Highlight of the Week

Deserving pupils achieve milestone GCSE results

The Cathedral School was delighted to welcome its Year 11 pupils to school today to see their continued hard work, in very difficult times, rewarded.

Recognising their ambition and determination which has been evident since they began their Senior School journey, their GCSE grades are testament to this talented cohort.

The School moved online from 23^rd March and students had to dig deep in order to keep their motivation going throughout lockdown. Numerous surveys have demonstrated the challenges that this caused to young people across the world and our committed pastoral staff met regularly online with individuals and groups to support their mental health. Typically, our pupils embraced the opportunities this gave them, Brychan T extended his curriculum knowledge to design and build a pollution monitor for the School, Ollie S raised money for charity by running a marathon and Sophie N supported her community effort to keep in touch with elderly residents through baking!

Top performers, Leo R, Jeswin S-J, Brychan T and Annabel W achieved all grade 9s/A*. On securing these outstanding results, Brychan said: “I’m really happy about my results. It’s been a very stressful time and I’m glad it’s over! I really enjoy being part of the School community and it has really helped me to achieve the best that I can. I’m looking forward to sixth form and plan to study Computer Science, Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry.”

Jeswin added: “It’s been an anxious time over the summer, seeing the changes made to the system and worrying what my results would be. But, after finally getting them, I’m very happy! Thank you to all of my teachers for their support.”

Other pupils who achieved seven or more grade 8/9s or A* and above included twins, Fflur H and Fin H who achieved exactly the same grades; music scholars, Rose B, Alice H and Katie B; Gracie-Anne B, a key member of the Eco Schools Team; Cardiff Blues U16 player, Orson J; winner of this year’s Urdd Swimming Championships, Jennifer O’C; former Canon’s Scholar, Poppy C and musicians, Edward K and Ashwin B.

Head of the Cathedral School, Mrs Clare Sherwood said: “I was delighted to welcome Year 11 pupils to school today to celebrate their very deserving GCSE achievements. The last six months have not been easy, but this hardworking group of pupils has shown resilience and motivation throughout. As part of our remote learning programme and to help prepare them for the next stage in their education, they thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of our Step Up to A Level programme, submitting impressive pieces of work in their chosen subjects.

“Our incredibly hard-working teaching staff supported our pupils, both pastorally and academically throughout the remote learning in the Summer term as well as aggregating our rigorous assessment data to enable the examination boards to award the GCSE grades. This drew on our thorough knowledge of the pupils, assisted by our small class sizes and regular progress reviews.

“I am very much looking forward to welcoming our new Year 12 students at the beginning of September, including those joining us from other schools who are attracted by excellent results, breadth of opportunity, strong emphasis upon preparation for top universities, and supportive pastoral care.”

Last week saw the Cathedral School’s A Level students progress to the most selective and sought after universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, Bristol, Cardiff, Bath, Exeter and Nottingham.

Please visit us on one of our Open Days to see what makes the Cathedral School such a dynamic and high achieving place of learning. Our Whole School Open Morning (Nursery to Sixth Form) takes place on Saturday 3^rd October, followed by a Sixth Form Options Evening on Thursday 8^th October. To book a place, please visit www.cathedral-school.co.uk/opendays

For further information, visit www.cathedral-school.co.uk or contact the Registrar Ms Deborah Whitehouse on 029 2083 8504 or registrar@cathedral-school.co.uk