Successful student Emily Kimber. (0626332)

A NEW scheme at St Sampson’s Secondary School saw some of its students gain GCSEs a year early.
Year 10 pupils attained A and B grades in English as part of the process.
The top-set class took the exam a year early to keep the language and literature branches of the subject separate.
‘This is the first year we have done it, so it was a bit of a trial run,’ said exam officer and English teacher Liz Dale.
‘We wanted to try it due to the fact that, in Year 11, doing both language and literature can get confusing for the students.
‘So separating them means we can focus on the literature in Year 11 and take a look at some AS language as well.’
Ms Dale felt the initiative had been a great success and one the school would probably continue.
‘Doing it this way has given students confidence and proves their abilities. It also prepares them for sixth form.’