NATIONALLY celebrated charity and largest school in the country for pupils with special educational needs, More House School in Frensham, is celebrating fantastic GCSE and BTEC success for its Year 11 students this summer, beating national averages despite challenges to learning.

Despite a large proportion having an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCp), which recognises a high level of additional learning difficulties, More House School’s Year 11s have overcome dyslexia and other Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs), Developmental Language weaknesses and associated special educational needs to beat the England (boys) national average for a good pass in GCSE English by a clear 13 percentage points.

Eighty-one per cent of More House’s Year 11s gained a pass at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English Language, and 75 per cent achieved the same success in GCSE Mathematics, beating the national average of 69 per cent. Ninety per cent of the school’s students secured a good pass in science.

Headmaster, Jonathan Hetherington, praised the courage shown by his pupils during the past 18 months of “turmoil, uncertainty and exceptional disruption”.

He said: “Many of our students arrive at More House unable to realise how clever they are, lacking in confidence and self-belief, and convinced they will fail in their schooling.

“These results are a testament to their natural intelligence and perseverance, proving that in the right, aspirational environment, students with special educational needs can thrive and realise exceptional academic success”.

Mr Hetherington also congratulated the school’s staff, recognising the “exceptional burdens placed on teachers and other colleagues during the pandemic in order to design and implement robust processes for generating and testing evidence in support of pupils’ grades, alongside delivering the unique and expert support and teaching for which More House is so widely celebrated”.

A majority of More House School’s Year 11s will commence their post-16 studies this September in the school’s Sixth Form, pursuing A Level and vocational qualification courses.