Head teacher pays tribute to his students

A head teacher has paid tribute to his pupils after the school recorded improving GCSE results despite battling through a tumultuous period.

Graeme Plunkett, head of Copland Community School in Cecil Avenue, said the school was on an improving track after it had 44 per cent of pupils gain A* to C in English and maths, and 55 per cent gain A* to C grades in all subjects.

Mr Plunkett has been at the school for two years and took over from Sir Alan Davies, who stepped down amid allegations of fraud.

Mr Plunkett said: “We are on an improving track and it is better than 2 years ago so we are on an upward trend and it’s comfortably above the governments target of 40 per cent.

“These children have been here for five years, some of the events of the past may have had an impact on thier progress at various points but we are moving away from that now and we are seeing much more emphasis on persistant progress.”

Many of the pupils who picked up thier results this morning told the Times that they were intending to stay on in the sixth form to do thier A-Levels rather than leave the school.

Mr Plunkett said: “We have a very loyal student body. It is no coincidence that we are called Copland Community school as we are at the heart of this community. Our students are very aspirational, they want to go to university, they understand that education is a passport to a better future and we do our best to meet their expectations.”

Chandni Patel, 16, from Wembley, was celebrating for the second time in a week after she got an A in A-Level maths last Thursday and three A* grades, five As and one B in her GCSEs today.

“To be honest i was more nervous last week, but I am really happy to have got these results today.

“I was not sure how I had done as I could not really rememebr how the exams had gone, but I’m really happy.”