After two years of disruption caused by the pandemic, it was a delight that this morning, Aldenham students were again able to receive results of their A levels which had been sat in the normal way. This cohort of 88 students have had significant impact caused by periods of school closure and other restrictions on their learning and experience, therefore the very impressive results that they have received today were a clear reflection of their hard work and determination.

The overall pass rate of 98% was very pleasing and we were especially pleased that over 60% of all the grades were given either A*, A or B grades. These figures were very much in line with the national picture, being slightly lower than last year’s figures which were determined by Teacher Assessed Grades, but higher than the last time these exams were sat fully in 2019.

It was excellent that over 10% of the students gained at least 3 A grades and that 33 of them were awarded at least ABB which is often seen as the qualifying standard for top university courses. We are delighted that these results will mean that over 88% of the students will be able to move onto their first choices of university for further study and that so many of them will be at top institutions in the UK and around the world.

They have gained places at almost all the top universities in the country including Bath, Bristol, Edinburgh, KCL, Leeds, Liverpool, Loughborough, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Sussex, Warwick, UCL and York. Amongst the top performers who will begin their courses this year are Viola Alishah who will read Classics at Oxford;  Lorenza Bertacchi who will read History and Politics at Warwick; Kira Buttinger who will read Physics at Bath; James Gillespie who will read History at Bristol; Oliver Hague who will read Mechanical Engineering at Manchester; Eleanor McNeill who will read English and Classics at Oxford; Skye Obiora who will read Liberal Arts at UCL; Sarah Salib who will read Veterinary Medicine at Bristol; James Walker who will read International Relations at Newcastle; and Lily Zentner who will read Chemical Engineering at Bath.

Headmaster James Fowler commented “We are thrilled that students who have had to work so hard and to be flexible in their approach to learning during the pandemic have been able to see such success today. They move onto the next stage of their education with great confidence and we look forward to following their progress with great interest.  We are very proud of them and wish them well for the future.”