Joy Strassen proved hard work pays off after GCSE success

A student at The King’s School is reaping the rewards of her hard work after achieving the highest mark in the country in GCSE geography.

Joy Strassen, 17, described her surprise and delight upon hearing the news of her exceptional score in a subject she has not even carried through to A-levels – and says it was all down to extensive revision.

The sixth former dropped just eight marks overall in her geography exam last summer and has been awarded a certificate and cheque for £30 from The Royal Geographical Society.

Speaking this week, she said: “It was very surprising, because I did not come out of the exam feeling the best about it. I felt I could have done a lot better, but I think that’s one thing students do - we beat ourselves up when it has actually gone a lot better than we think.

“Geography’s not my best subject, but I did put a lot of work in to it. The revision paid off. I did not expect to get anything - I was confused when the geography teachers wanted to talk to me again. It was a surprise but a good one.”

Joy, of Aylesbeare, is studying maths, further maths and biology in her first year of A-levels at The King’s School and says, while she is unsure of what she wants to do in the future, it is likely to involve maths.

She admitted the surprise award from The Royal Geographical Society did make her think twice about whether she should have continued to study the subject, but says maths remains the topic she enjoys the most.

Teacher Neil Abbot said: “We are delighted to be able to congratulate her on her focus and dedication to maximising her full potential in the GCSE exams.”