Students at Welland Park Academy in Harborough are flying high with their best ever GCSE results​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Despite the disruption to the GCSE courses caused by the pandemic, more students than ever before secured high grades not just in the core subjects of English and maths but 44 per cent of students for music achieved grade 9 and 36 per cent of students for PE achieved grade 9.

The school praised the 16-year-olds who have worked hard to overcome so much in the last two years. Florence Hynes-Bird and Freddie Brown with a full sweep of grade 9s lead the list of high achievers with Hayden Brown, Carys Hamilton, Poppy O’Connell, Harry Slaughter, Theo Powys-Smith and Kiera Watson to name but a few who achieved outstanding achievement in all curriculum areas.

Principal Julie McBrearty said: "A record number of students secured fantastic outcomes with remarkable progress, charting how far they have come in their five years at the academy. It is thought that the academic progress at Welland Park Academy is the best ever for the school with a number of students scoring two or three grades beyond the national progress expected.

"We are grateful to staff, parents, and governors for working collaboratively to ensure this staggering success for our youngsters. We are tremendously proud of all our students’ achievements, including those not measured by GCSE grades, and of the young adults they have become.

"They demonstrated great resilience and determination during the exams and to win the Rugby County Cup and 1st place for U17 Area Athletics! Very well done!’