Students perform well in the most challenging of circumstances

Sixth formers at Chiswick School after receiving their grades

With A Level exams cancelled for the second year running, sixth formers at schools in and around Chiswick have managed to excel under the teacher assessed system.

Despite the disruption and challenges many Year 13 pupils in the area have achieved stellar results and got the reward of gaining places at their first choice of further educational institution.

Chiswick School described the achievements by its students as outstanding across the full range of A-Level and Level 3 qualifications.

Students progressing to university from Chiswick School include Ronan and Ruby, who both accepted places at Cambridge University this September to study Maths and Human, Social, and Political Sciences. Alfie and Monica have got places at Glasgow and Bristol to study English Literature and Psychology. Rose and Luca who have secured places at Edinburgh and Durham to study French and Linguistics and Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Director of Sixth Form, Graham McNamara said. “From the beginning of the pandemic, staff at Chiswick School delivered live lessons to ensure that students continued learning. Students deserve congratulations for their fortitude in such circumstances and we are immensely proud of the way they engaged with this.”

Headteacher Laura Ellener said, “We are immensely proud of all the work and achievements of our students, especially after such a difficult and disrupted year. We look forward to seeing what they will achieve in the future.”

Three students from West London Free School are going to Oxbridge this year with four gaining places to study medicine at other universities. Over half the cohort will be attending a Russell Group university or equivalent institution.

Robert Peal and Ben McLaughlin, Joint Headteachers, said, “Our Year 13 pupils have had an extremely challenging two years of Sixth Form study, but have triumphed in this adversity through their commitment and perseverance. We offer them all our very best wishes for the next stages in their education and careers, and hope that they retain fond memories of their experiences at the West London Free School.”

Luke, who will be studying music at St Peter’s College, University of Oxford, said, ‘The brilliant teachers at WLFS supported me through the many expected and unexpected challenges of the past two years. Their support both in academics and university application was unparalleled allowing me to achieve top marks and secure my place.’

Ruhama, who will be studying Liberal Arts at Tufts University (USA) via the Sutton Trust partnership programme added, “West London Free School Sixth Form has provided me with the highest quality education as well as the best support system. Because of this, I’ve managed to gain a fully funded scholarship to an American University, something I would have never been able to achieve without this great school.”

Luke (left) will be going to St. Peter's, Oxford while Ruhama is off to Tufts in the US

19 students at Latymer Upper Schools secured places at Oxford and Cambridge and 30 at top international universities including MIT, Princeton, Yale and UPenn.

Head, David Goodhew, said, “We are all immensely proud of the achievements of our students this year whose Sixth Form experience has been unlike any other. Whilst they were not able to sit their examinations this year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, they studied hard and having been through a rigorous and fair process they have now secured places at top universities here in the UK and abroad, winning places on prestigious courses like the Huntsman and VIPER programmes at UPenn. They’ve also raised money for the NHS and other local charities, helped to deliver food and care packages to the vulnerable, and maintained a positive and purposeful attitude in the face of this pandemic. We celebrate their achievements alongside their qualities of perseverance, resilience, adaptability, good humour and intellectual curiosity that characterise a Latymerian. I am proud that we have been able to support bright young people, from all backgrounds, to realise their potential. Through our Inspiring Minds bursary campaign we are committed to supporting more students, like Oyin and Tianrun, in the future through our bursary programme.”

Oyin (who joined the School on a full bursary in Year 7) and has just achieved top marks across all 4 of her subjects; having been offered places at Cambridge, Princeton and St Andrews she will be going to MIT where she plans to major in Chemistry. Also heading abroad is Ariana who got 2A*s and 2 As and will join the prestigious Huntsman programme at UPenn. She’ll be joined there by 3 fellow Latymerians (a record for the School), Michael, Olivia, and Amelia, who got a place on the illustrious VIPER programme.

Music Scholars Tianrun (who has been at Latymer on a bursary since joining the Prep School) and Nik both got straight A*s and will be going to Cambridge to read Maths. They will be joined at Cambridge by, Gabriel, who also got 4 A*s and will be reading music, and thespian, Matthew, who got 3 A*s and will be studying Psychological & Behavioural studies.

Three quarters of St Benedict’s students have secured places at the UK’s top 30 universities, including Oxbridge, Russell group universities and medical schools, and the majority will be heading to their first-choice university.

The Headmaster, Andrew Johnson, said, “These grades are a great credit to our Year 13 students, who have worked extremely hard in the difficult, uncertain and sometimes stressful circumstances of the pandemic to achieve outstanding results. They have shown impressive resilience and should feel very proud of what they have achieved.”

St Benedict's students with the Head after collecting their results

St Augustine’s Priory, Ealing Catholic independent school for girls saw 100% of all A Level grades at A* - C with 28% of pupils achieving only A* grades and ·56% of pupils achieving only A* or A grades.

Students have received offers from a range of courses and universities nationwide, which include Mathematics at Bristol University, Politics and International Studies at Warwick University, Dental Surgery at Plymouth University, Biomedical Sciences at Exeter University, Russian Studies and Social Policy/Sociology and Politics at Edinburgh University, Chemical Engineering at University College London and Classical Studies at King’s College London.

Mrs Raffray, Headteacher of St Augustine’s Priory, commented, “We are all delighted by these A Level results. The students worked with zest and energy, supported by outstanding teachers who mustered every reserve of energy in the middle of a very bleak winter to ensure that this exam series delivered the right results for each candidate. Congratulations to all our girls on their excellent results.”

St. Augustine's sixth formers show off their grades

At Isleworth and Syon School, Deputy Head Boy Morgan Lawrence has earned a place at King’s College London to read psychology, while classmate Billy Mwangi will join him at the same institution, studying an accounting and finance degree.

The school’s first-ever Head Girl, Alina Gangotra, will use her A levels in art, French and English literature to read architecture at the University of Nottingham.

Headteacher Mr Ferguson commented, “I would like to give my sincere congratulations to all the students for their results. Our students have risen to the challenges of the past 18 months and should be extremely proud of what they have achieved. My thanks also to the staff who have worked tirelessly as both teachers and examiners this year. We wish students well with their next steps.”

Isleworth & Syon's Deputy Head Boy is going to King's College, London

Schools in the borough of Hounslow achieved a collective pass rate of 99.8%. Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services said, “I want to send a massive congratulations to Hounslow’s A-Level students for their phenomenal effort over the last year. Studying for A-Levels is hard at the best of times, never mind during a global pandemic!”

Hounslow’s Connexions Service is here to help all students living in the London Borough of Hounslow. Call the service on 020 8583 5151 or visit hounslow.gov.uk/connexions.

This year, following the cancellation of examinations, grades were awarded through a process of teacher assessed grades, against a national standard and approved and awarded by the exam boards. The government is not publishing performance data for any schools or colleges due to the varying impact of the pandemic.

Nationally, the proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade or higher reached a record level with girls performing better than boys including in maths.

44.8% of UK students were awarded an A or A* grade this summer a rise of 6.3 percentage points compared with last year.

The proportion of entries awarded an A* grade this year increased to 19.1% the highest ever level since this grade was introduced in 2010.

Ofqual have published figures showing that 6.9% of students in England were awarded three A*s compared with 4.3% in 2020 and 1.6% in 2019.

August 10, 2021