Built for the whole girl: St George's GCSE results 2026

Today we're celebrating the achievements of our new Lower Sixth as they receive their GCSE and National 5 certificates. The culmination of two years of committed work across a full range of subjects, alongside a diverse co-curricular programme.

• 68% of all GCSE examinations (compulsory and optional) taken, achieved the top grades (9-6), the highest proportion in three years

• Over 10% of the cohort achieved straight A-equivalent grades (7, 8, 9) across all their subjects

• 60% of the year group achieved an A-equivalent grade in Maths, with 80% of Further Maths results at A-equivalent, with 65% of the year group intending to continue their Maths studies at Higher this year.

• In our optional National 5 subjects (PE, Latin, German, Drama and Design Technology), 98% of results achieved A-B, a record for St George's, with 86% at A.

• 45% of the cohort also took on the Higher Project Qualification alongside their GCSEs and 45% of the Projects were graded at A/A*

Head, Carol Chandler-Thompson, said: "What strikes me most about results like these isn't just the grades, it's the breadth behind them. Our girls choose Computer Science and Design Technology as readily as they choose History or Music, because here, no subject comes with an assumption attached. That freedom to choose without limits and build the skills which will be so important for life beyond school, is exactly what we set out to give every girl at St George's, and it's exactly what she goes on to build a future from."

More than the mark on the page

St George's students typically take at least eight subjects, including at least one science, one social science, English Language, English Literature and Mathematics, alongside four further possible choices spanning languages, expressive arts, business, art and creative technologies, and health and wellbeing. At this stage, we deliberately encourage breadth over early specialisation, because the important skills that come from range, not narrowness, are what carry a girl furthest.

Running through every one of those individualised pathways are what we call our Red Threads: the meta-skills, like teamwork, creative thinking and problem-solving, digital fluency, project skills, outdoor adventure, business acumen, leadership, entrepreneurship and a genuinely global outlook. These aren't add-ons to the curriculum. They're built into it, because we're not only preparing our students to get into university, college or the workforce, we're preparing them to shape whatever comes next.

Two qualification systems, one clear purpose

Our 'Best of British' curriculum deliberately blends GCSEs with National 5s, rather than defaulting to one system across the board. Each course is chosen on its own merits, based on scrutiny of course relevance, quality and student experience, and shaped through experience of what enables students to excel on their pathway into higher education and employment. The result is a curriculum built around what best serves each subject and each girl, not around administrative convenience, giving us the flexibility to offer genuinely individual pathways rather than a one-size-fits-all exam timetable.

Learning beyond the syllabus

For many of our S3 and S4 students, the Higher Project Qualification is where that individuality really comes alive. It gives students the chance to extend their academic interests beyond the main curriculum and pursue a subject they're genuinely passionate about, developing the project management, extended research and critical thinking skills that make for excellent preparation for the Extended Project Qualification ahead. For a girl who wants to go deeper into one subject than the timetable alone allows, this is where she gets to do it, and 45% of this year's cohort chose to.

Freedom to choose, without limits

This breadth is deliberate, and it isn't incidental to being a single-sex school, it's a product of it. In a single-sex environment, subject choice isn't shaped by who else is in the room. Girls choose Computer Science, Physics or Design Technology because they want to, not despite an assumption they might not. That freedom to choose without stereotype shows up in results like these, and we don't think that's a coincidence.

The stories behind the statistics

As a cohort and as individuals, there are many hard-won stories behind these results, each reflecting the individualised pathways St George's is built around. We're celebrating every one of them today, from girls who joined us in nursery and have achieved a set of straight 9s and 8s, to girls who relocated partway through S3/S4 and completed GCSE courses in a single year, in a language that isn't their first.