The school congratulates all of its students who have received their A level and vocational qualification grades today. It goes without saying that they have experienced a very tough two years. They were unable to sit their GCSEs in 2020, and so this summer’s exams were the first external assessments they had taken. To navigate everything that the last two years have thrown at them is a tremendous achievement and the school is very proud of how resilient they have been through this period.
We have always known that this year was a ‘transition year’ between 2021 (when assessment was done directly by schools and colleges) and 2019 (the last year exams took place). This means that nationally overall grades will be about halfway between the two in terms of the percentage of grades awarded at each level. It does not mean that marking was harsher – the marking was done by exam boards in the usual way. Instead, it means that when setting the grade boundaries, exam boards have been more generous than in a normal year to bring grades closer to 2021 levels. Marking and grading are done at a national level, with all students across the country being treated the same way.
Within this context the school is delighted with what the students have achieved, a third of all grades were at A*/A, two thirds of all grades were at A* to B, and over 90% of grades were at C grade or better. The pass rate was 100%. An impressive 60% of our A-level pupils gained at least one grade A.
The challenge for students to secure high quality university places has been much publicised over the last few days in the media, with record numbers of students looking to secure places. Within that context, we are delighted that a significant number of students have secured places at the Russell Group of universities, including King’s College London, UCL, Warwick, Manchester and Queen Mary.
An important part of the school’s provision is its vocational subjects. This continues to be a real strength of the school, alongside its A level provision. Our vocational students have also done extremely well, 82% of the pupils achieved a Distinction star or a Distinction, which has allowed them to access many high quality destinations, including the Russell Group universities, UCL, Warwick and Queen Mary. Not only are large numbers off to top universities, but a portion of the year have accessed very selective apprenticeship programmes.
All of our students leave us with great credit, which does well beyond the grades and destinations they have achieved. This has been a very special year group. Their warmth, humility and diligence has marked them out from the beginning of their journey with us. They have been great role models to the remainder of the school and have set the bar high for years to follow.
Our KS4 and KS5 outcomes for the school can be found here: