August 2009 - News Stories

Pupils notch up impressive GCSE results

Picture: GCSE2

An agonising, Summer-long wait for a group of pupils at St Leonards was finally over when they received their GCSE exam results.

And it turns out the cohort had nothing to worry about as they posted an impressive set of marks.

Rebecca Mansbridge from Balmullo had plenty to smile about as she celebrated scoring 9A*s and 1A in her ten subjects.

She said, �I�m really pleased.

�I really didn�t expect to get A*s in the Sciences, especially not in Biology which I thought I�d done worst in.�

Michael Overend was equally excited having also gained 9A*s and 1A.

Michael, from St Andrews, said, �I was really happy when I opened the envelope!

�I had managed to forget about the results until it dawned on me the other day. I�m just happy it�s over now!�

Fiona Baird was similarly ecstatic with her haul of 5 A*s, 4As and 1B.

�I was absolutely delighted with my results,� she said.

�It was completely unexpected, especially the A* in Maths.�

Fiona, along with the rest of her year group, will now go on to study for the International Baccalaureate Diploma and the St Andrews pupil feels her GCSE results will serve as a boost ahead of the two year course.

�These results have given me more confidence for the IB,� she added.

Liam Deboys, who stays in one of the School�s three boarding houses, is also looking to the future after posting 2A*s, 5As and 3Bs.

�I�m looking forward to being able to concentrate on the IB now,� he said.

Results day at St Leonards was a happy one all round as the 36 GCSE candidates performed strongly across the board.

35% of exam entries at the School were awarded A* or A grades, compared to a UK average of 21.6%, whilst nearly 88% of St Leonards entries were graded at A*-C against the UK figure of 67%.

In addition, almost 89% of the St Andrews school�s candidates achieved five or more grades A*-C.

Overseas students also turned in an outstanding set of results with six pupils who took part in a year long preparation course for the IB Diploma sitting a total of 9 GCSEs and scoring 3A*s and 6 As in the process.

Eva Dumann from Germany led the way with 2 A*s in her two subjects.

Headmaster of St Leonards School, Dr Michael Carslaw, said, �I�m very pleased with this set of results.

�It�s a good reward for all the hard work that the boys and girls and the teaching staff have put in and the pupils can take great confidence from their results as they move on to study for the International Baccalaureate Diploma.�

Picture: GCSE1

Plenty to smile about: GCSE candidates (left to right) Eva Dumann, Rebecca Mansbridge, Fiona Baird, Michael Overend and Liam Deboys.

A world class school hosts some world class footballing talent

Picture: Everton

Millions of pounds worth of footballing talent came to St Andrews when St Leonards School played host to Everton FC�s pre-season training camp.

Premier League stars including Marouane Fellaini, Phil Neville, Jo and Leighton Baines took to the playing fields as coach David Moyes got his troops into shape for the 2009/10 campaign with three days of intensive preparation.

Cameras from Everton TV were on hand to capture images of the players being put through their paces with ball-work drills and fitness work ahead of the club�s first friendly fixtures.

The Merseyside team clearly have a liking for what St Leonards can offer, the Toffees having also taken advantage of the school�s facilities in the run up to a successful 2007/08 season that saw them finish 5th and qualify for Europe.

And they are not the only ones who value the superb facilities on offer at the School.

A busy summer vacation period has seen groups including the Fife Summer Jazz Course, The International Summer School of Scotland, Families First and the Scottish Hockey Union take advantage of our amenities, with the youth teams of the Houston Dynamo's and Celtic FC also due to check in shortly.

Picture: Everton a