Focus and determination paid off as pupils celebrated outstanding GCSE and IGCSE results at the Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools.

At Monmouth School, 43% of all grades were A*. Eleven boys gained at least eight A*s, and two pupils, Oli Jones and Richard Lambert, achieved 11 A*s.

An impressive 68.6% of all grades were A* to A, 20 boys gained all A*s and As, and three candidates achieved a clean sweep of A*s.

Over at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls, 41.9% of all examinations were graded A*, and more than a third of pupils achieved at least seven A*s.

One girl, Rosemary Badley, was awarded 11 A*s and an A, and five candidates gained 10 A*s.

Rosemary came to the Ross Gazette office last August to take part in a work experience placement. During her time at the newspaper, the Gazette reporters were impressed with the quality of Rosemary’s work, and how polite and friendly she was.

Reporter, Catherine Barkley, commeted: "Rosemary fit in really well within the Gazette team. It’s lovely to hear she’s done so well in her GCSEs."

Flautist Rosemary, who hopes to study French and German at university, was relieved that her hard work delivered such sterling marks.

She said: “I’m so happy. My advice to people taking GCSEs next year is to stay calm and pace yourself throughout study periods.”

All 20 pupils who sat additional maths achieved a distinction and a third of all girls gained 10 A* to A grades.

Best friends Susie Creasey and Lucy Reynolds were both awarded eight A*s and two As.

Lucy said: “We’ve been together since Reception and we were in a lot of the same classes. I can’t believe how well we’ve done.

“We knew maths was going to be a challenge so we did a lot of past papers together. We definitely got each other through maths this year.”

Monmouth School boy Oli put in a huge amount of work to achieve his 11 A*s.

He said: “It’s such a nice feeling to know all the effort paid off in the end.

“If you’ve got the right grades it means you can go anywhere you want – they’re a passport for life. Teachers at Monmouth have been so supportive. They kept me calm at stressful times.

“My advice to pupils taking GCSEs is to trust your teachers and do what they say. It’s also really important to take breaks and distract yourself from studying from time to time because otherwise the stress builds up.

“I love photography, so I went for lots of walks and took pictures when I needed a distraction.”

Will Telling, who has come up through the Haberdashers’ Schools from nursery at Agincourt, achieved nine A*s and an A.

He said: “I set myself targets to complete a chapter or a topic at a time – it’s a lot more rewarding that way. Going for a run in the mornings definitely helped me to clear my head too. I was very happy when I saw my results this morning.”

Pupils also performed well in the more challenging IGCSE examinations.

At HMSG, 82.6% of biology papers, 82.6% of physics exams, 73.9% of chemistry papers and 78.6% of history assessments were marked at A*/A.

And at the boys’ school, A*/A grades were awarded to 84.6% of biology papers, 83.1% of physics exams, 78.4% of chemistry papers and 74.5% of history candidates.

Dr Andrew Daniel, Headmaster of Monmouth School, said: “The jewel in the crown is that our percentage A* has increased to a superb 43%.  This reflects very well indeed on the great efforts of our students, and is particularly impressive given that many of these boys are very actively involved in our extra-curricular programmes. The staff and I are so proud of the achievements of this year group, and they have certainly set the foundations for excellence in the sixth form at Monmouth School.”

And Dr Caroline Pascoe, Headmistress of HMSG, added: “We were delighted for the girls and so proud of them. This is the first year that every single girl who sat additional maths achieved a distinction. It’s all thanks to the dedication and commitment of our pupils and staff.”