Pupils from the Trafford area have notched up an impressive tally of elite grades in their GCSE examinations, contributing to Withington Girls’ School’s exceptional set of results this year.

The cohort of 23 local girls amassed between them an outstanding number of top grades, with 135 papers securing Grade 9, 44 were awarded Grade 8s and 24 recorded Grade 7s, all comparable to A* to A in the pre-reformed grading system.

The current Year 11s topped last year’s Withington performance with 55 per cent of results at Grade 9 and the top A* with distinction in further maths. Thirty pupils from the year group of 81 achieved all Grade 8s and 9s, many with an additional A Grade or higher in Further Mathematics, whilst 48 ­— 59 per cent ­— earned all subjects at Grade 7 or above.

Headmistress, Mrs Sarah Haslam, said: “Withington has a well-earned reputation as one of the top schools in the country in academic performance, as demonstrated by excellence across many subject areas in this year’s results, but our girls also achieve in so many other arenas. Thirty of this year’s Year 11s have completed their Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver Award, for example, and when playing netball as U13s and U15s, nine of the girls contributed to winning two ISNC national titles and, as U16s in 2019, secured third place in the highly competitive National Schools Netball tournament.”

“We look forward to welcoming back the vast majority of this year group who have chosen to continue with us to Sixth Form; they and their families have already made a significant contribution to the Withington community and we know they will continue to do so. A small number of new starters will join us in September to complete their school journey at Withington, and they will enjoy a warm welcome to our friendly Sixth Form community.”

Open Days for entry to Withington Girls’ School will be held on November 7.