National Church of England Academy students look forward to bright futures

The academy is immensely proud of the resilience and strength of character shown by students who have worked for two years, including remotely, preparing for these qualifications. The atmosphere at the academy was extremely positive as students discovered their grades. Staff have been available to offer guidance and support for students as they embark upon the next chapter of their lives whilst complying with the social distancing guidelines.

There were a number of notable successes today from National students, including Emily and Jamie who are the highest achieving students both with seven grades 9s and two grade 8s, although it was close with Dylan who achieved four grades 9s, four grade 8s and a grade 7.

There have been a significant number of challenges for students during this very unusually year. The staff at National C of E Academy have commented on numerous occasions and at length regarding the significant progress that students within this cohort have made with many working to a level which far exceeds their target grades in a broad number of subjects. With this group of students having to work remotely for a significant part of the academic year and complete an increase volume of internal assessments it is testament to their values, resilience and work ethic that they have been able to overcome the immense challenges that they have had to endure.

Principal Martin Brailsford said well done and congratulations to all of our year 11 students who have faced so much disruption and frustration for a second year. “For the second year running, in the face of adversity, our students have performed brilliantly and received the grades that they deserved. Throughout this year, students successfully managed to ignore the distractions and uncertainty surrounding exams, take on board advice and focus on their learning and their performance in assessments. We have seen Year 11 go from strength to strength and following a very robust and fair checking process, which included successful checks from exam boards, they can now start to plan and prepare for next year and open a new chapter in their lives”. Mr Brailsford also wanted to acknowledge the support parents and other family members had played in supporting students. “We cannot underestimate the role families play in the education of children. With parts of the year being taught remotely and other pressures related to covid affecting so many people, our students would not have achieved what they have without considerable support from home and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their efforts last year which have so clearly had an impact”.

Chair of Governors Kirsty Cowley also said: “The last two years have been incredibly difficult for all our staff and students, but these results are a credit to the determination and resilience of our young people and the dedication of our staff. I hope our students are as proud of themselves and their results as we are. We wish them well with all future endeavours and look forward to hearing about the great things that we know they will achieve.”

Many of these individuals will now continue their studies onto A Levels and further qualifications. Indeed, over 100 students from the academy have applied to continue into sixth form based at the Hucknall Sixth Form Centre alongside peers from the Holgate Academy, Queen Elizabeth’s Academy and a number of students recruited from other centres. We look forward to watching them flourish and develop with their continued education.  Assistant Principal Kelly Wall added: “We are very excited about welcoming our new year 12 students to Hucknall Sixth Form Centre.”  Any students yet to secure a place with a post 16 provider for this September or who is considering their post-GCSE options are welcome to visit www.hsfc-ac.org.uk or email info@hsfc-ac.org.uk for more information.