YEAR 13 students at The Emmbrook School are celebrating this morning after receiving their A-Level results following more than two years of disrupted learning.
More than a quarter of all grades were A* or A and over 50% of grades at A*-B.
There was success for individuals, with over 12% of students achieving three A grades or better and almost half of students achieving an A grade in at least one of their subjects.
David Constable, head of sixth form at the school, said: “The results this year group have achieved are the culmination of two years of hard work.
“This year group have experienced a number of challenges, and have had a far from normal sixth form experience, but they have risen to the challenge to achieve an excellent set of results which is evidence of the quality of student we had in this year group.
“They have been a wonderful group of students to work with. We are all very proud of everything they have achieved, and everything they have done for the school.”
Due to the pandemic, qualifications have not been determined by exams since 2019.
This year group of students were unable to sit their GCSE’s when they were in Year 11 so faced the pressure of exams for the first time.
Pete Whitehouse, assistant headteacher responsible for post-16, said: “The way the students approached their studies and prepared for their ‘first’ public exams demonstrated what a resilient and aspirational group they are.
“They managed to block out all the external noise around the uncertainty of exams and overcome the challenges of the disruptions of covid.
“The end outcome is a superb set of results which will allow them access to move on to the next stage of their journeys, whether it be university, apprenticeship or the world of work.”
High performing subjects at A*-A included maths and further maths, computer science, biology, chemistry and physics, English literature, psychology and economics.
One of those high performing students is Will Mansell-Cook, 18, who studied Maths, Computer Science and Economics and achieved three A’s .
He said: “It’s relieving in a lot of ways, I was worried because of the effects of covid on learning but I got the grades I needed.
“Personally I feel online learning wasn’t too hard for me but you definitely had to focus more.
“Coming back after lockdown with all the masks and stuff was annoying.”
As a result of his grades, he received his first choice of university and is going to study a three year Computer Science course at the University of Birmingham in September.
“I’m definitely excited but it’s going to be a big change,” said Will.
