Category: Featured News

Class of 2025: Exceptional A-level Results – 70% A*-B and one-third of all grades at A/A*

 

Students and staff at Highsted Grammar School are celebrating another outstanding set of A-level results, with 70% of all grades awarded at A*-B and one-third of entries achieving the highest A*/A grades. The Headteacher praised the students’ commitment and resilience:

“We are incredibly proud of our students’ achievements this year. These results reflect their hard work, dedication, and the support of our talented teaching staff. To see one in three grades as A*/A is a testament to their ability and determination.”

Many students will now be progressing to prestigious universities, apprenticeships and employment opportunities, with destinations including the University of Cambridge, University of Manchester and Kings’ College, London.

“Our students have shown not just academic excellence, but also the character and adaptability to thrive in challenging times. We wish them every success with the next stage of their journey.”

Highsted Grammar School is proud to announce an impressive set of GCSE results this summer, reflecting the hard work, dedication, and resilience of our students.

This year’s cohort achieved particularly strong outcomes in Science, Geography, Drama, History, and English, demonstrating both academic excellence and creativity across the curriculum.

The Headteacher commented, “This is a talented year group who have thrived as a community, supporting one another to achieve their best. Their success is testament not only to their ability and determination, but also to the commitment of their teachers and families.”

Building on the Next Steps event held in June, where alumni returned to inspire current students and highlight the bright future that lies ahead, our GCSE candidates are now well placed to move confidently into the next phase of their education.

We look forward to welcoming them into the Highsted Sixth Form, where they will continue to grow with the same ambition, determination, and community spirit that has defined their journey so far.

Each year in June, Highsted hosts its annual Open Day and welcomes over 100 Year 5 students from the surrounding areas, in our annual taster day!  The theme in this report was High Seas and everyone really entered into the spirit of the day, teachers and students alike.

There were treasure hunts, map making and pirate drama galore, some of which can be seen in the pictures below.

As always, our current Year 7 pupils and new Head Girl team showcased the school brilliantly, acting as cheerful and helpful guides throughout the day and we would like to say a massive thank you to them for all their efforts!

We would also like to say a massive thank you to the Year 5 children and parents who participated in the day and made it a real success.  We hope you enjoyed the day and hope to see you all in the future!

Each year in March we have been joined by members of the Sittingbourne Over-55 Fellowship group, who gathered in the school hall to enjoy an afternoon of entertainment.

The guests were treated to a variety of performances by the Highsted music department including the choir, wind band, the Origin and also several soloists. It was the debut performance of the Folk Band and Rock Band to members of the club as these groups were just formed this year. A number of GCSE students performed their compositions and had the opportunity to rehearse their assessed performance pieces.

Whilst watching and listening, the guests enjoyed cakes and biscuits cooked by the lower school students and were served hot drinks. The afternoon ended with an exciting raffle with many great prizes won.

The event was enjoyed by all and we look forward to hosting the concert again next year.

Isabel P was delighted to learn that she was the overall national winner in the PlaySafe competition.

Annually all Year 9 Design and Technology students submit exciting toy designs to this competition aimed at raising awareness of product safety and consumer protection.  Her toy design was one over four hundred entries from the Kent area alone. Prizes were awarded at the time, but in May, just as the nexct year’s entry deadline approached, Isabel received an invitation from the Trading Standards Institute, the competition organisers, to a posh lunch and presentation in London including a ride on the London Eye.

Isabel, her parents and the Head of Design & Technology, were entertained at a restaurant overlooking the Thames by representatives from both TSI and the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA). The event included a speech from Ronald Earl, the Director General of the BTHA,  who praised the quality of Isabel’s design and shared some amusing stories about some of the other entries. He also emphasised how important the TSI’s role is in protecting the public from faulty goods and rogue traders, as well as educating future consumers through competitions like Playsafe.

After lunch the party were given VIP treatment on the London Eye, with a personal guide and refreshments. During the ride Leon Livermore, Chief Executive of the TSI, presented Isabel with the winner’s certificate.

Well done to Isabel who proved a very worthy winner and ambassador for the school, as have other Highsted girls who have won other prizes in the competition over the years.

Highsted celebrated National Insect Week by holding a series of bug related events, including a showcase of all the weird and wonderful creatures in the Biology Department.  Students are also holding a Creative Writing Competition, Art and Photography projects, plus an ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here’ style competition. 

The Biology Department houses many spiders and other interesting insects that students look after, feed and care for in Animal Husbandry Club all year round.

So find your inner insect and make sure you join in the fun!

A group of students from Years 10 and 12 at Highsted Grammar School was recently treated to an inspiring visit to Queens’ College, Cambridge, encouraging high aspirations in their future university applications.  Queens’ is one of the oldest Cambridge colleges, having been started in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou, queen of Henry VI, and re-founded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville, queen of Edward IV.

Over the centuries its distinguished alumni have included the sixteenth century humanist Erasmus, the Elizabethan Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift and, in recent years, the broadcaster Stephen Fry, NASA astronaut Michael Foale and BBC newsreader Emily Maitlis. Among the highlights of the trip was an opportunity to view parts of the college not often open to visitors, including the Old Library, built in 1448.  The girls were also able to visit the university’s world-famous Fitzwilliam Museum of art and antiquities.

Discussion with current Queens’ undergraduates enabled the students to think about what goes into an Oxbridge application and find out what they can do now to make gaining a place a real possibility. Year 10 student Chloe H recalled: “We met with a second-year student currently studying natural sciences at Queens’ College who guided us around the college campus and the many facilities that are available to students. She also gave us an overview of life at Cambridge, such as the different clubs and some of the exciting events that are held.” After the tour Maria McElroy, the College’s School Liaison Officer, explained about the admissions process, including the importance of GCSEs and what makes a successful Cambridge applicant.  She also gave the girls an overview of the different subjects and courses offered at the college.

Chloe added: “One of the most important things I found was that in order to be considered for the university, you have to show some outside interest in the subject you are thinking of taking. For example, someone interested in science could show their passion for the subject by spending a few hours a week reading science journals such as the ‘New Scientist’, or meeting with others interested in the same field to discuss views and opinions. Maria also encouraged us to do research into our subject areas and look at MOOCS (massive open online courses) offered by some of the leading universities to get a wider base of knowledge.”

Sixth form student Amber M, who is studying biology, chemistry, English and history and has just completed an extended project on antibiotic resistance, commented: “I found the tour of the campus extremely inspiring, especially exploring the heritage and traditions which make Cambridge unique. As the tour was given by a current student it provided a helpful view on life at Queens’. Obviously Cambridge is very competitive, so gaining an insider’s perspective of what the university looks for in an applicant was very relevant, as I’m now at the point where I need to start my applications.”

Hayley S, a fellow Year 12 student, said: “Visiting Cambridge was truly inspirational. It was very encouraging to witness how supportive and committed the teachers are to motivating students both to pursue their passions and to achieve their full potential.  I was surprised by the university’s natural beauty and placid atmosphere along with its strong historical heritage.”  She added: “Despite the fact that Oxbridge is highly competitive, I realised that with determination and tenacity to succeed and follow my goals it is achievable. With my passion for biology and chemistry, if given the opportunity I would love to study science in the future and hopefully take a route into healthcare or research.”

Following on from the success of last year’s attendance at the ASGS (Association of State Girls’ Schools) Conference and the visit of Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu to Highsted, Year 12 students were  thrilled to be asked to not only participate but present their own workshop ‘Shake the Snow Globe’ to other students from girls’ schools across the UK. The focus of the conference is to enable young women to recognise the challenges that still exist in the workplace and to work together to champion each other in overcoming them. Please read below the team’s response to the events of the day. 

 The first speaker was Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, who is a New York Attorney and Solicitor of England and Wales and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Women in Leadership publication. She was a wonderful start to the morning, as there was the largest sense of energy that filled the room as soon as she walked in. She talked to us about confidence and beauty. She taught us that confidence isn’t an emotion, but it’s something you do. And that beauty is a standard of society that we shouldn’t be judged for and put ourselves down over. She filled the room with positivity and it was amazing to experience her light up the room with her own confidence.
 
Second, we had a talk from Ayla Goksel, who is the CEO of Özyeğin Social Investments. She told us about the theory of sliding door moments. Sliding door moments are opportunities in life where the decisions we make alter our very destiny. And this is what took Ayla to her inspiring job of working with children and mothers in Turkey, so the children get education, as well as teaching father’s better parenting. Her story of working with these children was heart-warming and truly inspiring.
 
Fiona Millar, an author, journalist and campaigner on education was next to talk to us about women’s non-linear lives and the struggle of balancing mothering and jobs. I think hearing Millar talk about her struggles to balance mothering her children and still wanting to work to get paid well, dealing with the double-burden she experienced with this was something we anticipate we will experience in the future – but seeing her so successful still was truly inspiring. She explained that although we don’t find our own lives inspiring because of our non-linear pathway in life, we more go forwards being adaptable and flexible and we can acquire the skills that we need in life.
 
In the afternoon, Eleanor Mills, Editorial director for The Sunday Times and Editor of Sunday Times Magazine, came to talk to us about women representation in the media. She linked this to the concept of “likeability” which is the theory of that as girls, we want to be liked by everyone, and this holds us back from doing some things. One of my favourite quotes from the talk was “Equality is not done, it’s a process”, which really helped us wonder about what we can do in helping this progress further so the process is complete. Having the inside view from the media, she told us ridiculous stories of inequality headlines she’s been given or seen which are nowhere near the truth, and it was really interesting to be able to hear from someone in her position.
 
The last speaker of the day was Lucinda Montefiore, Producer of Women’s Hour. Lucinda’s talk was very different in comparison to the other speeches in that she talked with coping with mental health, which a lot of women and young women, especially, deal with. She introduced the concept of how “our brains are plastic”, to help us understand that we can teach our self to catch our bad mental health habits and steer ourselves away from them. Similar to our own workshop, she touched on that – as women – we have the mind-set to get everything perfect the first time, which was very relatable and helped us connect with what she was saying. Having her talk so openly about what she’s struggled with, but how she dealt with it, was deeply touching and inspiring and a nice positive way to end the day.
 
During the day, we were given the opportunity to deliver a workshop of our own to two groups of girls, aged between 15 and 18, from a range of schools in the UK. Although we felt this was initially a daunting prospect, through discussion, research and working together as a team, we came up with our forty minute workshop “Shake the Snow Globe”, which we hoped would be engaging, interactive and promote action and critical thinking. The snow globe concept acted as an analogy for the depiction of women: as snow peacefully falls, creating a picture-perfect scene, the glass ceiling conceals society’s naivety to the under representation of women and barriers that can be broken down. Therefore, throughout our workshop, we encouraged everyone to metaphorically “Shake the Snow Globe” by being “Brave, Not Perfect”. Reshma Saujani’s book “Brave, Not Perfect” was a great source of inspiration during the preparation of our workshop, as depicted by the quote “in other words, boys are taught to be brave, whilst girls are taught to be perfect”.

Equally, we covered a range of topics in-keeping with the theme of the day, including: global inequality; gendered media – particularly amongst young children; and gender stereotyping in careers. We explored these topic areas through our devised range of interactive activities, comprising of an initial ice-breaker, to discuss personal ambitions, a percentage game, where everyone got up out of their seats to arrange themselves in their perceived order of male vs female dominance in a range of careers; a true or false game, that considered current and past laws, pivotal to representation of women; and numerous discussion points. As a group, we were amazed at the ease at which the room engaged in discussions that allowed us to conclude the workshop with the creation of a mind-map, presenting our “Brave, Not Perfect agenda”. Not only did this encompass the focus of our workshop – challenging the stereotypical “perfect” expectation of a woman, as promoted in both the media and everyday life – but equally, we hoped this was something everyone who attended our workshop would take forwards with them in their mentality. Many girls even photographed the mind-map at the end of the workshop, with the intent of spreading our message to others. Delivering the workshop was a truly rewarding achievement for all of us; we received greatly positive feedback and would highly recommend the experience to others!

Awards Afternoon for the Class of 2023 was held on Tuesday 4 January and proved to be a very motivating and inspiring event.

It began with a talk from the Chair of Governors and Headteacher, Miss Kelly, highlighting just how important it is to be a part of such a high-achieving and ambitious community in Highsted. In between the presentation of the awards, we had some musical interludes, which added further to the celebratory atmosphere.

Watching both the Year 12 and 14 students go up to collect their rewards, it was notable just how unified they were as year groups. From examination season to collecting their certificates, they clearly had very strong, ongoing support for each other. It was also exciting to meet the Year 14s as they returned to celebrate their success together and it was a very positive experience to see so many friendly, familiar faces and hear about their experiences at university so far.

Our guest speaker, Mimi Mwasame was inspiring! She began her talk with engaging audience participation, where we all learned to pronounce words like ‘Hello’ and ‘Good afternoon’ in Swahili. Mimi then spoke about how, from a very young age, she had upheld great ambition and aspired highly. However, she faced many difficult hurdles which she had to overcome with strength and resilience – grief, loneliness and homesickness, as she had to adapt to a new environment.

Mimi’s presentation was so empowering to show to all seated, just how vital it is to have a positive mindset in order to get us through hardships. She also spoke about the importance of embracing who we are as people in order to achieve our goals and ambitions. I was particularly inspired by the quote she read, which embodied everything she spoke about: ‘your limit is only in your mind.’ It is clear that many limits were exceeded by the Year 12s and 14s, leading to them to celebrate amazing achievements of their own!

Overall, it was such a positive and uplifting afternoon!

The Highsted Community were delighted to welcome students, parents and special guests to our annual Award’s evening.

We were particularly pleased to welcome back so many of our past Year 13 students who were keen to regale us of their adventures in the workplace and university life. In keeping with the celebration of the excellent outcomes of the Class of 2022, it was fitting to welcome our Key Note Speaker Tayyiba Bajwa of Doughty Street Chambers, London. Tayyiba combines a criminal practice with work in related areas including inquests, crime-related public law, prison law and actions against the police. She also has a busy international practice and has been instructed in proceedings before the ICC, IACHR and WGAD.

Tayyiba has a busy criminal practice representing clients accused of a wide range of criminal offences and appears regularly in the youth, magistrates’ and Crown Court. She has also advised on appeals against conviction and sentence and has a particular expertise in challenging the convictions of victims of trafficking in the youth and adult courts.

In addition to her criminal practice, Tayyiba has also been instructed in a number of inquests to represent the families of the deceased. In addition, Tayyiba has also been actively involved in the sphere of public law and been instructed on a number of urgent judicial review claims. She has appeared unled in the High Court and has a particular expertise in crime-related public law.

Alongside her domestic law practice, Tayyiba has a developing international law practice. Having worked at a number of international human rights NGOs, Tayyiba is instructed in relation to an application on behalf of victims in relation to the ICC’s investigation into war crimes in Palestine. Tayyiba was also instructed by Reprieve to act for two Yemeni families, in a challenge to the legality of US targeted killing operations before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights.

It was tremendous to observe the impact of Tayyiba’s message of hope and conviction to our students as they seek to make a difference and champion the diverse causes that we here at Highsted want to emulate.

To read a personal account of the evening by Highsted student, Vanessa A, just  follow this link.