SUCCESS was on the timetable for students in Malvern as they eagerly waited to find out their A-Level results.
Students across the town travelled back to their schools or sixth forms today to see if they got the grades needed to go to university, earn an apprenticeship or get their dream job.
This summer has seen a return to pre-pandemic grading in England, with some protection put in place to recognise any disruption students have faced due to Covid.
Malvern College
Students at the college have celebrated an improved set of results compared to pre-pandemic levels, with three pupils receiving special recognition from exam board OCR for their efforts.
Particular stand out performances include Joel Cox, who received A*AA and aims to be studying sport and ex medical science in Exeter, Boo Forbes, who achieved A*AA and hopes to be studying history of art and English literature in Edinburgh and Hector Mellor, who also achieved A*AA and plans to study architecture in Manchester.
Mwangi Mungai who achieved A*A*A will be studying fine art at Central St Martins after receiving various offers from prestigious art institutions.
Ben Myers achieved A*AA and looks to study business in Bath, Thomas Pasquier was graded A*AA and intends to study politics and international relations in Bath and Amelia Scott achieved A*AA and hopes to study veterinary science in Bristol.
Last but not least, Annabel W-F received AAA and plans to study politics and international relations in Newcastle and Alice Schwarzenberg scored A*AAC and looks to study physics with theoretical physics in Bath.
Keith Metcalfe, Headmaster at Malvern College said: “We’re proud to see that there have been some outstanding performances, with many of our top pupils achieving all A* and A grades across their chosen subjects, meeting or exceeding their predicted grades, and achieving entry into their chosen universities.
“It’s important to recognise that this cohort has never had the opportunity to sit public examinations at GCSE owing to the disruption caused by the pandemic, and it is clear that there has been a much-hyped return to the lower pre-pandemic grade boundaries, which makes this set of results even more impressive.”
Malvern St James Girls’ School
This year’s students at Malvern St James Girls’ School (MSJ) have impressed their teachers by achieving another excellent set of A-level results.
Malvern St James Girls’ School students jump with joy at their A-level results. s
81 per cent of this year’s cohort achieved grades A* to C, 62 per cent achieved grades A* to B and 31 per cent of pupils achieved grades A* to A.
Learners taking BTECs in Sport achieved a clean sweep of Distinction Star (D*), the top grade available and those taking BTEC Food Science and Nutrition all achieved Distinction Star (D*) and Distinction (D), the top two grades available.
Other subjects which had a particularly strong showing were biology, chemistry and computer science, with 50 per cent of students achieving grades A* to A while 67 per cent of art students also achieved A* to A.
Pupils from the school will now be heading off to study some of the most competitive higher education courses in the country including medicine at Bristol and Brighton & Sussex Medical School and biomedical science at York and Exeter.
Students have also earned places on rural land management courses at Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, psychology at Manchester, international business management at Exeter, modern languages and culture at Durham, history at Exeter and graphic design at Loughborough.
One MSJ sports scholarship student has already taken up her place as a prestigious sports scholar at Wingate University, North Carolina, from where her aspiration is to be a professional triathlete.
Headmistress, Olivera Raraty, said: “It is of course the individual success stories that count so much.
“The pupils who have worked their socks off to achieve these results.
“The Year 13s can be exceptionally proud of the results they have received.
“This year group was impacted at GCSE level by Covid, so they have no experience of sitting formal public examinations in the traditional way.
“They have been thrown in at the deep end with A Levels, which is tough.
“They have also been more generally adversely affected by an unsettling period of online schooling and physical isolation from their peer group at a critical point, and having to find their feet again on the usual school trajectory.
“I could not be more proud of how well they have risen to these challenges.
“Added to this, it was expected to be a tight year for university places, with UCAS warning in advance that pupils should be ready to explore Plan Bs in terms of their university aspiration so we are very pleased that the majority of pupils have secured their first choice place.
“All pupils across the country should be commended on their resilience and maturity in responding to the continuing Covid fall-out.
“On a separate note, one trend we are starting to see is more pupils considering apprenticeships, degree level and otherwise, as an alternative route to university.
“I’m sure that this will continue to grow as it becomes a more popular and financially sustainable option.
“We wish all of our MSJ girls the very best in their onwards paths.
“They have been a fantastic cohort, hard-working and fun, and superb leaders and role models for younger girls in the school.
Keep an eye on this blog for live updates.
