Local schools and pupils toast excellent performance

Hundreds of pupils from local post-16 schools have been given cause for some well-earned celebrations after the release of their A-Level Results on Thursday (14th August).

Chiswick School had another very impressive year, with nearly 70% of pupils achieving A-C grades and 98% of students receiving a pass or more, Grade E or above. Most importantly for parents, teachers and students alike, eight out of ten pupils at Chiswick School managed to achieve their first choice university place.

One in five students at Chiswick received the highest A*-A grades, and there were plenty of individual highlights. Isabel Ireland (above right) acheived the 3 A-Grades she needed to read English at Oxford, while two students acheived 4 top-grade A-levels: Athena Rees, who will be taking a gap year, and Milly Asquith (below, left and right respectively) , who will be studying psychology at Birmingham University.

Jay Polley, Zakaria Meddings, Naing Htut and Ashkun Zolfagharinia secured 3 A' levels each at A* or A. Jay is going to study Chemistry at Bristol, Zakaria will read Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College while Naing will be studying for a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Bath. Ashkun is looking to add to his qualifications in order to study Medicine.

(Athena Rees and Millie Asquith both achieved 4 A* or A grades)

A number of students who combined vocational qualifications with traditional academic studies also prospered. Benjamin Steel, who secured funding from Sky to produce his own short film whilst in year 13, will now study for a degree in Film Production. In addition, Dovlet Seyidov successfully combined a Double BTEC vocational course with a Geography A Level to gain an offer to study Geography at Kings College.

Tony Ryan, Headteacher at Chiswick, expressed his satisfaction at the results A-Level students at the School had acheived, and outlined an ambition to build on this good performance going forward:

"With so many Chiswick students now successfully progressing from good GCSE grades to advanced level studies, the challenge is to continue this success, allowing students of all abilities to progress successfully to the next stage of their journey...I wish all Chiswick students every success, we are proud of you."

Local independent school Latymer Upper, which abandoned modules and re-sits three years ago, recorded its best ever A-Level results. Astoundingly, one-third of all Latymer results were given the A* grade, while three-quarters were A and A* grades.

(Students at Latymer Upper receive their results)

Head, David Goodhew commented, "I congratulate the class of 2014 on their well-deserved success; there were plenty of happy faces in the hall this morning, and I am delighted that so many will be going to their choice of course at top universities in the UK, the US and Canada...[these results show that] genuine academic excellence doesn’t depend on a treadmill of endless exams."

Gumley House Convent School managed to get each entrants a pass or higher, with 85% of all entries being marked between grades A* to C and more than half received a B grade or higher. Some impressive performances include Phoebe Tupper, who received three science A*s and will read medicine at St. Anne's College, Oxford. Equally excellent was Paloma Ley, who achieved two A*s and an A in English, French and History, ensuring a chance to study the History of Art and English at St. Andrew's.

Cardinal Vaughan had another outstanding year of results, retaining its title as the highest-attaining comprehensive in the country, according to The Times. A phenomenal 86.6% of students at Vaughan received grades between A* and B. The last two years' A-Level results have been the best in the School's history, with 9 pupils attaining a place at Oxbridge.

At Notting Hill and Ealing High School, 92% of entries were awarded A* - B, with 27% of entries receiving the top A* grade and nearly a quarter of girls acheiving 2 or more A* grades.

At Putney High, 87% of candidates managed to achieve A* to B grades, with more than half of all entries achieving the top A* or A grades.

Councillor Tom Bruce, cabinet member for Education in Hounslow Council, congratulated the young people of Hounslow for their "hard-earned sucess" on what he termed "an exciting day" for post-16 students and their families. He added:

“As well as those who we will see and read about who have achieved the top grades, I’d also like to pay tribute to those who have worked hard to exceed expectations, but who don’t grab the headlines. All these achievements show that the hard work and commitment by the students and their teachers has been worth it, and they all deserve our praise and thanks. "

August 15, 2014