Students at schools across Bath and West Wiltshire have been picking up their A Level results, with pupils across the region succeeding in a range of subjects.
At Monkton School, students were celebrating their achievements as, despite the disruption of recent years, they secured results in line with some of the strongest recent pre-pandemic years, including 20% of grades at A* and a 100% pass rate.
Currently almost 90% of pupils secured places at universities of their choice with 82% achieving the grades to secure their first choice of university, including places for both medicine and Oxbridge; and these numbers are set to rise in the coming days as those who narrowly missed their offers are given places. As in previous years, over 50% of the pupils will go to Russell Group universities but the spread of courses and locations is as wide and varied as our pupil body is.
Joe Sidders, Monkton’s Deputy Head (Learning), said, “This group have never sat public examinations as their GCSEs were at the end of the first lockdown when teacher assessed grades replaced examinations. We moved seamlessly to online learning when Covid hit even practising online lessons in February 2020, and the staff worked hard to give pupils extra preparation in light of this. The pupils pulled out all the stops in their efforts, so I am pleased the extra work on all sides paid off.”
Pupils from Wells Cathedral School enjoyed success across a range of subjects, from sciences to languages to humanities to the creative arts. 100% of pupils studying French obtained an A grade, the results in music were exceptional even by Wells’ phenomenally high standards, with 60% of pupils obtaining an A* grade, while the best performing subject of all was Geography, where all pupils obtained an A or A*.
Overall, more than 50% of pupils achieved at least one A*, with a number of pupils achieving a ‘clean sweep’ of three or four A* grades. While reports are that the numbers of higher grades have reduced across England and Wales, Wells pupils have been able to buck the national trend and maintain the exceptionally high results achieved across the board in 2020 and 2021.
These results mean that the vast majority of pupils have obtained a place at their first choice university. Well over 70% of pupils are heading either to ‘top tier’ music colleges and universities, including Oxford, St Andrews, Durham, Bath, the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music and other Russell Group universities, where they will study a diverse range of subjects, including Oceanography, Medicine, English and PPE.
Sixth Form students at Stonar have worked tirelessly through unstable times, and they are deservedly celebrating excellent A Level and Cambridge Technical results with pupils having secured places to a wide variety of courses at prestigious universities.
James Reid joined Stonar’s Sixth Form in 2020 and is today celebrating achieving three As in maths, physics and history which have secured him his first choice to study Aerospace Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Whilst enjoying a celebrationary breakfast, James commented, “There is no doubt I wouldn’t have received these results and university offers without the top tier teaching and support I received at Stonar. I was continuously challenged by my teachers and really encouraged in my degree choice; their individual expertise made such a difference to me. I am really excited about starting university next month.”
In addition, Stonar’s graduates will be progressing to courses such as Biomedicine at Cardiff University, Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bath, Pharmacology at the University of Leeds, Midwifery at UWE, Design at Lancaster and Liberal Arts at Royal Holloway.
Pupils at King Edward’s School in Bath are deservedly celebrating some outstanding A Level results. As has been widely reported, this year’s grades have been set by the exam boards at a point which is part way between those of summer 2019 and summer 2021, with the exams regulator, Ofqual, noting that ‘this will provide a safety net for students, to reflect the disruption this cohort have experienced already in their course of study and recognising the fact that, because of the pandemic, most A level students won’t have taken public exams before.’
These circumstances make the outcomes for KES pupils this year all the more impressive, with almost three quarters of entries graded at A* or A (73%). A* successes alone accounted for 38% of entries, with the A*-B success rate standing at 90%. The overall pass rate was again 100%. Well over half the cohort (56%) achieved only A*/A grades, and a remarkable 17% of pupils gained straight A*s, including four pupils with 5 A*s.
A combination of factors has meant that this has been one of the most competitive years for entry into Higher Education on record, but despite this, over 80% of KES pupils have secured the grades needed to gain entry into their first choice institution, including all those holding Oxbridge or Ivy League offers. Other popular destinations for KES pupils this year include Birmingham, Manchester, Exeter, Leeds and Edinburgh.
Royal High School Bath Year 13 students received their outstanding A Level results, with a third of students achieved a remarkable 3 A*-A grades and the students’ destinations are as broad as the subjects they are choosing to study. From Sophie Phipson, who has secured a place on the prestigious BBC Production Apprenticeship and Yael Lyshkow, who will study Computer Science at Canada’s leading university, the University of Toronto, to Alexis Qi, a phenomenal art student who will study Architecture at Cambridge University.
STEM subjects continue to be a popular choice with over 50% of the cohort of students studying Maths at A Level or IB. Students have met their offers to study courses including Veterinary Medicine at Royal Veterinary College, Biomedical Engineering at Kings College London, Medicine at Southampton and Medical Sciences at the University of Exeter.
In addition, the Arts and Humanities continue to flourish at Royal High School Bath with superb results in English, History and Art, and students scored no grade lower than an A in Drama, Religious Studies, Philosophy and Geography. The School continues their reputation as a beacon for modern and ancient languages with all language students gaining top grades of A*-A.
Students at Kingswood School are celebrating outstanding A Level results, with 67% of all grades at A* or A, 88% at A*- B and a 100% pass rate. In a remarkable achievement, this fine cohort has achieved Kingswood’s best ever outcome, considerably ahead even of the results achieved in 2020 and 2021. Amongst the many high achievers, particularly commendable results were awarded to Hiroki with 5 A* grades, and a further 15 students who achieved 3 or 4 A* grades.
With 88% of all grades at A*- B, across a wide breadth of subjects including the arts and humanities, students who applied have overwhelmingly gained acceptance at a university of their choice, despite increased competition this year as well as access to competitive apprenticeships. They now finish their Kingswood education well-equipped with both excellent qualifications and, more importantly, with the skills and personal qualities that enable them to be a powerful force for good in the world.
Oldfield School’s Head of Sixth Form, Graham Nash, said, “Once again, we are enormously proud of our Year 13 students and their success in their final examinations. We were particularly pleased that the number of A* to A grades has continued to rise, with 30% of all grades being A* or A and 63% of all grades were B or above.”
There are a number of students worthy of special mention: Ben Gascoyne achieved A* in all four of his subjects, securing a place at Oxford University; Phoebe Grimshaw (A*, A*, A, A) will be studying Chemistry at Bristol University; Daisy Baker (A*, A,A) secured her place to study Architecture at Cardiff; Cerys Butcher (A*,A,A) will study Human Geography at York; Arthur Colyer (A*, A, A, A) has a place at Leicester studying Mechanical Engineering; Lucy Key (A*, A*, A*, A) will study Biochemistry at Bristol; and Rosie Mclain (A*, A, A) has achieved a place at Birmingham University to study Mathematics.
Saint Gregory’s headline figures show that students secured the highest standards at A Level with 34% achieving A*-A grades and 81% securing A*-C grades, ensuring that our students secure the optimum grades and UCAS points for entry to university, higher level apprenticeship or chosen career pathway.
Ann Cusack, Headteacher at Saint Gregory’s, applauded students for their positivity and dedication throughout their studies: “We are incredibly proud of this amazing group of young people who have worked so hard over the last three years. They truly deserve their wonderful results and we are all so excited to see what they do next. We have been privileged to be able to teach them and support them throughout their time at St Gregory’s. I would also like to thank the whole team at Saint Gregory’s for all their hard work and commitment.”
Kingsbury Green Academy is celebrating an outstanding set of A level results, including its highest number of A* and A grades ever.
Kingsbury Green Academy principal Jason Tudor said, “These results represent more than hard work, although a great deal of hard work has clearly taken place. These results represent the dedication, resilience and ambition of both our students and staff. After the most turbulent period in recent educational history, it would have been reasonable to expect that students would have struggled to perform in these exams.
Among the highlights –
- Francis Jordan achieved straight A* grades in Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics. Francis will be reading Mathematics at Warwick University.
- Jess Godwin achieved A* grades in English Language and Media Studies and an A grade in Biology. Jess will be reading Midwifery at Leeds University.
- Sam French achieved A* grades in English Literature and History and an A grade in Biology. Sam will be reading English Literature and History at Liverpool University.
- Lucy Smart achieved A grades in Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Psychology and a Distinction Star in Applied Science. Lucy will be reading Economics and Mathematics at Bristol University.
- Milly Lynch achieved A grades in English Language, Media Studies and Sociology. Milly will be reading Marketing at Southampton University.
- Freya Townend achieved A grades in English Literature, History and Philosophy and Ethics and a B grade in Fine Art. Freya will be reading English and Film Studies at Birmingham University.
- Ben Lees achieved A grade in English Literature and Geography and a B grade in Mathematics. Ben will be reading Geography at St Andrew’s University.
This year, Ralph Allen’s 2022 A level results exemplify a high achieving, culture with many students receiving impressive results across all of their chosen subjects. When analysing the results from the sixth form, 48% of all grades were A*-A. 75% of all grades were A*-B and 91% of grades were A*-C. In addition, 89% of students achieved A*- C grades in three or more subjects. Nearly a quarter, 24% of sixth form students, achieved A*-A grades in 3 or more subjects.
Headteacher Andy Greenhough commented, “We have all had to adapt and change over the last two years and the students in our schools are no exception. The young people receiving their examination results today were the cohort who were not able to finish their GCSEs or take final examinations due to Covid-19. There has been uncertainty throughout about how they would be assessed, yet they have worked so diligently towards their studies and have the excellent results to show for it.
“This uncertainty and having to plan for different eventualities certainly added extra pressure to students and staff but we rose above it all as a team and focussed our efforts on supporting this excellent cohort of resilient young people. I have the upmost admiration for how the whole community has worked through these issues over the last two years. It has been a pleasure to work with our Year 13s and we all wish them success in their next ventures. Good luck to all, wherever life takes you, and do not forget to keep checking in with us along the way.”