AFTER a summer of waiting, students at Queen Elizabeth’s School, Crediton finally received their GCSE results today surrounded by friends, families and their teachers.  

It was a morning of nervous anticipation, happy smiles and high emotion for everyone.  

Following two years of uncertainty and disruption to their learning in Year 8 and 9, QE’s Year 11 class of 2023 celebrated their impressive results. 

Paula Smith, Headteacher at QE said: “I’m so proud of all our students, staff and parents and carers. 

“Supporting any student through the rigours of GCSEs is incredibly challenging for everyone involved. 

Hard work and teamwork have triumphed. 

It is a privilege to share in the success of our wonderful young people, it fills me with immense pride for them, our school and local community.” 

She went on to add: “Students at Queen Elizabeth’s have achieved our highest ever pass rate for English and Maths with 77 per cent of students gaining a grade 4 or above in both subjects – huge congratulations to everyone.  

“Our priority is to ensure that our students gain a broad set of door opening qualifications to get them onto a path of success for post-16 study and apprenticeships. 

“These set of results will enable our learners to make smooth transition and fulfil their aspirations. 

“We look forward to welcoming many of them back into our fantastic Sixth Form, where, as last week’s results demonstrated, students continue to gain exceptional results.  

“For now, I hope our students enjoy their many successes and celebrate with their families today”. 

Dulcie Oliver Head of Year 11 said: "This cohort of students have been encouraged across their time at QE to do their very best, and I am enormously proud both of the hard work they have put in and the set of results they have achieved having done just that: their best.  

Their resilience is impressive and their success likewise, particularly in light of the pandemic and the challenges they have endured over this period because of this.  

“The team of teachers, pastoral and support staff, and tutors who have been working with these students in school across their five years are all thrilled to see the journey each student has taken and the hard work having paid off.  

“We wish them the very best as they go on to pursue the Post 16 courses and opportunities they have chosen.”  

Alexandra Blagden, Deputy Headteacher for Quality of Education, added: “I have been working closely with the Year group since they moved up to our Western Road site and it has been a privilege to get to know them and support them as they have developed into the students, we saw collect their results today. 

“I'm especially proud of how the students and staff participated in the structured Tutor times and revision countdown programmes we delivered. 

“It has been a real team effort to prepare them for this year's exams and the excellent set of results our students have achieved shows us the impact this collective drive can provide. 

“I look forward to welcoming many of them into our excellent Sixth Form and wish all the students the best with their Post-16 choices. “Enjoy celebrating your successes!”