Spanish examination success in double quick time
Reporter: GCSE RESULTS 2009
Date published: 31 August 2009
GRACIAS, Saddleworth . . . these sassy Senoritas proved their Spanish was top notch.
The super six passed GCSE Spanish in just a year and will now go on to study for an A-Level in the language.
Isobel Robinson, Lisa Carter, Betty Law, Chris Mee, Susan Hunt and Clare Higgins studied in the evening at Saddleworth School which is a specialist language college.
And they all passed the exam with flying colours with five gaining an A* and Lisa scoring an A.
Teacher Jenni Di Paola said: “Students would normally spend two years studying for a GCSE and they would have also done it at a younger age so for these six to pass after just a year and with no previous experience is marvellous.
“They all worked really hard and I am incredibly proud of them all. They had lots of homework and they all put the hours in to get these incredible results.
“They all got on really well so we’ve had a laugh along the way. It just goes to show that it’s never too late to learn a new skill.”
Student Susan Hunt said: “We are all very proud of ourselves and are very grateful for the wonderful opportunity we have been given to learn Spanish. We have had great support from staff and the facilities here are second to none — we can’t wait to move on to the next stage.”
Jessica rises to challenge of Chinese
DAWN MARSDEN
SHE’S always liked languages but Jessica Bird took on an almighty challenge when she chose to study GCSE Chinese.
The 16-year-old Saddleworth School pupil got an A* — the borough’s first top mark in this subject for a non-native Chinese student. Lei Wang also gained an A*.
Jessica, who was one of only three who chose to study the language, will now go to Oldham Sixth-Form College to study German, English literature and psychology with special courses in Italian and Chinese.
She said: “I was really shocked when I saw my grade but really pleased.
“It was really hard to learn and took a lot of work as the characters are totally different, it’s not like learning any other language.
“It’s like learning a language from scratch with a new alphabet but it was fun and I really enjoyed learning a new skill.
“I would like to thank my teacher Weihua Fan who will continue to teach me on my Chinese course at college.”
Assistant head teacher Stephanie Bateman said: “We are very proud of the GCSE Chinese results.
“It is an incredibly difficult subject. Jessica’s achievement is worth a particular mention as she is a non-native speaker.
“She has had to learn to read and write 1,000 Chinese characters.”
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