Two classmates at Bethnal Green Academy do everything together—study, play, go out and both even want to go to medical school to become doctors.
Aanisah Anjum and her best pal Rayisa Karim got 10 A*s and six As between them at their school in London’s East End which has notched up 80 per cent pass-rate in GCSE grades of five or more A* to C.
“I want the best for myself in the future as a doctor,” Aanisah tells you.
Monday to Friday is spent with Rayisa studying hard, commuting between Whitechapel and Bow to each other’s homes.
Saturday and Sunday is spent with Rayisa going out to the cinema—and more studying.
Rayisa explains: “We both want to the same and be doctors. I’ll make sure I’ll get into medical school because that’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was six years old. It’s the only thing I want to do.”
They laugh when you ask about boys and both give a resounding “no” together—they’re too busy swotting to have boyfriends.
Staff at the Academy are claiming “a phenomenal milestone” with 80 per cent getting top GCSE grades of five or more A* to C including English and maths.
It has been year-on-year improvements since the former Bethnal Green Technical College with its special measures became an academy school five years ago.
Principal Mark Keary said: “This is testament to the ability of our students to compete with the very best in the country.
“The recipe for this success is deceptively simple—there’s a passion for learning, a drive to see every student excel and an unrelenting focus on self-improvement throughout the school.”
One-in-five students got three A or A* grades, while a third achieved the English Baccalaureate.
Aanisah Anjum got A*s in all her eight subjects, while Mohammed Sufiyan achieved seven A*s and an A. Amin Uddin has six A*s and two As and Abdul Fahad two A*s and six As.
Fahim Ahmed got four A*s, five As and a B. Mohammed Islam, who won last month’s regional Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge, got four A*s, an A, B and two Cs.
Rafiul Islam came from Italy with no prior knowledge of English and joined in Year 9—and now leaves with three A*s, two As, 2 Bs, a C and two Merits. He wants to be a pilot.
Sheridan Gately had a turbulent educational history when he joined late in Year 10—and has achieved six As and a B.
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Liam was expelled before coming to Bethnal Green Academy and now has 6 GCSEs
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