Barnard Castle pupils shine with GCSE results day success
A student who was rushed from a GP surgery to hospital for emergency surgery was celebrating yesterday after collecting his GCSE results as his school secured increased grades across the board.
Barnard Castle School pupil Dermot Metcalf was said to be just hours away from potentially fatal sepsis when he had surgery to remove infection after a severe appendicitis.
His parents Stuart and Suzanne took it in turn to keep a 24 hour a day vigil at his bedside until he recovered. Dermot lost more than a stone in weight during the health episode but that didn’t stop him passing all of GCSEs including achieving a grade 8 in history.
The 16-year-old was taken ill during his mock examinations and missed six weeks of school in the run up to his GCSE examinations. Dermot and his family had high praise for the school for supporting him and helping him catch up on his studies.
Barnard Castle School embarked last year on a programme designed to focus on academic ambition. This year it saw a marked improvement in the percentage of 9 to 4 grades on 2019.
Dermot, a keen rugby player who recovered enough to go on a summer tour with the school to South Africa, said: “I’d been poorly on and off for around ten days and I thought it was a bad winter sickness bug.
“I’d started my mocks but then had to go to the doctors and they knew it was serious and sent me straight to Darlington Memorial Hospital. I had surgery straight away to remove my appendix and lots of infection around my stomach because the surgeon thought my appendix had been ruptured for 10 days.
“Once I’d recovered I felt like I was behind with my work so my tutor and all my teachers helped me catch up. I did extra work and revision and by the time the exams started I felt fairly confident that I had caught up.”
His dad Stuart said: “This is Barnard Castle School at its very best. The support Dermot received was outstanding. He was so poorly and very lucky. It was very stressful for him and the whole family.
“It was terrible timing for his exams but he has come through it all OK because the school was absolutely excellent at supporting him and helping him catch up. They put plans in place to give him the best chance of success after missing so much school. He was as best prepared as he could be for his exams.”
Dermot plans to stay on at Barnard Castle School’s Sixth Form to study A Levels in politics, geography and design technology. He then hopes to secure a degree apprenticeship in accountancy and work in the City one day.
Top polo player Isabel Fall will be combining her love of the sport and her school next term when she competes in New Zealand but continues to study at Barnard Castle School.
She might be playing polo on the other side of the world but she will continue to study her A levels remotely with teachers at Barnard Castle School.
In an innovative approach to learning, after securing eight 9s, two 8s and a 7 at GCSE, the 16-year-old, of Pickhill, near Thirsk, will take A levels in chemistry, biology and maths via Teams for six months while she is playing polo in the Antipodes.
“We only play in the summer so I’ll spend my time in New Zealand during our winter then come back here for the summer,” said Isabel, who is a member of the England team.
“I’ve been riding virtually since I was born. I used to ride in a basket seat when I was a baby and have been a member of the Pony Club for as long as I can remember. My uncle got me into polo and I love it.
“So I’m going to study my A levels online when I’m in New Zealand so I can play all year round. I am quite academic and would like to go to university but the aim is to become a professional polo player one day.”
Headmaster David Cresswell said: “Following last week’s excellent A Level outcomes, the GCSE results confirm that our focus on academic ambition is beginning to deliver results across the whole school.
“The marked improvement in the percentage of 9 to 4 grades, not only compared to last year but also when set against pre-Covid results in 2019, reflects the determination of our students and the strength of the whole-school approach now embedded at Barnard Castle School.
“These results show impressive progress across all subjects and student groups. They confirm that our academic and pastoral strategies are delivering success at every stage of school life, not just in the Sixth Form. True to our broad and inclusive ethos, students of all abilities have flourished with the right support, proving that ambition and accessibility can go hand in hand.
“This success is the outcome of a collective effort. Our students have shown ambition, character and resilience. Our staff have worked with extraordinary commitment to support and stretch each individual. Our families have played an important role too. These results reflect the power of a community that believes in its young people and helps them to thrive.”