One of our Year 11 students was amongst the top ten students in the country for exam performance in Spanish, according to Edexcel, the UK's largest awarding body.



One of our Year 11 students was amongst the top ten students in the country for exam performance in Spanish, according to Edexcel, the UK's largest awarding body.

Mrs Storey, Head of MFL, was delighted with this news, describing her star student as, "a very creative young lady, who always asked questions and aimed for the best." 

Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel's Managing Director, said: "This is a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work students put into preparing for their exams. We send our congratulations to her."

Read below to get a first-hand account of the factors that contributed to this fantastic achievement:

"I first took an interest in Spanish after a holiday to Spain in 2006 and began studying it at GCSE level in school after several weeks help and support from the languages department.  Two years on I have been to Malaga to live with a Spanish family for one month.  It was the best experience of my life; I met people from many different countries, learnt lots of Spanish and had fun!  While I was there I went to school every weekday to improve my Spanish, but outside of school I climbed a nearby mountain with a group of students and a teacher, I visited Gibraltar, Benelmádena and Torremolinos, I saw a bullfight, visited the annual festival  called the Fería, and of course went to the beach. The family that I stayed with was extremely welcoming and towards the end of the month I felt like I was one of them. It is an experience that I will carry with me for a very long time, and I am very grateful to all of the people who helped me make it possible: Mr McCallum, Macmillan Academy; members of the Masonic Lodge, Billingham; The Smith'’s Arms and Rob Davison. I am also very grateful to all of the staff involved in allowing me to study Spanish AS/A2."