.

It is difficult to pick out individual departmental success as all departments have excelled in supporting the students to achieve their potential throughout their 2, or indeed 7, years of study at Painsley Catholic College and Sixth Form. However, exceptional performances can be identified in Chemistry, Sociology, History, Maths, English Literature, BTEC Health and Social, just to name a few.”
Some of the top performances include:

Mrs Rachel Waugh, continued: “We are proud of all of our students and their maturity, ambition and commitment and would like to congratulate each and every one of them on their achievements. I thank all the staff, teaching and non-teaching, for their dedication in order to provide an exceptional learning experience for the students. I thank the parents who have supported the Sixth Form in such a dedicated way and I wish the students the very best of luck in the next phase of their journey whether that be to university or into the world of work and I encourage them to keep in touch as part of the Painsley alumni.”

Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Sharon Jepson, said: “I am always proud of every single one of our students but never more so than this year as they have still experienced several disruptions to learning throughout the year including strike days and additional bank holidays.”

The College is looking forward to September. Students joining Painsley have been engaged with a thorough transition programme including taster lessons and transitional study aimed at bridging the gap from GCSE studies to their chosen KS5 curriculum. As a pioneer centre, Painsley continues to expand its T Level provision offering routes in Digital, Business (September 2023) and Education (September 2024), subject to demand and in its state-of-the-art digital hub. Students interested in being part of the Outstanding Painsley Sixth Form are welcome to join the College for its Open Evening on 27th September at 6pm. More details can be found at: www.Painsley.co.uk