Pupils from the South Manchester 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 15 local girls amassed an outstanding number of top grades between them, with 117 papers securing Grade 9, 37 were awarded Grade 8s and 14 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% 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%) earned all subjects at Grade 7 or above.

Headmistress 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 Thursday, November 7, and Saturday, November 9 – see www.wgs.org for more details on 2020 Admissions.

Identical results for WGS twins

Identical twins Safa and Imaan Saeed are celebrating today after mirroring each other’s impressive results in their GCSE exams.

The Hale Barns duo successfully secured top grades in all their subjects, notching up exactly the same tally, each attaining eight Grade 9s plus an A* with distinction in further mathematics and an additional Grade 8.

Their subjects were the same, apart from Safa taking Latin and Imaan studying geography.

Safa and Imaan – who joined WGS in the Junior School and whose two sisters also attended the School – are now looking forward to studying A-levels in Withington’s Sixth Form.

They have chosen three identical subjects – mathematics, chemistry and history, with Safa choosing Latin as her additional subject and Imaan preferring economics. Both are hoping to pursue law as a career.

“We studied together, tested each other – even on the subject we weren’t studying ourselves – and we kept each other motivated,” said Safa.

Having already had two older daughters study at Withington before going on to study at Oxford University, the girls’ mother, Dr Saika Saeed: “I could not be happier with the school. It’s small and the teachers really do know each child on an individual basis.

“They really get to know their weaknesses as well as their strengths and pick up on where they need support to help them overcome any difficulties.”