Year 11 head boy at Ysgol John Bright Bradley Hughes was voted the most likely to be prime minister by his fellow students but he’s putting that on hold after 14 Grade A and A stars at GCSE.
He was among a bumper crop of results for the school which saw a ten per cent improvement on last year’s results with narly a quarter of the pupils getting five A star or A grades.
A delighted head teacher Ann Webb said: “That’s a strong figure and significantly up on last year. It’s more than a fifth of over 200 of our young people.
“We’ve also seen results in English and Maths improve by ten per cent so overall it’s a much-improved performance and we are seeing the fruits of the school’s improvement strategy.
“It didn’t surprise us and we were very clear when the Estyn inspectors came here that this is what they would see. It’s good to be vindicated.
“We’ve got an exceptional group of students who have grafted very hard and have been incredibly well supported by a very strong teaching staff so that the improvements we’ve made to teaching and learning are bearing fruit.”
Bradley, who gained 8 A stars, and six As, including one in Further Maths, said: “It was better than I expected. It’s all been a bit nerve racking.
“I want to come back to Sixth Form to do maths, further maths, physics and chemistry but I’m not sure at the moment what I’d like to do after that – I don’t know about prime minister but it was a nice compliment to have.”
His mum, Michelle, said: “I’m delighted. He’s done amazingly. Trying to stop him revising was the hardest thing but I knew he’d do well.”
Two of the highest attaining students were Eva Sutton, of Craig y Don, and Lucy Marshall, from Great Orme, who both picked up 10 A stars and two As.
Eva said: “It’s beyond my wildest dreams,” while Lucy admitted: “It was horrible waiting for today. I wasn’t sure how well I’d do but I’ve done better than expected – my dad is outside in the car so he doesn’t know yet but I’m sure he’ll be pleased.”
Clara Raghb, from Llandudno, is the daughter of Egyptian parents and her 12 GCSEs were made up of five A stars, six As and a B and she said: “I’d expected far lower and was a bit worried but I’m thrilled now and I’d like to go on to do medicine eventually.”
Kathryn Flitcroft gained nine A stars and three As and her mum, Karen Hughes, said: “It’s fabulous. She thought she might have to do some resits but I knew she’d do well.”
Chair of Governors Carla Forfar said: “This is a credit to the hard work of all the students and staff at Ysgol John Bright.
“I was confident they’d do well because they had put so much hard work into it. The students had really taken on board the advice they’d been given by their teachers.
“The school is very much on the ascendant and it’s wonderful to see all the happy faces this morning.
“We all just want the students to achieve this for themselves and for the next stage of their lives whether it’s at John Bright or somewhere else.
“This is a stepping stone for them and it’s given them a strong foundation for lifelong learning.”