Students at Southmoor Academy are celebrating success in the new ‘gold standard’ for exam results.  Principal Steve Garrett said, ‘We are delighted with the increasing proportion of pupils achieving this qualification.  It demands a great deal from our students.  They need good grades in English, maths and two sciences, along with humanities and a modern language.  Nationally around one quarter of pupils achieved this standard last year.  2017 results show that a third of Southmoor’s pupils have made the grade and that’s despite the benchmark moving up to a grade 5 (or B equivalent) in English and maths! We are also very proud of our top performers.  This year has seen the introduction of new and tougher GCSEs in English and maths. With the very top grades being scarce nationally, a special mention goes to the six pupils in English Language, five in English Literature and five in maths who achieved the elusive top grade 9s! (See below).