Northern Education Trust Essa Academy celebrates a successively strong set of GCSE results.

Students at Northern Education Trust Essa Academy, one of 17 secondary academies sponsored by the trust are thrilled to celebrate a successive set of strong GCSE results this year. Students have achieved GCSE results that sit above the national average across every headline measure for the second year in a row. The whole school community is enjoying a stunning academic year, following Ofsted in January, where we gained a strong grading in all areas.

The academy has also secured a significant number of strong passes (Grade 5+) in English and maths, with 53% of students achieving a Grade 5 or above in both subjects, well ahead of the national figure of 45.4%.

An impressive 70% of students overall achieved a pass in English and maths, more than six percentage points above the national picture. These results confirm Essa as one of the strongest performing schools in Bolton and marks a second successive year of attainment above national.

Mel Flynn, Principal of Essa Academy, thanked the students and staff for their efforts and commitment, saying: “I could not be prouder of our students today. They have worked with real determination and they leave us with results that stand comparison with any school in the country. More than half of them achieved a strong pass in both English and maths, which gives them genuine choice about what comes next. My thanks go to our staff for their tireless commitment to these young people, and to the parents, carers and local governors who have supported them throughout. Our students should be very proud of themselves today.”

Andrew Newton, Executive Principal at Northern Education Trust, added his praise, saying: “Essa has established performance above the national average as its normal standard, and that is a significant thing for a school and for a community. Our students are achieving above what students nationally achieve in English, in maths and across the wider curriculum. That does not happen by accident. It comes from the quality of teaching our staff deliver every single day and from Northern Education Trust’s conviction that every child, in every one of our academies, deserves the very best. My warmest congratulations to every student collecting results today and to the staff who have taught them so well.”

Jane Wilson, Chief Executive of Northern Education Trust, said “These results reflect the hard work and commitment of the staff and students within the academy. The year on year improvement demonstrates the ongoing quality of education provided by the academy, and the exceptional desire of the students to succeed. We aim to enhance the life chances of the children and young people in our care, and these results are the culmination of their incredible efforts and dedication, allowing them to progress to the next stage of their lives with confidence in their abilities to succeed. We are extremely proud of our students and wish them every success with their futures”.