history this year.

A total of 616 students were admitted to the school.

And new headmistress Mrs. Eleanor Kingsbury attributed the record enrolment to "growing public understanding of the effectiveness of single-sex education for girls''.

She also noted that BHS students' "outstanding'' achievement in the most recent General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams affirmed the quality of a BHS education for girls.

She revealed that 20 of 22 students in last year's graduating class achieved five or more results of grade C or above.

She also noted that one in three of all grades was an A and there were seven subjects in which every student earned a C grade or better.

Mrs. Kingsbury praised all of the Year 12 students -- who took 183 GCSE's in 17 subjects -- for their hard work and record-breaking accomplishment.

But she particularly highlighted the achievements of Mandy Wong who received 10 A grades, seven with special distinction.

Mrs. Kingsbury also praised BHS staff for encouraging an increasing number of students to take the GCSE in Year 11.

"Of the 13 girls in Year 11 who sat 15 GCSE examinations, none scored below a C,'' she noted. "Of the 10 who received grades of B or better, seven earned A's.''