GCSE Exam Success Summer 2025

Showing dedication and resilience, Year 11 students at The Compton School have achieved fantastic GCSE results in Summer 2025 with a large number of students achieving the very highest grades.

Overall, the school achieved exceptional academic outcomes, with students achieving nearly one grade higher than their predicted grades in subjects across the curriculum.

Students achieved particularly highly in the Sciences, with students attaining nearly two grades higher than predicted and 80% of all grades were 9-7 in these subjects. Students also achieved exceptional outcomes in the Languages, Humanities and the Arts. In the core subjects, English and Mathematics, all students achieved nearly one grade higher than their predicted outcomes.

On the day, the Concourse was buzzing with delighted and relieved students opening their white envelopes and there were smiles all round when students saw that their hard work and perseverance had paid off.

Emily Walker-Nolan, Assistant Headteacher, had the privilege of talking to some of the top achieving students on the day:

Top Achieving Girls: Muna (9999999887), Maya (9999998888), Nasy (999888777) and Arisha (999888887 Distinction*)

How do you feel today?

Muna: I was really nervous in the morning when I woke up and in the days leading up to today. When I opened my results, I was so happy I literally cried. Before today, I was more nervous that I thought I was – I just didn’t want the hard work I had put in to go to waste.

Maya: I feel relief – I was really stressed and just kept trying to forget about it. I’m so relieved and happy that it’s over.

Arisha: I’m really happy with English – all those practice essays have really paid off! I was really scared before today – I wasn’t too bad at the end of term but as the summer has gone on, I got more and more nervous.

Nasy: I feel really happy that I performed as well as I could in my GCSEs. I was really nervous because the grade boundaries are different every year so you never know!

What has been your greatest challenge this year?

Arisha: Overcoming and managing the mocks - handling stress during these really busy periods. As a student you need to learn how to cope with it. To help, I did loads of practice papers – the more repetition I did, the more confident I felt.

Maya: For me, it was trying to do really focused revision – it was so easy to get distracted all the time. I did it but it was hard to keep focus on just one subject. I tried to make it so I would do a set amount of work on one subject for a time and give myself a break – it is really important to take breaks!

Muna: My biggest challenge was when I was revising, I would feel really exhausted. Even when resting, I would feel that I should be revising! You should allow yourself a break – when teachers say this, you don’t always do it, but you need to allow yourself and break otherwise you’ll crash and burn! Balance is really important.

Nasy: When to start revising – I made the mistake of not revising as soon as I could. You need to prepare all your materials beforehand to make the process go much more smoothly.

What advice would you give to students in Year 11 about getting through their GCSE years?

Muna: Just really value the time you have with teacher – they are so good here and they will put in all the time you need to help you get even just one mark more. It makes such a difference!

Arisha: Start early – I meant it, start as early as possible! In Year 10 start revising every week, whatever new content you can and then, just keep going over content.

Maya: Same for me - start a little bit of revision early. It’s not possible to revise the whole GCSE but you should for upcoming tests. Try to think that it’s all important – every test or end of term assessment. It all matters.

Nasy: Be organised with your revision materials – start making them as soon as possible. Watching YouTube videos and making notes on that is also really good revision -Free Science Lessons, on You Tube, I found really helpful.

What is the best thing about The Compton School?

Muna: 100% the teachers - they just so much time for you. They are obviously really experienced – in some schools you will have endless supply teachers just reading off a PowerPoint. Here, every teacher is an expert in their subject – for instance, all the Maths teachers have either Maths or engineering degrees. This is what makes a difference.

Arisha: The support system – having two form tutors in Year 11 and your classroom teachers there for you. No matter how stressed you are, they always make time for you. That make a huge difference.

Maya: The teaching – I’ve always liked the teaching, even since Year 7. Lessons are really clear, and I’ve always found it easy to understand. Even when it’s not clear for some students, teachers take the time to explain in a different way so that we all know.

Nasy: The support from all the teachers during GCSE; they are so understanding and willing to help.

 

Top Achieving Boys: Oliver (9999999998) and Archie (9999998877)

 

How do you feel today?

Oliver: I’m extremely happy and relieved. I’m just to glad my hard work has paid off. I was nervous, knew that I tried my hardest so I’m just really happy!

Archie: I feel amazing – I did so much better than I thought I would. I felt very nervous that I didn’t achieve the results that I wanted…but I did!

What has been your greatest challenge this year?

Oliver: Forcing myself to do the work – I really struggle with motivation – but my hard work paid off. I knew these were important years and results for me – they were the hard work of nearly 5 years of school, and I didn’t want to waste those years, so I had to put in the hard work.

Archie: English – everything about English! I was worried about my handwriting; would the examiner be able to read it? And, the jump from Year 9 to Year 11 feels huge – I nearly failed. I overcame this by making sure I revised more for it than other subjects. In fact, I did so many past papers for everything -  I did almost every single past paper and it made a huge difference! I beat my predication in every subject.

What advice would you give to students in Year 11 about getting through their GCSE years?

Oliver: Start early – and make sure that you don’t lose your motivation near the end.

Archie: The only advice I would give would be to save past papers for the months before GCSEs – don’t do them all at once. For some subjects, I did them at home and marked them myself. I gave ones in the writing subjects to my teacher to mark because they’re not easy to mark on my own. AI is also really helpful sometimes in getting feedback on your practice. I also used revision websites like Cognito, for the Sciences – I found it really helpful.

What is the best thing about The Compton School?

Archie: The teachers – just the way that they warm up to you as you mature over the years and become more friendly and talkative. You build really positive relationships with them as you get older.

Oliver: For me, it’s the people – I think people at Compton are very supportive. All the teachers are nice, and I have made so many good friends here.

 

Top Students: Sam (9999999888) and Trisha (9988888888)

How do you feel today?

Sam: Really happy and so shocked – I wasn’t expecting this, and I didn’t think I would be getting so many Grade 9s. This week, I was a little bit nervous. I knew I wouldn’t do badly, because I had worked so hard – I just wanted to do really well.

Trisha: I feel really happy and finally de-stressed! I was feeling so stressed for the whole week. You put a lot of hard work in, so you really want it to pay off.

What has been your greatest challenge this year?

Trisha: Definitely English! For me, it was the hardest subject because it’s a lot of memorisation. To help, I used flashcards and revised the knowledge in the same way I would Biology – then it made more sense to me.

Sam – English Literature I had to work really hard in – I felt that I was good, but not as good as I wanted to be. I mainly used flashcards, like Trisha– quote on one side, analysis on the other and make brief notes. I needed to get the analysis part right and it was easier once I figured that out.

What advice would you give to students in Year 11 about getting through their GCSE years?

Trisha: Always take end of topic tests more seriously than they are – that’s how I made the most progress.

Sam: I know it’s massively cliched and they always say, ‘start revising early’, but I didn’t do that! I didn’t really start making any revision materials until April in Year 10 – I should have stared earlier and it would have been easier later on.

What is the best thing about The Compton School?

Trisha: The teachers – most of my results are because of my teachers.

Sam: I couldn’t agree more.

 

Top Achievers: Arthur (9998888765) and Seth (9999888877)

 

How do you feel today?

Arthur: I am content. There are one or two subjects I thought I could have done better in, but I feel mainly happy.

Seth: I am quite happy  I did much better than I expected!

 

What has been your greatest challenge this year?

Seth: Just keeping up with and actually doing the revision -  I made somewhat of a schedule and stuck to it.

Arthur: I agree - the revision – how much you have to do and the sheer amount of time needed to do it. I used before school and early mornings – I don’t mind waking up early – and there’s actually loads of time before school you can use before you get tired.

What advice would you give to students in Year 11 about getting through their GCSE years?

Arthur: It’s an obvious one – just start revising early. Also, go after school just to your teacher and get feedback and ask questions. Don’t just rely on lesson time – teachers will also make time for you after school.

Seth: Remember that Year 10 is important – you should treat Year 10 as Year 11 really.

What is the best thing about The Compton School?

Seth: The support. Whenever I felt like I didn’t understand, I could always go to someone for help.

Arthur: The people – my teacher, my friends – it’s a real community.

 

The whole school community is incredibly proud of the Year 11s for their success, as they now prepare to take their next steps in education.