STUDENTS from Wokingham borough should be applauded for their A-level results during the pandemic.
Schools and colleges have been closed since March, and exams have been cancelled. This year grades have been calculated from coursework and mock exams.
They also ranked pupils at each grade to help calculate grades with Ofqual, which regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England.
The information submitted by each school was used to create standards across all schools and colleges, to make sure results are fair and ensure students were not advantaged or disadvantaged if their school was more generous or harsher than others.
Following a Government announcement on Tuesday, students will be able to accept their calculated grade if they are happy with it, appeal to receive a valid mock result, or sit autumn exams to ensure the achievements of young people are recognised.
Ofqual has been asked to determine how and when valid mock results can be used to calculate grades – with further announcements expected in due course. This system will provide an additional safety net to the system of calculated grades, which is the fairest possible approach in the absence of exams due to Covid-19.
And on Thursday, August 13, students found out how they did: grades were sent out electronically and some schools offered a socially distanced collection service.
“Everyone at Wokingham Borough Council would like to praise all schools, teachers, governors, families, and above all, the students for the way they have dealt with this unprecedented situation,” said Cllr UllaKarin Clark, the council’s executive member for children’s services.
“All students should be congratulated for their efforts and should be applauded for their A-Level results this summer.
“The system announced by the Government this week means students will have more options if they are unhappy with their calculated grades, so they can do something if they feel their results do not fairly represent their performance.
“This situation has been difficult for schools, teachers and students but I hope they can find reasons to celebrate.”
She added: “Whether off to university, entering the world of work or starting further training, I wish all our young people every success. I’d like to commend our schools not just for the results they produce but also for the well-rounded individuals they help shape who go on to be part of our society.”
And the council runs Elevate Me, which provides information and options for careers, apprenticeships and further training. Students can take advantage of this service by logging on to http://wokingham.elevateme.org.uk/
Abbey School
THE ABBEY SCHOOL says that it is proud of the results earnt by its students – and would give help to any student affected by the standardisation process.
And it said that in the current results, more than 61% of grades are A* or A.
New headteacher Will le Fleming said: “We are very proud of the results attained by all our students. The picture remains provisional while the political backdrop evolves but at this point over 61% of calculated grades are at A*/A.
“We are pleased that in the great majority of cases our students’ hard work and dedication during their time at The Abbey has been recognised in the standardisation process and we congratulate them as they continue their learning journey at leading universities around the UK.”
He added: “We also acknowledge the challenge all our students face in light of ongoing uncertainty. The Abbey is committed to ensuring each student receives the necessary advice and support to guide them seamlessly towards their next life chapter.
“We know that all young people will be concerned that the process should be as fair as possible for themselves and their peers.
“Along with all schools we share that concern and will keep the situation closely under review over the coming days.”
Mr le Fleming added that the students have coped well with lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“No one chooses the times in which they live,” he said.
“We are deeply impressed by the mature and measured way our students have dealt with this unprecedented situation.
“More than outstanding results, it is their initiative, tenacity and commitment that will see them go on to thrive whatever the future holds.
“They leave our community as outward-looking and independent-minded young women looking to make their mark in the wider world. We wish them well.”
Bracknell and Wokingham College
SIXTY students at Bracknell and Wokingham College are celebrating their A-level results today.
Successes included the accounting department, mathematics, law and physics students all passing, with grades above the national average.
Further mathematics and photography students all received A* to B grades.
Activate Learning, which runs the college, said that 11 of the 16 subjects offered by the college secured pass rates above the national average, with the majority of subjects securing a 100% pass rate at the college.
Sally Dicketts, chief executive of Activate Learning, said: “I am delighted to see that so many of our students have succeeded and achieved some fantastic results this year and I’m thrilled to say that across Activate Learning our overall pass rate is up on last year.
“I think this year has highlighted how important it is to apply yourself from day one and remain focused throughout your studies, and for those students that did this their efforts have been rewarded today.”
And she pledged support for those affected by the downgrading of marks.
“As with every year, there are always some people that feel unhappy with the grades they’ve received, regardless of the special conditions that we’ve found ourselves in this year because of Covid,” Ms Dicketts said.
“We will support those students however we can to ensure that they are able to achieve the things they want and realise their ambitions.”
Heading to Oxford is 18-year-old Jack Davies. The Bracknell teenager was one of the college’s top performers, achieving an A* in further maths, A* in maths and an A in chemistry.
“I’m happy with my results and I’m excited about going to the University of Oxford to study chemistry,” he said.
“Thank you to all of my teachers especially Bal Dhillion, who really helped and supported me throughout the last two years, sending me to Oxbridge talks and interview workshops, giving me the push that I needed to apply to the University of Oxford.”
And Zoe Woods achieved an A in business, a B in English literature and language and a B in politics. She has a place to study politics at Royal Holloway, University of London in 2021.
Zoe said: “I’m mostly happy with my results because they have enabled me to go to my university of choice. I’m excited and nervous to be going to university. It will be good to have a new start and learn more about politics.
“I’ve gained more confidence since coming to college. College has helped me to make new friends and take on new subjects. I know more about how I learn now and the best way for me to learn.”
The Bulmershe School
THE BULMERSHE School has congratulated its students on their level of determination through the last five months.
Headteacher, Amanda Woodfin said: “After such a challenging and unprecedented time, we are so proud and delighted with your results this summer.
“I would like to thank all the students, staff and parents for their hard work and support in gaining these results. The level of collaboration and determination shown over the past five months is a real reflection of our community. Well done all.”
Staff gave a special shout out to Nicole, who achieved 2 A*s in English language and literature and Spanish and 2 Bs in business studies and sociology. She has accepted a conditional offer to study modern languages and cultures at the University of Sheffield.
Riwaz achieved 4 A*s in maths, further maths, physics and chemistry and will study physics at the University of Birmingham.
Hannah achieved 2 As in chemistry and maths and a B in english language and literature. She has secured an apprenticeship for next year at John Lewis.
A number of departments achieved the top grade boundary A*-A. These include: fine art, photography, chemistry, drama, English literature, Italian, Spanish, maths, further maths, media and medical science.
Ms Woodfin added: “We wish them luck with their next endeavours and thank them for their many contributions to school life here at Bulmershe.”
Edgbarrow School
STUDENTS at a Crowthorne school should be congratulated on a great set of results.
That’s the view of Edgbarrow’s head of sixth form, Tony Evans.
In a statement, he said that while the students have faced unprecedented times due to the coronavirus, they have been “an incredible year group”.
He praised them for being hard-working, great fun and resilient.
“It is, of course, a team effort and the staff and families also deserve huge credit,” he said.
“This year’s results have been based on centre-assessed grades and exam board standardisation; we expect the outcomes for some students to improve further when the process of allowing mock results is confirmed.”
Edgbarrow students will now go on to further education, apprenticeships and some into work.
“We are particularly pleased that five students have gained a place at Oxford or Cambridge and a further 33 students have been accepted at Russell Group universities,” Mr Evans said. “Twenty one students have achieved all A or A* grades, or equivalent for vocational courses.
“Wherever our students are going, we wish them every success and happiness.”
Emmbrook School
PUPILS from The Emmbrook School are looking forward to new challenges after receiving their results.
Headteacher Nick McSweeney said the staff are delighted to celebrate with our students after the uncertainty of the last six months.
He said: “Despite the need to maintain social distancing, I am so pleased that we were able to welcome back our students this morning to collect their results in person, so that we could share the moment with them and acknowledge the fruits of their hard work and determination.
“This included many outstanding individual performances; our top performing student, Wiktor Kepa, secured A* grades in drama, English literature and religious studies.
“The results today will mean that the vast majority of our students will now be able to progress to the next stage of their studies, with students taking up places on courses at many of the UK’s top universities, including Oxford, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, Southampton and Warwick. Many other students will be going on to apprenticeships and work placements.”
Mr Constable, the head of sixth form added: “My first year-group through as the head of sixth form have been incredible. The results they have achieved are the culmination of two years of hard work.
“We are sure that they will all go on to be successful in the future and we wish them the very best of luck.”
Ryan Murphy received straight As for history, politics and English and is looking forward to going to Warwick to read history and politics – a choice that was honed through the Emmbrook’s teaching.
“I absolutely love it,” he said of his chosen subject. “A-level made me really love politics and understand how politics influences history.”
He has a particular interest in 20th century Germany, including the reunification, and said he’s thrilled to be able to study this further.
But in the short-term, he intends to celebrate his grades with his parents by going out for dinner.
And Mhairi Robertson admitted that she had had a bit of a sleepless night ahead of receiving her grades, despite having an unconditional offer from Winchester University.
She received As for sociology and religious studies and a B in history.
The teenager is now fulfilling a lifelong dream to be a primary school teacher, as she will be studying primary education.
“It’s been my goal since I was able to talk,” she says. “I have had an unconditional offer, so I was in the best position as I knew I was going to university.
“But I will miss Emmbrook, I struggled a bit in the first few days of lockdown, I just love the teachers and the pupils here.
“I’m hoping to meet with a few friends this evening, maybe going to a restaurant or sitting in someone’s garden.”
Forest School
ALL STUDENTS at The Forest School in Winnersh are to be congratulated for their positivity in dealing with the unique circumstances that 2020 has brought.
That’s the verdict of headteacher Shirley Austin, who said that four in five students will be taking places at university, with the remainder going on to apprenticeships and work places.
However, she added that there was disappointment that assessed grades had not been used in many cases and it was awaiting more news from the government on this.
In a statement, the Forest said: “We recognise that our 2020 cohort have experienced an unprecedented set of challenges this year, and want to congratulate each student on their effort, attitude and positivity during their studies.
“They have been a really fantastic group of students and we wish them the best for their future.
“Our overall results have remained good and students have had positive outcomes.
“In line with the national results picture we are disappointed that the Centre assessed grades have not been used in many cases.
“We await clarity from the government regarding the recently announced triple lock system to offer further information to our amazing students.”
Among those celebrating are Dylan Maidens, who is celebrating with three A* results, while Joe Dearing achieved 2A* and 1A.
Amelia Welling received 3 Distinction Star, Alice Russell has received 2 Distinction Star and 2 As.
In addition the following students achieved two A grades: Max Fogelmann, Bradon Hierons, Dylan Purrewall, Rob Pinnell, Ellie Piper, Ben Rollings and Alex Youssef.
Shirley Austin, The Forest’s headteacher, said, “Congratulations to all students and staff, this has been a tumultuous year and this cohort has experienced something unique and very unexpected.
“They have been put in an unprecedented situation and I want to emphasise how proud we are of their capacity to deal with this challenge and their hard work and dedication.
“I also want to emphasize how proud I am of my dedicated team of sixth form teachers, led by Mrs Collins; their desire to go the extra mile to help every student is humbling and incredible. The school culture teaches each student to ASPIRE, (aspire, safe, prepared, independent, respectful and excellent) in this case we can add resilience to the list of character traits they have shown.
“We wish them all the best for the future, whatever they choose to do.”
The Holt School
STUDENTS at The Holt School are fully deserving of their results today, say co-headteachers Anne Kennedy and Katie Pearce.
The school has decided not to publish its results, but said there were “many instances of individuals who did exceptionally well”.
They said: “Our Year 13 students were a great year group who worked very hard from the start of their A levels in September 2018 up to the lockdown period in March and are fully deserving of their A level grades received today.
“It was sad that Covid-19 denied our students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in an exam.
“However, the exam board moderation process has been designed to be as fair as it possibly can be in the absence of the exams.”
The headteachers added: “Thank you to our dedicated staff for inspiring and challenging their students to ensure they had every opportunity to achieve their very best and in supporting and preparing them for life beyond school.
“Thank you also to the parents of this cohort for their continued support over the last two years, which we have very much appreciated.
“We wish all our Year 13 students the very best as they move on to university, apprenticeships or employment and we would like to thank them for their hard work, commitment and contributions they have made to the life of the school over their time here.”
ALL STUDENTS at Leighton Park School received at least a pass in their A-levels – 69% of them achieved A*-B grades, while 17.4% of the grades were A*, almost double the national average.
Those taking chemistry, computer science or further maths all received A*-B grades. Four in five students obtained those grades in physics, and 71% of biology students also received the grades.
The results come after Leighton Park received an Award for Excellence in STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Maths) Education.
Among those celebrating were Adriana Ioannou, who is planning to go to Manchester to study medicine.
“It has been a rough ride for the last few months but I’m thrilled as Medicine has been my dream,” she said.
Shaun Uppal, intends to study Politics and International Relations at UCL.
“I’m really looking forward to the university experience and am thinking of doing a law conversion or LLM at Oxbridge after my undergraduate degree at UCL,” he said.
And the school’s musicians have also had a good year, with five students looking forward to further education including attending some of the UK’s top conservatoires.
“I’m really looking forward to going to the Royal Northern College of Music – I would love to go into performance but am also interested in teaching at university level,” said Nikki Wilson, who played Velma in the School’s spring term production of the musical Chicago.
And Michael Rincon was left with a dilemma following his results.
He said: “I don’t know whether to choose Leeds or Southampton. I need to check through the courses now and see what’s best for me. One of my main interests is film composition at the moment.”
The A-level results follow the school’s IBDP successes of early June when Leighton Park students gained an average of 35 points against a worldwide average of 29.9. Each of the School’s IB students seeking to start University next year achieved their first choice of course at their first-choice university.
Helen Taylor, Leighton Park’s head of sixth form and IB co-ordinator, said: “We are unusual in offering both A-level and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
“The breadth and structure of the IBDP really suits some of our students and the IBO values of open-mindedness, international co-operation, self-reflection and risk-taking dovetail perfectly with Leighton Park’s Quaker values.”
And Leighton Park’s headteacher, Matthew Judd, was pleased with the results given the situation that all schools had found themselves in this year.
“Set against the background of incredibly difficult circumstances our Upper Sixth students achieved spectacular outcomes,” he said.
“They have had to show unprecedented resilience and patience in the run up to these results.
“They have achieved all we wanted for them in securing outstanding university placements, with all gaining their first or second choice.
“Their results, supported by staff, are excellent, the best in recent times. I congratulate the whole community for their outstanding efforts in the A-levels, IB and BTECs.”
Luckley House School
STUDENTS from Luckley House School will be going to a range of universities including Oxford, Brighton, and a performing arts school.
The Wokingham school said that a third of its grades were A* to A, and approximately 60% of grades were A* to B.
There was particular success in the maths and physics departments, where all students achieved either A* or A grades.
Emma J was thrilled with her AAB in biology, maths and chemistry.
“The wait for results has been so nerve-racking,” she said. “I hoped that I had done well enough to get the grades I needed for my future, but because there was no exam I really didn’t know.
“I just had to have faith that my teachers had given me the grades I deserve – I am very happy with AAB.
“I am now going to take a gap year before applying to study biomedical science at university next year.”
And Issy S said that she was overwhelmed with emotion on receiving news of her A grade in photography.
“I am just so happy and relieved,” she said.
“It has been a very stressful time waiting for the results with so much unknown.
“I now can’t wait to start my photography degree course in Falmouth.”
This was the last set of results under Luckley’s outgoing head teacher Jane Tudor, who left earlier this summer.
The school’s incoming head, Areti Bizior, said: “My warmest congratulations to all our students on their wonderful achievements that reflect not only their talents, but their hard work, dedication and perseverance.
“I am extremely proud of them and all they have achieved during their time at Luckley House School.
“My thanks too, must go to the staff who have worked tirelessly to secure the best possible outcomes for our students and to their parents and families at home for their continued support.
“I wish them all an enjoyable and relaxing summer before they begin on the next stage of their education.”
LVS Ascot
PUPILS at LVS Ascot school are celebrating an increase in A*-A grades in this year’s A-level results, something it says its particularly pleasing.
Just over a fifth of its sixth formers received the top two grades – and almost half of the results (49.3%) were A*-B, while three quarters of students achieved A*-C.
However, the overall pass rate dropped slightly – the A*-E grades went from 98.2% last year to 97.7% this year.
School principal Christine Cunniffe was delighted with the results given the circumstances.
“These are unprecedented times and despite the current situation, overall we are happy with the results,” she said.
“We do however appreciate there will be a number of students who will need additional support and guidance as they look at next steps for the future and so all of our efforts here at LVS Ascot will be in channelled into providing one to one support sessions both in person and online.”
Grade A*- 8.05% (2019 – 4.6%)
Grade A- 14.94% (2019 – 11.8%)
Grade A*-A – 22.99% (2019 – 16.4%)
Grade A*-B – 49.43% (2019 – 35.9%)
Grade A*-C – 75.29% (2019 – 67.3%)
Overall pass rate A*-E – 97.7% (2019 – 98.2%)
Maiden Erlegh School
Maiden Erlegh School is celebrating its pupils’ successes, and said that it had been fantastic to share in their joy today.
The school opened earlier so that the sixth formers could come in and collect results if they wanted to.
Paul Gibson, the school’s headteacher, said: “Everyone here at Maiden Erlegh School would like to congratulate our students who picked up their A Level and vocational qualification results today.
“Over the past few months, like many, they have faced uncertainty and we are incredibly proud of how they have managed this and the results they have collected today reflect the hard work they have put in over the past two years.
“There are an enormous number of success stories and it was fantastic to be a part of this with the students and parents this morning, many excited about what lies ahead including university, apprenticeships and employment.”
He added: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the students, staff and parents for their hard work, dedication and support over the past two years and we wish them the very best for the future.”
Piggott School
VIRTUALLY every pupil at the Piggott School in Twyford passed their A-levels, with nearly nine in 10 students receiving at least a C grade.
The results, headteacher Derren Gray said, are ‘outstanding’ and showcase the school’s sixth form as a centre of excellence.
“Staff and students have all worked exceptionally hard and this is reflected in the grades awarded,” he said.
“A-level results at The Piggott School continue to show year-on-year improvement, from an already very high baseline.”
In all, 99.7% of pupils passed, with a third being A* and A grade. Two thirds were graded A*-B and 88% were A*-C.
The average point score per A level entry was 39 points using the QCA system.
And the school’s Vocational Level 3 pass rate for Applied General qualifications was 100%, with Distinction star to Merit being 97%.
For Technical subject entry, every student passed the course with at least a Merit grade, 86% at Distinction or Distinction star.
“This once again shows our outstanding sixth form as a centre of excellence for Academic, Applied General and Technical learning,” Mr Gray added.
“I wish all our students the very best for their future and thank all the teaching and support staff for their continued dedication and professionalism.”
Reading College
MORE than 70 students at Reading College are celebrating passing their A-levels.
Highlights included a 100% pass rate for those taking physics, government and politics, history, and RE.
And the Kings Road college said that it will offer help to those who didn’t get the grades they’d been expecting.
Charlotte Horne from Reading was one of the college’s top performers, achieving two A* in mathematics, and psychology, as well as a B in business and an A in AS further maths.
She will now take up an offer from the University of Bath where she will study economics.
Charlotte said: “I’m really happy, surprised and relieved with my results and I’m very excited to be going to university.
“Thank you for all the support of my teachers, it has been amazing. My confidence has shot up since school and they made me believe in myself that I could do it.”
Oliwia Milkiewicz from High Wycombe achieved an A in psychology and sociology and a B in business. She has a place to study psychology at Lancaster University.
“I’m very happy with my results and I’m really excited about going to university,” she said.
“My teachers were great and very supportive, they pushed us all to achieve the best we could. They have contributed to a lot of my successes at Reading College and so I’d like to thank them all for that.”
Naomi Pett from Reading achieved A’s in biology and psychology and a B grade in chemistry and has decided to take a year out to reapply to university to study medicine, go travelling and resit her chemistry. She was previously home-schooled before studying at Reading College.
Naomi said: “I had little confidence before starting college, but over the two years that I was at college, and through the support from all my teachers, tutors and peers, I’ve managed to get where I am today, in a much happier and better position.
“At the start, I could barely look anyone in the eye, but now I have made amazing friends, managed to actually do multiple group presentations, be a student representative and finish my A-levels.
“I’m really happy with the results that I’ve got, it’s the best out of a bad situation and I’m going to keep working towards becoming a doctor.”
Sally Dicketts, chief executive of Activate Learning, said: “I am delighted to see that so many of our students have succeeded and achieved some fantastic results this year and I’m thrilled to say that across Activate Learning our overall pass rate is up on last year.
“I think this year has highlighted how important it is to apply yourself from day one and remain focused throughout your studies, and for those students that did this their efforts have been rewarded today.
“As with every year, there are always some people that feel unhappy with the grades they’ve received, regardless of the special conditions that we’ve found ourselves in this year because of Covid.
“We will support those students however we can to ensure that they are able to achieve the things they want and realise their ambitions.”
Reading Blue Coat School
STUDENTS at Reading Blue Coat School are celebrating record-breaking A-level results this year.
Headmaster, Pete Thomas has called the results a testament to the hard work and effort of both students and teachers throughout their two-year A-level studies.
More than 85% of pupils who applied for a place at university have been offered their first choice.
This comes as the school records a 100% pass rate (A*-E) with half all grades awarded at A*-A.
Going into his first year in post, Mr Thomas said: “I am delighted for the pupils and staff who have worked so hard over the last two years and had their efforts recognised with excellent results.
“Reading Blue Coat is in fine health; an exciting time to take over as head and work with the school’s community to ensure it continues to thrive.”
And 80% of all grades awarded were between an A* and B.
Head of sixth form, George Morton said: “Regardless of whether or not examinations were sat this year, our Year 13 pupils have really earned their strong A-level results today.
“Their hard work, commitment and intellectual curiosity over the last two years, which included embracing the challenges of remote learning during the first two months of lockdown, have been rewarded and we are delighted to see that so many of them have secured their places at the country’s most prestigious universities.”
Wokingham resident and prefect Michael Hills, achieved four A*s.
He said: “Remote learning over the past six months has been difficult, but we’ve all made the best of a bad situation.
“I’m really happy with my results as I have worked hard over the last couple of years. It’s really nice that it’s finally paid off.
“In September I will begin studying computer science at Exeter University, and I’m looking forward to joining some of the societies there.”
Grade A*- 16.9% (2019 – 13.5%)
Grade A*-A – 49.9% (2019 – 41.5%)
Grade A*-B – 78.2% (2019 – 71.6%)
Grade A*-C – 94.9% (2019 – 90.8%)
Overall pass rate A*-E – 100% (2019 – 99.1%)
Reading School
READING SCHOOL said that its 171 students are celebrating a “fine set” of A-level results.
In all, 91% of grades were A*-B, with 35.8% at A* and 73.3% at A*-A. And four in five students gained at least AAB.
All students who sat English literature, French, geography, German, Latin, music and Spanish received grades between A*-B, with the same story for 95.8% of history students and 98.2% of economics students.
Nearly half – 46.4% – of maths students received an A* and 90.4% were graded A*-B.
In Further Maths 47.5% gained A*.
In biology, 71.7% of students achieved A*-A, 82.7% of students of physics and 90.5% of students of chemistry gained A*-B.
In computing 67.9% gained A*-A and 85.7% achieved A*-B.
Among the results, Tom H gained 5 A*s and Sam S, Alex S, Hao Y, Nikhil P, Siddharth S, James B gained 4 A* grades. Shreyas P, Hamzah A gained 3 A*s with Oliver E achieving 3A*s and an A.
Joel B gained 4 A* grades in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Further Mathematics and will go on to read Medicine at Churchill College, University of Cambridge.
And Joe I (Year 13), achieved 5A* grades in Chemistry, Computing, Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics, and will read Natural Sciences at Robinson College, University of Cambridge.
“I’m really pleased with my results and although I’m disappointed to have missed out on the last days of Sixth Form, I am ready to move on to university now,” he said.
“Thank you to all my teachers and staff at Reading School.”
A statement added that the results “reflect the quality of work undertaken by pupils and teachers who have worked hard to compile persuasive evidence to underpin calculated grades submitted”.
Students were able to visit the Erleigh Road school to collect their results, socially distanced.
Reading School’s headteacher, Ashley Robson, said: “I want to express my congratulations to all our students after what has been undoubtedly an unprecedented year so far.
“Many expressed their relief, after what has been a challenging time.
“I wish all our students the very best for the future as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.’
And the school’s head of sixth form,
The school’s head of Sixth Form and Assistant Head, Mr Lloyd, praised the sixth formers, saying that they had coped magnificently with the challenges posed by coronavirus and the lockdown.
“I am immensely proud of them for the way they have dealt with all of the uncertainty and know that had they been given the opportunity to sit their exams in the normal manner, they would have achieved exceptional results,” he said.
“As it is, they deserve tremendous credit for all of the successes they have achieved through this unusual process. We know they will go on to make hugely positive contributions to wherever they go next.
“We very much hope to be able to see them all again for a proper goodbye sometime soon.”
St Crispin’s School
PUPILS at St Crispin’s School are celebrating with high grades and university places.
Tom McEvoy, who took four A-levels achieved 3 A*s and an A and will be studying English literature with creative writing at Lancaster University.
Headteacher Ginny Rhodes, said: “Tom has done fantastically well to achieve these results in four subjects and we will be delighted to hear of his future success.”
And another student also receiving results in four subjects was Ollie Myers, who achieved 3 A*s and a B. He will be studying computer science at Bristol University. Ms Rhodes said: “The staff are thrilled that the hard work Ollie has demonstrated throughout his time here has been rewarded.”
Kareem Elsayed achieved 3 As, and will study business management. Ms Rhodes described Kareem as a personable and committed student, who “deserves recognition and is a fantastic advocate of our sixth form”.
Megan Smith achieved an A* and 2 As and will study in Chemistry with a year in industry at York University. Ms Rhodes said: “Megan has shown herself to be a thoughtful and considerate student who has added much to the sixth form outside of her studies, while maintaining a very mature and conscientious approach to her subjects.”
She added: “We are so very proud of all our students in Year 13 who have lived through such extraordinary times and now received richly-deserved their A-level results.”
St Joseph’s College
SIXTH FORM students at St Joseph’s College are celebrating 85% of A-level entries achieving A*-C grades this year.
And 18% of all entries achieved A*’s.
Andrew Colpus, headmaster at St Joseph’s said there were particularly strong performances in drama, French, art, and philosophy, ethics and religion, with all departments receiving 100% A*-A grades.
And 24% of students achieved straight A*/A grades, many of which and have secured places on University courses across the country.
These include medicine, maths, and electronic engineering with nanotechnology, modern languages, law, and production and sound engineering, at universities in Bristol, London, Newcastle and Southampton.
Lucy Bayliss-Binks, from Woodley achieved three A’s and an A* in her extended project qualification.
She said: “I am so completely happy with my results and can’t wait to start at my first choice university, Newcastle, to study modern languages.”
Abby Ward, from Twyford achieved two A*s, one A and an A* in her extended project qualification.
She said: “I am absolutely shocked and so incredibly happy! I got three A*s and an A and I will be going to Manchester to study French and English literature. I’m heading out to celebrate.”
Head boy, Hugh Pullin from Earley achieved two A*’s, one A. He is going to Bristol University to study maths.
Mr Colpus said he is proud of the students for the other skills that they have learned at St Joseph’s, which will equip them for success at university and beyond.
He added: “I am delighted to congratulate our students on a superb set of exam results that are a true reflection of their hard work.
“I recognise that this has been a difficult year, with our students facing much uncertainty due to Covid-19. I am extremely proud of all that they have achieved and wish them the best of luck as they move on to the next stage of their education.
“I would also like to recognise and thank our remarkable staff, who have guided our students through an unpredictable year and supported them every step of the way.”
Waingels College
SIXTH FORMERS returned to Waingels College today for the first time since lockdown – not for lessons, but to collect their A-levels and BTEC results.
The socially distanced pupils met teachers and had a chance to catch up with friends ahead of their plans for the autumn.
The Woodley school’s principal, Tom Bartlett, said: “We have been hugely uplifted today, to see, face-to-face for the first time in five months, yet still from a suitable distance, our Year 13 students of 2020 as they came to collect their A Level and BTEC ‘results’.
“As usual there are some outstanding and thoroughly well-deserved outcomes and despite the unprecedented and complex circumstances, we are delighted that so many have secured university courses or apprenticeship placement of their choice.”
