‘They have achieved fantastic results & that is down to their sheer hard work & dedication’: GCSE results day 2021 at Atlantic Academy

GCSE results day at Atlantic Academy was an occasion for pride and celebration. 

Following another extraordinary year where Year 11 students did not sit formal national exams, students at the all-through on Portland achieved fantastic results. 

Atlantic’s Secondary Principal, Lesley Bishop told the Dorset Echo: ”We are incredibly proud of all our Year 11 students. Despite the many challenges they have faced, they have achieved fantastic results and that is down to their sheer hard work and dedication.

”We are as ever impressed by the effort they have consistently applied, their resilience and above all their commitment to their education. We are really pleased to be able to acknowledge  and celebrate their achievements and share in their successful progression onto the next step in their education.

”I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the dedicated  staff  who have worked incredibly hard and have been totally committed in supporting  our students throughout their time with us. Finally , I would  like to wish all of our students the very best for the future . We have known our students for a very long time and believe in their amazing ability and know that they will go on to achieve many great things.”

Below are a handful of GCSE case studies highlighting the brilliance of Atlantic students: 

Alex Short is this year’s best-performing student at Atlantic. He achieved 5 Grade 9s, 4 grade 8s and 1 grade 6.

He said: ‘’I feel fantastic. It feels great to have achieved the grades I did and it’s a reflection of all my hard work. Home schooling was difficult at first but once I got into a routine it was easy to maintain. The school was massively supportive. I’m going to go on to study for a business diploma and computer science and the goal now is to strive for Oxford University.

‘’The teachers at Atlantic have been fantastic. They’re all so passionate about the subjects they teach and they make you feel the same way about learning and retaining the knowledge you’re taught. The assessments were a fair way of grading us as at the end of the day our teachers want what’s best for us and what’s fair and it was good not having the pressure of a final exam.’’

Amy Pomelles (Head Girl)  achieved 1 grade 9, 8 grade 8s, and 1 grade 7, she is Atlantic’s top-performing female student this year. She said: ‘’ ’I feel really relieved and I’m delighted because I was really worried I wasn’t going to get the grades to get into my college.

‘’I’m now hoping to do A-level biology, chemistry and psychology and go on to university.

‘’I did find the last two years stressful and it was a relief not to have a final exam but I knew I still had to work hard to get the grades. The teachers at Atlantic were brilliant about supporting us through this whole process and they made sure they prioritised our mental wellbeing as well as our education.’’

Eric Lenz achieved 1 grade 9, 4 grade 8s and 3 grade 7s and 1 grade 6 . His grades have secured his place at Loughborough College and a chance to aim for the stars as he will now complete a space engineering course and work towards his goal of heading into space! He said: ‘’I’m very happy with my grades and I will now go on to study A-level Maths and Physics and level 3 engineering at Loughborough. The end goal is to become a space engineer and go to space! The school has been very supportive during the last two years and I didn’t find homeschooling too bad once I got into a routine and I disciplined myself.’’

Other students who performed well include: Aaron Griffin (Head Boy) achieved 3 grade 9s, 3 grade 8s, 1 grade 7 and 2 grade 6s;  Solomon Ashe  achieved 4 grade 9s, 2 grade 8s 3 grade 7s and 2 grade 6s  & Sky Parrott achieved 1 grade 9, 4 grade 8s and 2 grade 7s and 2 grade 6