There was a fantastic atmosphere at Shebbear College this morning, as Year 11 pupils gathered with friends, family, and teachers to receive their long-awaited GCSE results.

This year’s cohort faced unique challenges, joining Year 7 in the middle of the Covid pandemic, but despite this, have performed exceptionally well in their GCSEs with many achieving highly across all subjects, opening up exciting opportunities for the future. A number of students also exceeded their target grades, demonstrating Shebbear’s strong value-added output, which measures how much progress a child has made since their starting point.

“I’m incredibly proud of Form 5, and it was a real pleasure to see so many smiling faces this morning as they received their results,” said head, Charlie Jenkins. “Many students have successfully balanced their GCSE studies with other passions such as sport and the performing arts, which speaks volumes about their resilience and commitment.

“Our focus at Sheb is always on helping each pupil achieve their personal best - whatever that looks like for them - and I’m delighted that so many have done just that, often surpassing the grades predicted when they first joined us.”

Heidi Hunkin, from Torrington, is celebrating an impressive four Grade 9s, three Grade 8s and two Grade 7s today, while classmate Bethany Raddon-Sung opened her envelope this morning to reveal five Grade 8s and three Grade 7s.

“I was feeling really stressed this morning to be honest! said Heidi. “But when I opened my envelope and found out how I’d done I was very surprised, and definitely happy - I’m over the moon with PE, Chemistry and Biology in particular.

“We’re all going to be celebrating later this evening so I’m looking forward to that and relaxing for a bit before starting in the Sixth Form in a couple of weeks!”

Bodie Carter, from Hatherleigh, will move on to the Sixth Form to study Physics, Maths, Further Maths and Geography A-levels in September after having gained one Grade 9, three Grade 8s, 3 Grade 7s, two Grade 6s and a Grade 5 in his GCSEs. Bodie has juggled his academic studies with a talent in Music and the Performing Arts, working on Grade 7 in the Piano and starring as Bernardo in the Senior School Production of West Side Story this year, as well as completing the Ten Tors Challenge as part of the 45-mile team in May.

“I was shaking a little bit when I opened my results as I was really nervous.” Said Bodie. “I’m very happy with what I got; I worked pretty hard and I feel like my grades reflect that. I got a 9 in Physics which is a highlight as I’m doing Physics A-level.”

This year’s cohort has two sets of twins: Natasha and Sophia Weston, from Bideford, and Ben and Ed Greenaway from Holsworthy celebrated together this morning as they opened their envelopes to reveal some excellent results! They are all looking forward to coming back to the Shebbear College Sixth Form in September.

“Obviously there’s quite a lot of stress around results day, but I feel so much better now I know my results!” said Sophia, “I’m really happy and I’m going to be studying Biology and Geography A-Levels, and BTEC Sport in the Sixth Form”

Meanwhile, sister Natasha said she had a mixture of excitement and nerves this morning. “I’m really happy with what I got and I did better than I expected in some subjects so I feel very relieved! I’m staying at Shebbear to do English Lit, Geography and Politics A-Levels and I can’t wait!”

“I wish Form 5 all the best for the future.” Charlie Jenkins said. “I’m looking forward to seeing many of them return to Shebbear for the Sixth Form in a couple of weeks and I hope that those heading to college for specialist courses will keep in touch. A huge thank you to our brilliant team of teachers, who have played a key role in this success - well done everyone!”