Huge success at the top GCSE grades have made 2023 another vintage year for QE as it celebrates its 450th anniversary.
With no GCSE examinations taken in 2020 and 2021, and last year’s results adjusted because of the pandemic, all eyes were on this year’s Year 11 to see how they would compare with the 2019 cohort.
They did not disappoint: no fewer than 1,556 of the examinations taken at QE this year were awarded grades 9 or 8 – equivalent to the old A* – a 3.5% increase on 2019. The increase took this measure to 82.9% of all results, comfortably breaking through the 80% threshold. For grade 9 alone, there was a 3.1% increase, and for grades 9–7 (previously A* and A), the increase was 2.5%.
Results from all departments were strong, with especially shining performances in Mathematics – where 84% of the 190 students gained a grade 9 (with no results lower than a 7) – and the sciences, with 86% of those taking individual Biology and Physics securing 9s, and 79% for Chemistry.
Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My heartfelt congratulations go to the boys for a highly impressive set of results: like our A-level candidates last week, they have done us proud in our 450th anniversary year.
“GCSE results in recent years have been very strong here, so they had a lot to live up to, but thanks to their hard work and to the dedication and detailed approach of their teachers, they have not only held their own, but have made incremental improvements on the record of their predecessors.
“This consistency of excellence sets our Year 11 pupils up well for Sixth Form studies and for exciting future opportunities at university and in their careers.”
Figures in this article were updated following the outcome of re-marks in early October 2023.