Notable Achievements
In 2008, Dr Challoner's High achieved the best A Level results of any Buckinghamshire state school with an A/B pass rate of 84%. At GCSE the A*/A grade pass rate was 81% and over a third of girls achieved all A*/As. The school has appeared in the Times Parent Power school league tables; 31st best state school in 2007, 16th in 2008 and 23rd in 2009, each time being the top state school in Buckinghamshire. Ofsted rated 'Grade 2 - Good' in its last inspection of the school in 2006.
In 2010 the school achieved another set of outstanding A Level results. 22.3% of entries were graded A*, a higher figure than any other Buckinghamshire school. Over 88% of entries were graded A*-B.
In recent years the school has also won Good Schools Guide awards in History, Politics and Spanish. The Politics department won the top prize, achieving the best A Level results of any school in England for the period 2004-2006. In addition to its academic success, the school has a proud reputation for sporting success, recently winning the national U16 basketball title and the tennis team were national runners-up in the year 8 and under Nestle School Teams Tennis competition. In December 2008 the school won the national junior cross-country championships held in Leicestershire.
In 2008 over 85% of leavers went to their first choice university. Girls won places at over 30 universities to study numerous courses. Last year the two most popular universities were Warwick and Nottingham (27 leavers from 2009 are now studying at these universities). The school also has a proud tradition of girls winning places at Oxbridge colleges; 14 girls won places to study at Oxford and Cambridge in 2009 (11 Oxford and 3 Cambridge). In 2010 a record 15 girls were offered conditional places at Oxbridge; all girls subsequently achieved their places.
The school also encourages all girls to take up musical instruments and there are a number of school bands, from junior and senior choirs to the joint school Swing Band founded by Dr Challoner's Grammar School. Once every two years the Swing Band go on an international tour. In Summer 2009, the band had a highly successful tour in Germany and France.
Read more about this topic: Dr Challoner's High School
Famous quotes containing the words notable and/or achievements:
“In one notable instance, where the United States Army and a hundred years of persuasion failed, a highway has succeeded. The Seminole Indians surrendered to the Tamiami Trail. From the Everglades the remnants of this race emerged, soon after the trail was built, to set up their palm-thatched villages along the road and to hoist tribal flags as a lure to passing motorists.”
—For the State of Florida, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Fathers are still considered the most important “doers” in our culture, and in most families they are that. Girls see them as the family authorities on careers, and so fathers’ encouragement and counsel is important to them. When fathers don’t take their daughters’ achievements and plans seriously, girls sometimes have trouble taking themselves seriously.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)