GCSE Results

Congratulations to all those pupils who did so well from the Headteacher, Staff and Governors. It has been a brilliant performance with records broken again – very well done!

Great Torrington Community School achieved its best results ever with 58% of the year group achieving the Government benchmark of five or more A*- C GCSEs including English and Mathematics, well above the Devon and National average. This is the fourth straight year in a row that results have improved confirming Great Torrington as a High Performing Specialist School and enhancing its reputation for providing a high quality education for all of its pupils. Provisional results suggest that 68% of the year group achieved 5A*-C in total with nearly 90% achieving at least 1 GCSE at grade C or above.

There were some remarkable individual performances with one talented pupil, Imogen John, gaining 9 A* grades, 2 A grades and a Distinction. Chris Gray and Amber Manley both gained 7 A* grades and 3 A grades. Rory Robinson, Alex Towersey-Veal, Georgie Burgess, Hazel Chesters, Jack Ritson and Feargus O’Donnell all did extraordinarily well gaining at least 8 A* and A grades each.

Retiring Headteacher Dianne Nicholson said; "I am delighted with the performance of these young people. They have worked incredibly hard with the support of their parents and fully deserve their success. The staff at the school should also receive recognition for their skill and determination to support every pupil to achieve their best."

Congratulations to all the Yr 11 pupils and best wishes for the future which we hope will be as productive as your time spent at the school.

Mike Clarke

Deputy Headteacher

Posted on: 24/08/2010

Holiday Programme Survey

Please could you spare a couple of minutes filling out this simple survey to gather your feedback on the GTS Summer Holiday Programme 2010.

Posted on: 02/09/2010

Post 16 proposals turned down

The proposal for Post 16 education and training at Torrington have been rejected by Devon.

Unfortunately the plans to extend the age range of the school have been turned down by Devon Cabinet Committee in line with the recommendation by the authority officers. It is a big disappointment for pupils and their parents and also for the staff and governors, but it was no real surprise. The school’s proposals have been overtaken by the financial constraints and political changes that are taking place. We had tried to make the proposals small scale, value for money and high quality and we would like to thank all those who helped prepare the proposals and who supported the school. The proposals would have improved the range of courses available to young people in North Devon but the Local Authority clearly felt that they could not support them. The Governors will be considering whether to appeal the decision over the next few days.

The school still believes that it has much to offer for Post 16 students and our work on this proposal has highlighted the lack of Environmental and Land based courses in North Devon which has still to be addressed. We will continue to work with our partners in North Devon to widen choice and extend opportunities for all young people.

Minutes of the Devon Cabinet meeting can be viewed by following this link.

Posted on: 20/07/2010

Last Day of Term

As you are no doubt aware, the last day of our summer term is Friday 23rd July. As the Torrington Infants and The Junior School finish earlier in the week I have been able to arrange for school transport to collect the students early and the school day will end at 1.00 p.m. Lunch will be served from 12.20 p.m. and the buses will leave at 1.10pm

If there are any problems with your son/daughter arriving home earlier please let the school know as we can supervise them until they can be collected.

Posted on: 16/07/2010

Ofsted Inspection

The attached letter from Ofsted about the inspection of Great Torrington Community School will be coming home with your child in the next few days.

Posted on: 16/07/2010

GCSE Results Service from Connexions

If you are feeling unsure and concerned about what to do after you receive your GCSE results do not panic, you can get all the answers you need from the Connexions service. On Thursday 26th August the Connexions centre in Barnstaple will be holding a special open day with extended opening hours until 6.30pm for you and your parents and families to seek advice. Or you can come and speak to me, Natalie Bray, your Personal Adviser at school.

To find your nearest Connexions centre freephone 0800 97 55 111, or visit www.connexions-cd.org.uk. You can also freephone national Connexions Direct on 080 800 13 2 19, or visit the website www.connexions-direct.com for young people wanting help outside of the Connexions normal opening hours.

For further information, please click here.

Posted on: 12/07/2010