Pupils at Merchant Taylors’ School have continued the excellent GCSE performance seen in recent years.
There were a number of individual success stories, including Esther Gonzalez-Dominguez, Krishna Gowda, and Aakash Dharmaraj, who all achieved ten grades at the highest level.
At Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School, two-thirds of all grades were at level 9 to 7, the equivalent of an A* or A, with particular strengths in Religious Studies, Latin, French and Geography.
At Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School, nearly one fifth of grades awarded were at the highest level, while six out of ten grades were at grade 7 or above.
For boys and girls, 40% of all grades were at level 9 to 8 with eight girls and ten boys achieving nine or more grades at level 8 or 9. There were also successes for boys lower down the school, with 29 pupils in Year 10 achieving an 8 or 9 at GCSE Mathematics, alongside Sajay Jeyanathan, who scored a level 9, despite only being in Year 8.
The results come after a tumultuous period of disruption for pupils, who were prevented from sitting exams earlier this year. denied the opportunity to sit exams this year. Nonetheless, they continued to engage in a sustained period of remote and online learning at the school, which saw up to 500 live sessions each day to pupils of all ages at the height of the lockdown period.
Claire Tao, headmistress at Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School, said: “In extraordinary circumstances, our girls have demonstrated their commitment to their studies throughout the lockdown period and these results are testament to their abilities. The whole school is proud of their achievements.
“We have seen a consistent level of success across many subject areas, underlined by some remarkable individual performances. As girls move up to our Sixth Form, this level of academic attainment will leave them well-placed to succeed in their A Level studies and beyond.”
David Wickes, headmaster at Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School, said: “I am proud not only of the boys’ grades, but also of their high level of engagement with the pre A Level courses we ran during the summer term, where they were able to share their teachers’ passion for new areas of study.
“We have seen a continued increase in boys pursuing creative subjects, such as Art and Design & Technology, sustained success in Maths and Science and high levels of attainment across a range of humanities and languages subjects. I very much hope that these boys can move on to the next stage of their education with the disruption they have experienced well behind them.”
Admissions Officer Sue Barrington, retires after 18 years at the school. Sue joined Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School as PA to the Headmistress in March 2002. In 2007 she was appointed as Admissions Officer for MTGS and in 2018 became Admissions Officer for all year groups throughout Merchant Taylors’ Schools more recently based in the Lodge at MTBS. Sue says she has thoroughly enjoyed her diverse roles liaising with colleagues, parents and pupils, and over the years she has dealt with thousands of enquiries through to admission. Following her dedicated 18 years’ service, Sue will be getting creative in her art studios at home. She wishes the School, its staff and pupils every success in the future. 
I was a pupil at MTGS between 1977 and 1985. I educated my three sons, Ben, Max and Joe at MTS, all three went from Reception through 6th Form between 1999 and 2018. I have been a member of PE staff for the last 18.5 years, teaching swimming to junior girls and junior boys, as well as spending many of those years teaching PE to reception and infants at Stanfield.
‘I’ve had the pleasure of working with many wonderful colleagues over the past 27 years and I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone. I have loved my time here and have many happy memories of Prize Givings, Concerts, Christmas Plays and numerous other fun events too numerous to mention.
Richard Greenwood OBE, President, MTS Crosby Old Boys’ Association, said: 
Simon says: ‘The highlight of coaching Merchants players was 2017 when the 1st XI won three trophies and the Under 15 team, captained by my son Jackson and including outstanding players such as Rob and Harvey Rankin, George Politis and Oliver Green, won the Lancashire, North West, and North Cups in both T20 and 40 over cricket, and played in the national finals of both. Finishing runners-up in the 40 over trophy and joint winners of the T20 trophy was an absolutely amazing achievement, and I think my biggest disappointment is that the 2020 1st XI, which would have included most of that side, has been deprived of cricket this term.’
Ian McKie has been Head of Physical Education since 1993. In his time he has seen countless sports teams and tours, and some of his former pupils have shared their memories: