Condemned school answers critics

East Brighton College of Media Arts (Comart) must close next year because of low pupil numbers and falling results.

But this year's pupils did not disappoint. Ninety-four per cent of them got at least one GCSE.

Headteacher Karen Lees said she was thrilled.

She said: "Bearing in mind this is on the back of finding out the school is going to close next year, the staff and students have done brilliantly."

The number of pupils at the school passing at least five exams at grade A* to C also rose slightly from last year to 14 per cent.

Axel Abbott, who took his GCSEs a year early and gained three Bs, said: "Doing all the extra work has been worth it.

"I am not worried about studying with older kids because I get on with everyone. I can't wait to get to college."

Councillor Pat Hawkes, who chairs Brighton and Hove's education and social services committee, said: "The pupils who have done GCSEs at the school have been individually supported to do the best they can and I am confident the results will continue to improve."

One girl burst into tears when she realised her GCSE success meant she could go on to do A-levels.

Stephanie Lidbetter, 16, said: "I got a B in media. I can't believe it. I was certain I was going to get all Es and Ds but I've done well."

Mrs Lees, drafted in from Varndean School to act as joint principal with Mark Whitby at the college, said: "We've improved significantly since last year."

Pupils at Falmer High School also showed they were back on track with 23 per cent of students achieving at least five GCSEs at grades A* to C.

The school, in the hands of headteacher Stuart McLaughlin, did not meet its target of 30 per cent but the results were an improvement on last year.

Mr McLaughlin said: "We are reasonably pleased. Obviously we would have liked to have achieved above 25 per cent but we're on the right track."

Elsewhere across the city jubilant scenes unfolded as students discovered they had beaten the national average once again.

The number of youngsters achieving more than five GCSEs at grades A* to C soared above the national figure of 59.2 per cent.

Most also managed to beat the overall pass rate of 97.6 per cent.

Headteachers say the results are some of the best recorded.

However, after criticism from education bosses, radical changes to the GCSE system are under way.

Modern languages and design and technology will be optional after the age of 14, leaving pupils with more time to spend on vocational courses and in the workplace.

Many schools in Brighton and Hove have pre-empted these changes with students enrolled on practical college courses.

Tim Barclay, headteacher at Hove Park, said: "We already have students doing construction, hair and beauty, childcare and food and leisure. It is fantastic."

The school was one of many to beat the national average with 32 per cent of students securing GCSEs at grades at A* or A.

Sally Doust, 16, of Hove Park, achieved eight A*s and three As when she opened her results yesterday.

She intends to study French, human biology, early history and art.

Forty-nine students at Dorothy Stringer School, Brighton, took GCSE French two years early and all passed with a B or higher.

Tristan Giudicelli, 14, from Brighton, is half-French and speaks the language at home with his mum, Dominique.

He was thrilled he had achieved an A*.

Josh Mouland got an A* in statistics and had one of the top five marks in the country.

More than 62 per cent of students at the school gained at least five GCSEs at A* to C.

National figures showed the gender gap continues to grow, with boys still lagging behind by more than eight per cent.

But claims boys are underperforming were not backed up at schools across the city.

Headteacher Peter Evans said the gap at Cardinal Newman School in Hove was virtually non-existent.

He said: "The girls and boys work well together and we do not see any competition between them."

Cardinal Newman had one of the most impressive rises in results.

This year saw 77 per cent of students achieve grades A* to G.

A broad grin crept across 16-year-old Varndean School pupil Ashley Grimm's face when headteacher Andy Schofield said his ten GCSEs, eight at grade A*, one at grade A and one at grade B, made him the highest-achieving boy at the school.

Ashley said: "I am ecstatic."

Varndean School recorded a 99 per cent pass rate, with 63 per cent of students passing five or more subjects at grades A* to C.

Blatchington Mill School had a pass rate of 97 per cent.

Students performed especially well in maths, where 61 per cent achieved grade A* to C.

Patcham High School, in Ladies Mile Road, also recorded its best results with a seven per cent increase in the number of students achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C.

Students at Longhill School in Falmer Road, Brighton, achieved 49 per cent A* or Cs.

City College Brighton and Hove topped the national average by four per cent when 58 per cent of students gained at least five or more A* to Cs.

Most of the city's independent schools boasted pass rates of 100 per cent.

Students at Brighton College, Brighton and Hove High School for Girls, Roedean and St Mary's Hall all scored top marks.

Staff at Brighton College were bursting with pride at their students' success, with 53 per cent of all grades being A*s and As.

Amber Sinclair, 16, beat dyslexia to achieve a string of A*s, As and Bs.

She said: "I'm so pleased. I've worked really hard and it has paid off."

Some 88 per cent of the girls at St Mary's Hall got five or more GCSEs at A* to C and 32 per cent got five or more A*s and As.

Katie Lower, 15, was the first of her brothers and sisters to do GCSEs and she made the grade, getting six A*s and three As.

She said: "I'm so happy. I just told my parents and my mum cried."

It was double delight in the Shephard household when twins Tammy and Rod, from Woodmancote, near Henfield, notched up an incredible 14 A*s and seven As between them.

Tammy, who studied at Hurstpierpoint College, bagged eight A*s and two As while Rod, who attended Wellington School in Berkshire, pulled in six A*s and five As.

At Uckfield Community Technology College, 50 per cent of students gained eight or more A* to C grades.

A group of Year 9 students took their French and German GCSEs two years early and all achieved grades higher than C.

Della West, headteacher at Davison High School for Girls, Worthing, said she was overjoyed when she discovered a quarter of pupils had exceeded their expected grades and achieved A*s and As.

Students at Ringmer Community College all left with at least three GCSEs this year.

Head boy Jonathan Watson achieved eight A*s and three As.

Top marks were achieved by students at Oathall Community College in Haywards Heath who recorded a 100 per cent overall pass rate.

Hurstpierpoint College students proved they could do better than the national average.

More than 97 per cent gained A* to C grades and 47 per cent achieved A*s and As.

Not far behind was the Weald School at Billingshurst, where 78 per cent of students achieved five or more A* to C grades.

Eastbourne's Bishop Bell School, The Causeway School, Cavendish School, Ratton School and Willingdon Community School all beat the national average, as did Hailsham Community College.

Sebastian Hodnett from Willingdon gained top marks in German to be one of the top five students in the country.

Eastbourne Technology College saw 95 per cent of students leave with at least one GCSE and 42 per cent gained five or more grades at A* to C.

The Towers Convent School in Steyning saw a further increase in its A* to C pass rate.

Ninety-three per cent of its students excelled in the exams.

Independent schools fared equally well.

Pupils at Moira House School, in Eastbourne, Burgess Hill School for Girls and Eastbourne College all achieved grades A* to C in at least five subjects.

Boys at Ardingly College were catching up with the girls.

The boys' results showed a six per cent increase on last year with 93 per cent gaining A* to Cs.

Hot on their heels was Shoreham College with an 84 per cent pass rate at grades A* to C.

Seventy per cent of pupils at Christ's Hospital in Horsham achieved A* and A grades, as did 51 per cent of Lancing College pupils.

At Newlands School in Eastbourne, 21 per cent of students achieved top marks and 68 per cent secured at least five A* to C grades.

Our Lady of Sion School in Worthing also had a successful year.

Ninety-eight per cent of students gained at least five A* to C grades.

Staff at Chatsmore Catholic High School in Worthing were still waiting to confirm its results.

Indications were that more than 50 per cent of students achieved A* to C grades.