Wellfield School in East Durham cheers 'outstanding' exam results post Covid

There were lots of happy faces among students and staff at the school in Wingate on Thursday morning as youngsters opened their brown envelopes to find out their results.

This year was the first time in three years that students up and down the country sat exams due to the pandemic.

Despite the disruption, Wellfield received some fantastic results and continues to be among the best performing schools in County Durham.

Deputy headteacher Deon Krishnan said: “We are so proud of our students considering it’s been a very difficult year post Covid.

“Once again our students have come up trumps. Our staff have worked incredibly hard to get our students over the line and today we are seeing the benefit of students and their families being extremely proud of their achievements.”

Mr Krishnan said the school continues to be one of the best both regionally and nationally for its maths results.

Thomas Blair, 15, from Thornley, was the school’s highest performer with a great set of results including 9s (the equivalent of a double A*) and 8s.

He said: “I’m really happy, it’s a big relief.”

Thomas will continue his studies next year at sixth form college.

Wellfield’s next best achieving student was Gregory Killingley, 16, with a string of 8s and 9s.

Hannah Lowther, 16, from Wingate, was very proud of her results.

She said: “Covid set us back, we had to do online learning for quite a few months, but once I got back in school I got back on track.”

Tom Wood, also 16, from Haswell, agreed adding: “It was pretty stressful and it limited our learning time.”

But he was pleased after earning grades including an 8, 7s and a Level 2 Distinction in Engineering.

Beth Whitehead, 16, from Wingate, was another high performer with a number of top grades.

It was also a happy day for parents including Claire and Neil Prout, whose daughter Olivia got mainly 6s and 7s.

Neil said: “We’re really proud. The school has been brilliant.”

Claire added: “All their hard work and commitment has paid off for them.”