St Bonaventure’s Sixth Form, in Newham, is thrilled to announce another year of exceptional Post-16 exam results, marking a second consecutive year of outstanding achievements. The remarkable outcome reflects the perseverance, hard work, and commitment of the students, as well as the exceptional support provided by the school’s teachers and members of staff.

These students have made themselves, their families, and the whole school community very proud with this set of excellent results, despite not undertaking the formal GCSE examination process in 2021, and not getting the pre-release guidance of last year. 

Headteacher Chris McCormack was full of praise for the dedication demonstrated by the students in their exams, commenting: “Congratulations to our students on achieving a fantastic set of results. I am delighted that all of their hard work and the dedication and support of their teachers have come to fruition. They have been such a lovely group who have contributed in such a positive way to our school community. We will keep them in our thoughts and prayers as they embark on the next stage of their lives.”

Students of St Bonaventure’s Sixth Form have achieved outstanding performances across various subjects. Key statistics are as follows: 

A Level

• 16% A* to A – +4.72% increase on 2019
• 52% A* to B – +13.88% increase on 2019
• 100% A* to E
• 50 additional A Level entries

BTEC

• 44% D*D*D* to DDD in Business
• 100%  D*D*D* to DDD in Sport

Please note D – Distinction, D* is Distinction starred

Particular highlights

• Art – 100% A*-A
• Sociology – 38% A*-A, 87% A*-B
• Business – 25% A*-A
• Spanish – 100% A*-B
• Sociology, RS, Business, Computing and German – 100% A*-C

Noel Dawit, an accomplished A*AB who is set to pursue a degree in Land Economy at Cambridge University, said ‘Working as hard as possible whilst keeping faith has been so important. The school has been pivotal for me to come to this stage with supporting staff and the Catholic ethos being instilled throughout’’ 

Student Laiba Waseem who stands among the highest-achieving students with AAB grades expressed her joy regarding her results by stating, “All the late-night study sessions have paid off. It’s an incredible feeling to see my efforts rewarded with such great grades and to go to the University Of Manchester, and study psychology. I want to thank my teachers, and friends for their support throughout this journey.”

Nawailah Makardam, another accomplished student with AAC grades in Fine Art, Graphic Design and Geography, said: “I am absolutely thrilled with my results. It’s a testament to the hard work I put into my studies and the incredible support from my teachers. I am grateful for the education I received at St Bonaventure’s, which has equipped me with the skills and knowledge to pursue my dreams and study primary education as my undergraduate degree at the University of East London.”

Phillip Baboolal, A*A*AA in EPQ, Biology, Chemistry and Geography, said: “Learning how to study correctly allowed me to get my grades from 5s and 6s in GCSEs to A* in A levels, with the help of St Bons I was able to turn my grade around in their comforting environment.”

The consistent excellence of St Bonaventure’s Sixth Form is further exemplified by the number of students progressing to prestigious Russell Group Universities. Additionally, several students have opted for exciting degree apprenticeships with renowned organisations, including Accenture, Mazars Group, and Skanska. 

Director of Sixth Form, Mr Templeman, shared his reflections on the student’s accomplishments, stating : “I am immensely proud of this cohort of students, who were fully aware that they would be taking ‘full strength’ A-Levels and BTEC examinations this year. They have worked so hard towards achieving their goals and I have loved supporting them every step of the way. Whether our students attend top universities, take up apprenticeships, employment routes or gap years, we are proud of every single one of them.”

St Bonaventure remains steadfast to provide a full and comprehensive curriculum for all students to enable them to develop their full potential in all areas of school life – spiritual, intellectual, physical, creative, moral and social to become good and responsible citizens who leave a positive impact on society.

The PTI held  a subject enrichment residential at Downing College, Cambridge, at the weekend (July 2-4) for Geography, Art, Music and English Departments and Mr Graham and Ms Nair accompanied three of our students on Sunday where the boys joined students from Stewards’ Academy, Harlow, to answer a series of questions posed by the teachers.

Our Deputy Headboys from Year 10 and a Year 9 pupil represented St Bonaventure’s and spoke about their experiences of learning during lockdown. They also spoke about  makes good teaching, how teachers can best support their students and discussed their thoughts on assessment and creative learning in the classroom. 

Ms Roddy is an English Development Partner for the PTI and she was asked if St Bonaventure’s would participate in the pupil panel and she agreed as she felt this was an excellent opportunity for schools and school leaders from across the country to hear first-hand about the experience of learners. 

Our Year 10 and 12 CAFOD teams were invited to the CAFOD Supporters Annual Parliamentary Reception in Speaker’s House at the House of Commons in Westminster last night, June 8.

It was a magnificent opportunity to meet other CAFOD teams and dignitaries including Mr Speaker the Rt. Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP.

Christine Allen, who is the Director of CAFOD, and Catherine McKinnell MP was there as well as other volunteers.

They mingled with CAFOD staff and clergy from across England and Wales and explained the work they have been doing.

The location was awe-inspiring and the students were thrilled to be in the State Dining Room which had hosted the Prime Minister the day before last night’s event.

Ms Ali added: “Our students had a fantastic time meeting other like-minded students and leaders in such an historic setting. It was an exciting evening and one they will never forget. We are so proud of them for all they have achieved to date and the evening validated what they are doing is so important and will inspire them to keep striving to make a positive difference working with CAFOD.”

We are thrilled to introduce you to our new Head Boy and Head Girl who will lead our new Senior Student Leadership Team for the academic year 2022- 2023.

Best wishes on them on their new roles.

The team gathered on the Friary Lawn for a photocall this week and are looking forward to the challenges ahead.

Well done to them all and we wish them well and look forward to their help and support in the new academic year.

Well done to our Year 9 basketball superstars who won their game against Vale Royal’s Helsby High School with a full time score of 97-58 on Friday, May 13, in Manchester at the National Finals.

Thanks to Coach Oniereti for his support, hard work and skills in getting our teams to the Finals.

We heard this week that this super talented Artist who is in Year 12 had a piece of her artwork accepted by the Royal Academy of Arts for their exciting online exhibition.

The artwork is entitled ‘Rye Lane Snail Merchant, After Parmigianino’ and is simply wonderful.

The Royal Academy received over 21,000 submissions for consideration this year and we are so proud that her work will feature in the Royal Academy Young Artist Summer Show.

The Artist says she wanted to propose a thoughtful reaction against the idea of figurative work laying claim to authenticity based mainly on the nature of the work’s subject and resisting a drive towards postmodern humour.

We can’t wait to see it online amongst all the other pieces. 

Headteacher, Mr McCormack, was thrilled to officially congratulate this Year 10 student in school today, April 26, who represented the England Under 15s Basketball squad in a tournament in Alalior in Menorca during the Easter holidays last week.

He performed superbly well scoring the winning basket in the final which was won by just one point.

He was also England’s top scorer and chosen as one of the best five performers in the tournament one of the ‘Mythical 5’.

Mr McCormack said: “The entire school community is incredibly proud of his outstanding achievement and it is reflective of all his hard work and commitment to his sport.”

He is back performing with his teammates at school in the National Cup this Friday, April 29, and we wish him lots of luck.

Thanks to our generous parents, carers, staff and students, we raised an amazing £1227.50 including gift aid during our Culture Day recently.

Fifty percent of the money raised is now on its way to the CAFOD Ukraine Emergency Appeal with the remainder being set aside for CAFOD’s General Emergency Fund.

It was a wonderful, enjoyable day and we are grateful to everyone who gave so generously and supported this event. The donations will make a real difference.

To finish off Culture Day in school yesterday, March 23, and as part of Year 12 enrichment, our 6th Form students arranged a Cultural Showcase that was described as amazing and delightful.

There were show-stopping performances from the 6th Form band as well as a Mauritian dance, songs performed in Spanish and Tamil, Indian drums and dancing.

The students were also treated to a performance from teacher, Ms Clarke-McGhie, of her new recording entitled ‘I’ve Got You.’

The show opened and closed with a fashion show that highlighted the vast cultural diversity of our 6th Form.

Many students and staff took the opportunity to have henna designs painted on their hands by our very talented 6th Form students. “It was simply wonderful and everyone that attended had a fantastic time” concluded Ms Rahman.

Sounds like a perfect ending to a perfect day.