Students at St Swithun’s School in Winchester are celebrating excellent GCSE results, breaking multiple school records.
43% of all results received were Grade 9, exceeding last year’s school record of 37%.
70% of grades were 9/8/A*, eclipsing the previous record from 2011, and 85% were 7/A and above – the highest since 2017.
The all-girls’ boarding and day school has seen outstanding results across the board, from English and STEM subjects to languages and music. In English literature, biology, further maths, French and German, over 75% of subject results were a Grade 8 or 9 and over half were Grade 9. All girls studying music GCSE received a top grade of 8 or 9.
Students also notably excelled in food preparation and nutrition, geography, Latin and religious studies.
St Swithun’s students take a broad and challenging academic curriculum, with each student in U5 taking on average 9.6 GCSEs this year.
Nearly one-third of the 89 students in the year group achieved straight 9/8/A* grades, eight of whom gained all 9s. Over two-thirds earned six or more 9/8/A* grades.
Eira Leyland and Elizabeth Brunt both achieved 12 Grade 9s while balancing their own interests beyond the classroom. As a music scholar, Eira is an accomplished singer and violist. She is a valued member of the school chamber choir and baroque ensemble but also enjoys playing tennis and lacrosse. Elizabeth is a gifted singer and pianist and, alongside her musical exploits, has represented the school in cross country and lacrosse, and is working towards her silver Duke of Edinburgh Award.
As well as achieving 11 Grade 9s, boarder Hayden Chan excels in school life beyond her studies. She is actively involved in a range of co-curricular activities, including badminton, allotment club, symphony orchestra and flute ensemble. A keen writer, Hayden won the national ‘Write Well’ competition in 2024.
Chloë Miller has also excelled in her GCSE results, achieving Grade 9s across the board. Chloë joined St Swithun’s in prep school and plans to study biology, chemistry, geography and mathematics in the sixth form. On her time at the school, she says, “I’m so proud of how I have grown academically throughout the years at St Swithun’s – my younger self would be amazed to know that I have achieved ten 9s. I can’t wait to continue my academic journey in the sixth form and beyond.”
St Swithun’s also commends Aanya Bansal, Lily Fraser, Carolyn Han, and Katie Labadie for achieving 9s across all their subjects.
Jane Gandee, headmistress at St Swithun’s said, “We are delighted to share these exceptional outcomes and to recognise the exceptional growth that so often takes place behind the scenes. I want to celebrate all our students who, with their teachers’ guidance, have made outstanding progress during their GCSE courses, both in the classroom and as young women of character.”
This news follows a similarly stellar outcome for A-level results, with over 10% of students heading to Oxford or Cambridge.
St Swithun’s has a reputation for academic excellence whilst seeing pupils flourish beyond the curriculum through sport, music, drama, academic enrichment, volunteering and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Accredited as a High Performance Learning World Class School, St Swithun’s holds the belief that high achievement is an attainable target for everyone; high performers are not born, they work for it.
