Our year 11 students receive IGCSE grades, from UK awarding bodies linked to Cambridge and London Universities. Our IB students, of course, work towards the very prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma, which is extremely highly regarded by universities and employers around the world.

There is a great danger in measuring schools by their results, and the measurement culture that exists in some parts of the world, including the UK. These attempt to rank schools by raw exam data, rather than by the sort of real educational value that any parent recognises as they watch their son or daughter thrive, grow and develop. We are a non-selective school, and our own measure of success is to ensure that every student achieves as much as he or she is capable of. We pride ourselves on meeting individual student needs and we evaluate everyone’s progress individually. That doesn’t mean we don’t take exams seriously – quite the opposite – but they aren’t everything to us, and we don’t bend our education around the needs of examinations.

This year, I am delighted to report that our graduating class of 2010 produced outstanding results. The 23 students who made up our IB Diploma cohort achieved an average score of 32 points, well above the global average of 30 points. We are all understandably delighted at what our students have achieved, and we wish them every success next year and in the future. Whilst all successes are to be celebrated, it is perhaps appropriate to highlight the five of our students who produced scores above 35 points and a further two who scored over 40. Anyone who knows the IB programme knows that this is a measure of really high academic success in a wide range of subjects. The achievement of one student in particular stands out: Linnea Strid obtained a world-class score of 44 points from a maximum of 45, placing her performance in the top 1% in the world! Linnea will now take up her place at Goldsmiths’ College London University this autumn where she will study Fine Arts. Anyone who came to see the IB Art show last summer will know that she’s sure to take the world by storm.

I hope you all enjoy the start of a new year, full of optimism and excitement. We’re planning to make our last year in our current building the best yet!