“They are superb results but no-one believes they are the whole picture. The full achievements of both our GCSE and A level cohorts cannot be reduced to a set of statistics considered in isolation and without reference to individual ability and personal achievement."
Tim Manly, Headmaster, Hurstpierpoint College

"We are celebrating some really excellent GCSE results today, results that are the best we have ever achieved" commented Hurst's Headmaster, Tim Manly. "Good GCSE's in subjects that are valued by both universities and employers are such an important stepping stone to success in almost every career and the school is immensely pleased and proud that so many of our pupils performed to their full potential this Summer."

"This year, we had one hundred and ten Fifth formers at Hurst and their GCSE successes are a tribute to their hard work and the help and support given both by my great staff and also by their parents; bringing up children and enabling them to achieve to the best of their ability is a team game.

"I am particularly pleased that we have gained record number of A* grades this year and that we have equalled or surpassed last year’s outstanding performance in the number of passes at A*- A,  A*- B and A*- C grades; in fact, over half of our candidates gained at least 6 A* - A grades or better.

"So, once again, the College's pupils have delivered results which confirm the trend - now extending over five years - of year-on-year improvements in our performance in public examinations, both at GCSE and at A Level.

"They are superb results but no-one believes they are the whole picture. The full achievements of both our GCSE and A level cohorts cannot be reduced to a set of statistics considered in isolation and without reference to individual ability and personal achievement."

“When I look at this wonderful group of youngsters, I think about them as individuals not just in terms of their academic achievements but across the whole spectrum of their abilities and interests. Nearly all have made significant contributions to a number of areas of life in both school and the community - in sport, in the creative and dramatic arts and in our broad and very diverse cultural and intellectual life. Some have also overcome significant challenges during the year but all have pushed themselves and perhaps achieved more than they ever thought possible; in so doing they have developed as individuals in an environment that prizes ambition and excellence but also friendship, mutual respect, support and always giving of one’s best.

“The school is proud that, in this extraordinarily competitive year, nearly all its A level Leavers gained a place at their university of first choice and that in only days we shall also be welcoming an exceptionally able and versatile group of youngsters into our Lower Sixth. The health and vitality of a school is powerfully influenced by the commitment and engagement of staff, pupils and parents and we are very fortunate that all three bodies are stronger than they have ever been.”

Hurst's GCSE high fliers include the following who gained A*/A grades:

Lucy Allen, 6A*,4A
Marcus Campopiano, 2A*, 8A
Evelyn Candler, 7A*,3A
India Coker, 7A*,3A
Elizabeth Freeman, 10A*
Bradley Gayler, 7A*,3A
Zoe Griffiths, 7A*,3A
Charlotte Haigh, 7A*,3A
Jacob Hollebon, 8A*,2A
Timoth Hyman, 9A*,1A
Matthew Keats, 3A*, 7A
Elizabeth Learmonth, 10A*
Benjamin Mason, 10A*
Emma McNally, 7A*,3A
Georgina Meredith, 10A*
Frederick Newmarch, 9A*,1A
Oliver Parish, 6A*,4A
Benjamin Rudling, 11A*
Lydia Webb, 9A*,1A

Important notice: Hurst is one of a number of prominent schools, including Cranleigh, Eastbourne College, Eton, St. Paul’s, London, Marlborough, Sevenoaks and Winchester, that took the decision in 2008 not to publish their full results immediately.

Hurst’s Headmaster, Tim Manly – and many of his fellow Heads – remain of the view that the headline figures of league tables fail to reveal how the student body has performed against its potential and can thus prove to be a very misleading guide.

“Our 2011 A level and GCSE results are excellent” said Mr Manly. “and that is because so very many Hurst pupils have performed extraordinarily well in relation to their underlying ability. At Hurst, we have an outstanding track record of enabling our pupils to be the very best that they can be. For some, that means performing to the very highest academic standards achieved anywhere in the country whilst for others achieving something a little less stellar is just as much a cause for great celebration.

Giving young people the confidence to raise their expectations and empowering them to meet, or even surpass, those expectations, is the key characteristic of an outstanding school - a characteristic that GCSE and A level league tables simply fail to reveal.”

(Hurstpierpoint College makes its full GCSE and A results available in time for them to be included in the Government League tables by which time the College is confident that they are the final marks awarded to students after all appeals have been heard.)

note: All Hurstpierpoint College students are entered for public examinations using the College’s centre number. No students are entered as private candidates or using a different centre number.