Students at Castell Alun returned exceptional GCSE results this year, despite myriad national and local challenges over recent years. There was great celebration amongst many families early on Thursday morning as results were released and it became clear that 28% of all students were awarded 5 of more grades at A* or A grade at the school.

At the stunning peak of overall academic performance Eloise Winkworth, Matthew Smith and Ella Shaw all scooped a whopping haul of 11 A* grades each, plus further A grades also. Nadia Manole and Katie Hall weighed in with a tremendous 10 A* and further A grades, with Jack Coll, Reuben Mortlock and Kirstyn Roberts returning 9 A* grades. Further absolutely wonderful personal performances were achieved by Alyssa Arnowalt, Annabel Collis, Ella Wilson, Adam Clark, Taylor Crewe, Oak Crow, Eoin Cunningham and Daisy Fogerty who each achieved a haul of 7 or 8A* grades, plus multiple other grades of which to be proud.

Castell Alun Year 11 students Isaac Holmes, Louis Crank, Evan Spray and Adam Clark have played in the rock band ‘LIES’ together since forming during Year 7 at school. They are known for their talent throughout the region and can regularly be found playing gigs for numbers up to 1500 people. Isaac and Louis will now attend LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) while Evan and Adam will stay on at Castell Alun for their A level studies. The band will stay together with the very real possibility of making it big in the near future.

Headteacher, Colin Eliis, commented, “We couldn’t be prouder of our young people. I would like to thank all parents, along with teaching and support staff who have worked incredibly hard to provide our students with guidance and encouragement and the best possible learning opportunities. At Castell Alun we seek to get the best for every individual and what matters to us is that each child achieves in-line with his or her potential, so that they can aspire to pursue the eventual careers of their choice. We will be welcoming lots of our Year 11 students back into the Sixth Form at the start of term, and we wish the very best to those others who have achieved places on great apprenticeships or have already secured employment. However the next steps unfold, every single one of our students will remain part of the Castell Alun family.”

Student Development Manager for the Year 11 cohort, Andrew Duffy, added, “We are absolutely thrilled. Our students’ hard work has paid off and they really are remarkable young people. To overcome the challenges of recent times so admirably says a great deal about each of them. These exam results are essentially the icing on the cake.”