Students at Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy are celebrating their excellent GCSE results. Lord Lawson students once again performed very well, with 73% of students gaining grades 4 and above in English and 74% in Mathematics.

Highest performing students include Jonathan Cleugh, Chloe Park, Isla Raynor, Dominic Gao, Ramsey McAuley, Alice Hall, Keeva Rolston, and Harry March, all of whom achieved grades 9-7 in all their subjects. A special mention to Gabriel Halpin who achieved seven grade 9’s and 2 grade 8’s. Excellent progress has been made by a range of students, including Anna Harris, Katie Rudd, Laura Ridley, Lauren Foster, Freya Hudson and Harvey Butterfield.

The school continues to exhibit strengths across the whole curriculum, with student progress in Graphics, Drama, Separate Sciences, Business Studies, and French being extremely high. Students also put on a strong showing across all 28 subjects, a testament to their hard work, and the broad curriculum offer they receive. Like all students nationally, our students have had to deal with a lot during their time at secondary school. They have showed real grit and determination, and we congratulate them on this.

Dr Andrew Fowler, the school’s Principal, said, “I am delighted for our students who are receiving their results today. This is a year group who have had to battle with adversity in many different forms, and it is good to see so many of them doing so well. Some of the personal stories here are inspiring! I want to thank them for the great contributions they have already made to life at Lord Lawson, and I hope to see many of them return to our sixth form in September. It is particularly good to see that English and Mathematics results are so strong this year, and that the school continues to excel in the Arts and Modern Foreign Languages. The improvements that we have worked so hard to achieve in the school continue to pay off, and the quality of education our students receive is strong.”

Joe Dicocco, Deputy Principal, said, “We are immensely proud of our students today. We are working hard to build up student culture, around our values of trust, respect, courage and ambition. This cohort of students has developed immensely in character, and sticking to these values will serve them well in later life. We wish them all the very best and congratulate them on their achievements.”

Most students at Lord Lawson will go on to study A level and vocational courses at the school’s sixth form and at local colleges. Some are heading for apprenticeships with local and national employers.

Parents and students who are interested in finding out more about a place at Lord Lawson in September 2025, are invited to the Open Evening on Thursday 26 September, beginning at 4:15 and 6:00pm.

Students at Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy in Birtley have much to celebrate as they collect their A level and vocational qualification results.

There were excellent results for many students. Top-performing students include Erin Fairbrother (A*A*A), Navjot Kaur (A*AA), Jessica Brown (A*AA), Nina Halpin (A*AAA), Euan Rennie (A*AB), Ivy Wang (A*AB), Daisy Gladstone (A*AB), Jamie Melton (A*ABB), Chloe Annan (AAAB), Matthew Ward (AAB) and Oliver Hall (AAB). These students, alongside many others, met their offers to study at prestigious local and national universities, including Durham, Manchester, Bristol and St Andrew’s. Many students overcame extreme personal difficulties to gain their grades. Students who made particularly impressive progress included Abigail Armstrong, Joe Carroll, Nour Elhamood, Jennifer Kilty, Tomas Mead, Callum Perry, Harry Smith and Ivy Wang.

Lord Lawson students have also been successful in gaining apprenticeships with notable local employers. Vocational subjects performed particularly well at the school this year, including Psychology, and Health and Social Care.

Overall, results showed that the school continues to make very good progress. Strong results were gained by students across a broad curriculum: leading subjects include German, French, English Literature, Politics, Mathematics, History and the Arts.

Andrew Fowler, the academy’s Principal, said, “I congratulate our students on their outstanding results. I know how hard they have worked for these grades, and how much their teachers and families have supported them. These students were affected by COVID and its aftermath when they were lower down in the school, and they have had to fight hard to overcome this disadvantage. Last year their education was disrupted by strikes. As a school, our mission is to offer education that transforms lives. I am proud of our students, and it has been a delight to see their reactions as they received their results today. These grades are their passport to bright futures at university, and apprenticeships with local and national employers.”

Head of Sixth Form Alison Jordan said, “I am thrilled with the exam results. They are a credit to our students who have worked exceptionally hard over the last two years. Several of the students have had to overcome a range of difficult personal circumstances including serious medical conditions and family bereavement to achieve success. The sixth form team is very proud of the students, and we wish them well for the future.”

Students interested in joining Lord Lawson’s successful sixth form are encouraged to contact Mrs Jordan: [email protected].

Further to the messages from Mr Fowler and Mr Rayner in recent Parent Bulletins, I would like to take this opportunity to update parents and carers about the current situation regarding the scholars’ and public service buses.

Strike action looks likely to go on for the foreseeable future, but Go North East are continuing to ensure that our scholars’ buses are running, although this week we have experienced some delays.  These delays were caused by striking Go North East staff picketing outside the bus depots, delaying bus departures.  Unfortunately we do not receive ‘real time’ updates from the company so we do not always have this information to give to you, even if you contact school.  If we are pre-notified of any delays, this information will appear on our website or on our social media pages.

Public bus services still pose an issue, for both students and staff, and we thank those parents and carers who have made alternative transport arrangements for their child, ensuring they arrive at school safely.  A number of students are being collected by school staff in our mini bus.

As the weather is currently not the best, cold and wet, can I please ask you to ensure your child comes to school dressed appropriately, with a waterproof coat, especially if they are waiting for a bus that may be delayed.

Thank you for your continued patience and support.

Mr I Cooper

Deputy Principal

Further to our message earlier this week, and Mr Fowler’s note in the Parent Bulletin, we have just been advised by Nexus that Go North East will be unable to guarantee the scholars’ services for a number of schools from Monday 16 October 2023 until Friday 20 October 2023.  Unfortunately, the 873 afternoon only service from Lord Lawson is one of those affected.

We ask that parents and carers of students who use the 873 service make arrangements to ensure their children have alternative transport home next week.

As Mr Fowler has already asked in his letter in the Parent Bulletin, we appeal to any parent or carer who may be collecting their children and has space in their car to offer transport to other Lord Lawson students who may live in your neighbourhood. Your child may know someone who has difficulty getting to or from school next week, and this added complication will have an impact on even more students.