City Academy GCSE results: 77% of students get 4 to 9 in English and maths

City Academy Hackney is celebrating another excellent set of GCSE results, despite being “guinea pigs” to the harder new English and maths exams.

Some 77pc of students at the school in Homerton Row bagged passes at 4 to 9 in English and maths. And 58pc – double the national average – achieved an EBacc, with English, maths, a language, two sciences, and history or geography.

Ferdosi Abbott was “very pleased with herself” and couldn’t stop smiling after finding out she had got all As and A*s or equivalent.

“I’m all shaky – I can’t wait to go home and tell everyone,” she said.

“I was stressing about maths, probably along with everyone across the country – as I was in tears after the second exam.”

Her dad is making her a Mexican dinner to celebrate tonight and she has decided to stay at the school “where it all began” and “live it out for the seven years”, to study biology, chemistry and English literature at A-level.

Jakaria Uddin racked up an impressive six As, six A*s, two 9s in English language and literature and an 8 in maths.

“If you think about it we are just guinea pigs to these new GCSEs and that adds to the anxiety because of the change,” he said.

“I found it a challenge. My parents were backing me up and also my prayers.”

He is going to stay at City Academy to study maths, further maths, computer science and economics.

Angel Addo is really happy with her four A*s, three As and an 8 in maths and English literature and a 9 in English language.

“I opened the results in the playground and called my mum and dad. I was shaking,” she said.

She’s finding it hard to decide which subjects to study now at A-level. “Now I’ve seen my grades I can do pretty much any subject and I’ve enjoyed a lot of them,” she said.

Lilian Nwosu received three 9s in maths and English along with eight A*s and an A.

“I was so happy – I didn’t expect that,” she said. “I worked really hard for every exam and I revised past papers and prayed.”

Her sister is taking her to a surprise show at the Apollo to celebrate and she is going on to study maths, biology chemistry and psychology at Ashburn College.

Amaree Robinson Jones was over the moon with his four Bs and three Cs.

“I feel happy,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard revising in the library after school and getting up at the weekends early to revise.”

Principal Mark Malcolm told the Gazette he is delighted with the results.

“The national picture is that schools have found the new specifications to be a real challenge and that has affected the overall headline figures slightly,” he said. “It has affected our overall headline figures a little bit. Our 77pc is lower than we were hoping, but what we are particularly pleased with is we have some 9s.

“That effectively means you are in the top 20pc of what would have been As and A*s in the past.”