The long wait was over for pupils in Saffron Walden and Newport as they collected their A Level results today (Thursday).
The long wait was over for pupils in Saffron Walden and Newport as they collected their A Level results today (Thursday).
SAFFRON WALDEN COUNTY HIGH
Some 53 students gained A* or A grades in every one of their subjects, in what the school described as an "outstanding" set of results.
The school's results were "even better" than the high performance in 2018 which marked the school as having one of the best sixth forms in the country.
Last year, 40 per cent of students gained A*-A grades.
Executive head teacher, Caroline Derbyshire, said: "The results exceed predictions and were thoroughly deserved by the hardworking students. The county high's teachers, who prepared them for these examinations, did a tremendous job."
One student, Alice Featherstone, 18, from Littlebury Green, received three A*s in maths, biology and chemistry as well as an A in her extended project qualification. Alice found out that she was going to be studying medicine at Leeds before she even collected her results, thanks to the UCAS online tracker, which made her "less nervous" about the experience.
Twins Abigail, 18, and Hannah Jorgensen, 18, from Saffron Walden, were also chuffed with their results; Abigail received A*, A, A whilst Hannah was awarded with three As. The two are former students at Walden School and moved to Saffron Walden County High in Year 12 after Walden School's closure. The move didn't seem to phase the girls though as, for them, the county high has "more of a range of subjects" than their previous school. The two will be parting ways for university as Hannah will be moving to York to study English literature whilst Abigail will be studying theology and religious studies at the University of Nottingham.
It was a particularly nerve-racking day for Holly Grenville, 18, from Great Dunmow, as she had not originally been accepted into any of her university options. However, thanks to her hard work, Holly achieved an A* and two A's in biology, chemistry and maths and was later accepted into the University of Edinburgh to study veterinary medicine. She's over the moon with the way things panned out as Edinburgh was originally her first choice of university.
Oxbridge hopeful Michael Griffiths, 18, from Saffron Walden, was happy to receive a place at Cambridge to study economics after achieving three A*'s in maths, further maths, economics as well as an A in physics. He wasn't as nervous for results day as he did for his examinations because he felt like the results day process was more "out of (his) control". He was originally planning on studying physics, like his father, however switched to economics after studying the subject at the county high.
Olivia Day, 19, felt like she exceeded her expectations in her A-levels by achieving two As and a B. She will be heading to Surrey in September to study criminology and law.
Max Barker, 18, from Saffron Walden, received three A* grades in maths, psychology and business studies which was better than his expectation of three As. He was originally planning on attending a firm in Loughborough however, due to his achievement, Max has now decided to look for other options.
Freya Lambert, 18, from Steeple Bumpstead, will be attending Oxford to study classics after receiving three As in classics, Latin and philosophy. She was "very happy" with how things turned out but was nervous prior to collecting her results simply because she "didn't know what was going to happen".
Georgia Bozianu, 18, from Newport, was fortunate enough to receive an unconditional offer to study psychology with cognitive neuroscience at the University of Nottingham. She managed three A*'s.
Poppy Gibbs, 18, from Cambridge, studied history, classic and politics and received A* grades in all three and was also awarded an A* in her extended project qualification. She received an unconditional offer to study at the University of Lancaster.
Lauren McAuley, from Saffron Walden, aged 18, also received three A* grades in history, English literature and Spanish and will be attending Durham University to study history and Spanish. She's extremely pleased with the result as she felt like "university was the only option" for her.
NEW HALL SCHOOL
At New Hall School, in Chelmsford, pupils were celebrating a record-breaking year of A Level results.
The highest ever percentage of top grades were achieved, with 50 per cent of grades at A*/A and 16 per cent of grades at A*. A further record was set with 84 per cent of grades at A*-B. New Hall announced a 100 per cent success rate overall in 327 A Levels sat, results which included students achieving 100 per cent in a number of A Level papers.
Principal, Katherine Jeffrey, said: "We are extremely proud of all our students' successes. We are delighted to hear that a record number of students have secured places at their first choice universities, including competitive Russell Group university courses in subjects such as law, engineering and medicine. "The university and apprenticeship places that New Hall students have gained reflect the holistic education that the School offers, from humanities to medicine and engineering to modern languages." Academic departments celebrating particular successes include: Mathematics, with 66 per cent of grades at A*/A; further mathematics, with 67 per cent of grades at A*/A; economics, with 63 per cent of grades at A*/A; history, with 69 per cent of grades at A*/A; and Art, with 80 per cent of grades at A*/A.
BISHOP'S STORTFORD COLLEGE
Sixth formers celebrated a 100 per cent pass rate this year, with 74 of the 120-strong year group achieving grades of ABB or higher.
Nearly half the results were graded A and above.
Of the 13 pupils who took the optional extended project qualification, seven achieved A* and five an A grade.
College headmaster, Jeremy Gladwin said: "I am once again thrilled by the excellent performance of our students, more than half of whose grades were A*/A and who, year on year, with the assistance of our outstanding team of dedicated specialist teachers, produce fantastic results, which show strongly positive value-added.
"As a school, our aim is to develop potential and to exceed expectations and our students have, once again, realised this aspiration.
"These results have been achieved in an extremely busy, successful school, where pupils enjoy a wealth of opportunities through a very wide extracurricular programme; this sets them up for university and for broader life after secondary education.
"I am really proud of our upper sixth who have worked so hard to make their dreams come true."
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