Exam Results

The Fulham Boys School GCSE results day – Thursday 25th August 2022.

The Fulham Boys School is delighted to report exceptional GCSE results. Outstanding progress has been made against 2021’s Centre-Assessed Grades (CAGs) and FBS’s first GCSEs in 2019 . 

111 Year 11 boys sat GCSEs, with 58% of the cohort achieving at least one of the very top grade 9s. Overall, the non-selective intake has gained an impressive haul of strong passes with nearly three in four (74%) securing at least five grade 5s or above, including English and Maths – marking a 34% increase from 2019 results and a 9% increase on last year’s CAG results. 

Key exam statistics include:

• Over half of our GCSE subjects have secured more than 50% grade 7s and above 
• 92% pass rate in English and Maths at grade 4+, 74% at grade 5+
• 54% of all grades awarded at grade 7 or above (6% increase from 2021)
• 86% of all grades awarded at grade 5 or above (8% increase from 2021).
• All 20 subjects have improved on the last external GCSE exams of 2019 

Amongst the very top performing departments are the three Sciences where over 65% of boys achieved grades 7+ with almost a quarter achieving grade 9s. In History 80% of boys achieved a 7+ with 35% gaining the top 9 grades. Whilst in RE an incredible 51% of boys achieved a 9. 

David Smith, FBS Headmaster, commented: “I congratulate all our students for securing results they can be proud of – be it those gaining 10 or more grade 9s or those nailing their hoped-for passes in English and Maths. This is a red-letter day for FBS. We’ve moved mountains to add rigour to our curriculum since our first GCSEs in 2019, and these results are testament to the extraordinary efforts put in by staff over the last three years with average attainment increasing by over a grade and a half.  When viewed against a national decrease in the top grades and the backdrop of Covid, we believe they’re an exceptional set of results.”

“Many of our boys have worked through significant mental health issues since lockdown,  with these exams proving a real test of resilience.  I salute them. This year group’s show of character vindicates all that FBS puts into developing our students outside the curriculum, and I look forward to their continuing success as they progress through our Sixth Form. These are exciting times for FBS.”

The Fulham Boys School – GCSE Results Day – 12th August 2021

The Fulham Boys School is pleased to report that its third set of GCSE results shows a continuing record of progress for the school and success for its pupils.  
 
Headline results achieved by this year’s GCSE students include:

• 33% of students achieving at least one grade 9, with 12% of all FBS GCSE entries awarded this top grade
• 84% of students achieving a grade 4 pass in English and Maths, with 66% achieving a grade 5.
• 64% of students achieving five or more grade 5s or above, including English and Maths
• 78% of all FBS GCSE entries awarded a grade 5 or above

The individual success stories include:

• Six students awarded at least half (5) of their GCSEs at grade 9
• One student achieving a clean sweep of 11 grade 9s
• 12 early entries for languages being rewarded with nine grade 9s, two grade 8s and one grade 7.

FBS Executive Head, Alun Ebenezer, said: “When it became clear that this year’s candidates would not be sitting public exams we set up a robust process to ensure that our centre-assessed grades showed a true reflection of the grades we would have expected from our students. It was an exhausting experience for all concerned – both teachers and boys – but our rigour means that we can report our results with confidence; confidence that they show continuing improvement for FBS and, most importantly, a solid record of achievement for our boys.  I congratulate all concerned and thank our staff for the considerable extra efforts involved.” 

David Smith, Head of School, added: “I’m delighted that FBS’s GCSE grades continue to show year on year improvement. I hope our boys will be pleased with the outcome of their efforts. I pay tribute to some outstanding candidates, and to our exceptional staff for moving  mountains in  five years of nurturing, challenging and encouraging all of our boys to be the best they can be.”
 
The Fulham Boys School entered 102 Year 11 candidates for GCSEs, plus 12 early entries for Languages. 

The Fulham Boys School – GCSE Results Day 2020

The Fulham Boys School is proud to report a solid record of achievement and progress in the results awarded to its second cohort of GCSE students.

Headline results include:

• 70% of students achieving at least five grade 5s
• Three students obtaining a clean sweep of the top level 9 grades
• 77% of students passing both English and Maths
• 33 boys achieving at least one grade 9 (30% of the cohort)

Overall, 37% of GCSEs gained by FBS pupils were graded 7 or above, with 10% at grade 9. The individual success stories include one pupil who joined FBS with no spoken English, who secured good passes in all subjects, and a student given a second chance by FBS following permanent exclusion from another secondary, who gained level 9s and 8s across the board.

On a GCSE results day like no other, after an academic year like none before, FBS Executive head Alun Ebenezer, said: “Cancelling this year’s GCSE exams meant there was never going to be a perfect way of awarding grades, but we were determined that the results we signed-off should be a robust reflection of the performance we’d have expected had our students sat the exams they had been working so hard towards. Boys and staff should be proud of these results, which reflect their achievement over the last five years and provide a solid platform for their future success”.

David Smith, Head of School, commented: “Amid all the noise and confusion surrounding this year’s results, it’s important that our students know they’ve received just reward for their efforts. We went through a rigorous process to ensure that their results would be a valid proxy for exam performance and we’re confident this will be born out when it comes to their A levels in two years.  I congratulate all our Year 11 students on their success and thank all staff for the hard work put in over the past five years, and the past five months in particular.”

The Fulham Boys School submitted over 1200 grades. Only 7% were changed in the moderation process, with the algorithm upgrading in all cases.  The centre assessed grades provided by FBS were based on individual performance in mock examinations, class assessments, homework record and attitude to learning, as well as the professional judgement of the teachers who taught them.

79 Year 11 pupils sat their GCSEs in June 2019.  

FBS boys secured 43 of the top level 9 grades.  These include strong performances in both science and humanities. 

Results at level 7 and above (A*-B) were gained by 47% in Biology, 53% in Chemistry and 41% in Physics; by 44% in  RE (with 31% an 8 or 9), by 37% in History (with 29% an 8 or 9) and by 35% in English Literature.

This first cohort of FBS students included 33% on Pupil Premium. Their results show a stronger performance than their non-pupil premium peers in both English and Maths at level 5 or above, including level 9s gained by 12% and 8% of pupil premium students respectively in these subjects.  

Overall 90% gained a level 4 or above in English, including five at level 9 and 57% gained a level 4 or above in Maths, including four at level 9. The results for English and Maths combined are 57% at level 4 + and 38% at level 5 +.

Individual success stories include five students gaining at least three level 9s,  one pupil with a statement of SEN gaining good passes in all subjects, and one pupil who started Year 7 speaking no English gaining five level 9s and 4 level 8s.

Headmaster Alun Ebenezer commented:

“Our first cohort of GCSE students have shown that boys can achieve top grades regardless of their background, and that they can bring those results home in the arts and humanities as well as the sciences. Our English results positively reflect our whole school approach to literacy and our encouragement of a love for literature.

“The statistics hide some extraordinary tales of endeavour, for those who achieved the top grades and those who gained their passes alike. Our first intake were wonderfully diverse in their talents and academic abilities; these boys were unsure whether FBS would be opening for them in Year 7, they’ve coped with uncertainties over site, they’ve been the ‘first’ to do everything.  My thanks go to them, their parents and our staff for their resilience and effort. 

“I’m particularly encouraged that our boys gained such a breadth of top grades, in the arts as well as the sciences, and that our pupil premium students have performed so well.” 

The Fulham Boys School – A Level Results Day – 18th August 2022

The Fulham Boys School is pleased to report that its first full set of A level and BTEC results show a solid record of progress and achievement, in totally exceptional times for its students and staff. A total of 71 boys were entered for exams; 66 sat A levels, six sat BTECs with one student combined.  Headline results are:

• 30% of boys achieved A*-A grades at A level
• Average grade at BTEC was Distinction*
• 81% of grades achieved were A*-C at A level
• Average grade per A level entry was B-.

Commenting on the results, FBS Headmaster David Smith said: “In a normal year, I’d be pointing to individual success stories to highlight academic achievement in a non-selective school, but this year I congratulate the whole cohort for making it over the finishing line in such extraordinarily disruptive times.  Some have stormed it; some have been nurtured through; all have finished with style. At FBS, we’ve always maintained that school is about more than grades on a piece of paper; it’s about the character our boys develop.  These students have shown resilience, commitment and true FBS enterprise in bucket loads since March 2020. None of them had sat public exams before and many faced extremely challenging personal circumstances. They’ve achieved some outstanding results and I thank them, our staff and the whole FBS community for all that they have put into the past two years.”

Overall, FBS’s results buck several national trends:

• The average BTEC grade of D* is higher than in 2021
• Disadvantaged pupils performed broadly in line with the cohort, outperforming in the applied general qualifications, against the national trend of an increasing attainment gap
• Over 50% of FBS boys achieved at least one of the top A*A

FBS’s students will now be taking up university places across the country on a variety of courses including places to study Medicine at Leeds, History & Politics at Cambridge, Theology and Religion at Oxford, Accounting and Finance at LSE and Modern Languages at UCL. We are delighted that over 50% have been accepted into Russell Group Universities and wish all our boys the greatest success in the future now they are FBS Alumni. 

Initial analysis shows FBS’s students putting in particularly strong performances in RE and English, where they sit within the top 10% of schools nationally with those departments scoring an ALPS grading of 1. Over half the A Level subjects scored ALPS 3 or above and overall results show FBS performing above the national average with the Sixth Form as a whole scoring ALPS 3.  A full breakdown of results will be released shortly.

Explanation of abbreviations: 

BTEC: Business and Technology Education Council (Applied General Qualification) 
ALPS: A-level Performance System

The Fulham Boys School – A Level Results Day – 10th August 2021

The Fulham Boys School today reports an impressive record of achievement from its first A Level and BTEC students.

Headline exam results for this first cohort of Fulham Boys include:

• Average grade at A level of A-, with 100% grades awarded A*-D
• Average grade at BTEC of Distinction plus, with 100% grades awarded 2 plus
• 33% of boys achieving all their grades at A*-A 
• 81% of boys achieving A*-B
• 97% of boys achieving A*-C
• 50% of boys achieving at least one A*/A.

Individual success stories include: 

• One boy achieved a clean sweep of 4 A*s.
• One boy who achieved 3 A*s and 1 A.
• Three boys achieving 2 A*s and an A.

In addition, two Year 12 (first year Sixth Form) boys both achieved A* in French A Level.

In common with the rest of the country, the BTEC grades were externally verified and the A level grades were awarded as centre-assessed grades.  The Fulham Boys School followed a rigorous process to ensure that each one of these grades provided a robust reflection of student attainment before signing them off.  In common with other centre-assessed grades, the exam boards then sampled at least one subject. None of FBS’s centre-assessed grades was changed as a result.

Executive Headmaster, Alun Ebenezer, commented: “Our first ever Fulham boys have been on an incredible journey with us since we opened in 2014, perhaps never more so than in the Covid-disrupted months of their Sixth Form.  I congratulate them on staying focussed throughout lockdown learning, thank our staff for going above and beyond in steering them through, and applaud everyone concerned for achieving such impressive results in such extraordinary times.  We were rigorous in our process for assessing the grades: these young men can be confident that they have earned them.” 

Elisabeth Igbokwe, Head of Sixth Form remarked: “It’s a pleasure to see hard work pay off – both for the students and staff concerned.  It’s been a turbulent year and a half, but our first Sixth formers leave us with a genuine record of success.  While David Smith, Head of School added: “FBS focuses on preparing young men for life, and today’s grades are part of all we’ve sought to provide for that journey. We wish all our leavers the very best of luck as they embark on the next stage of their lives.”