Islington students are set to find out their A level results on Thursday (August 18) – and we will be updating results from all schools and all colleges throughout the day.
Hundreds of 17 and 18-year-olds are anxious to find out whether they have achieved the grades they wanted
Students have been told to prepare themselves for lower grades and increased competition for university places to reign in Covid-induced grade inflation.
Exams were held for the first time in two years with a number of adaptations, including advance notice of some topics, to mitigate lost learning during the pandemic.
Students will begin receiving their results from 8am, but universities will already know grades and will be on hand for students with any queries.
BTEC results will also be announced.
Let us know your results and stories at londonlive@archant.co.uk
City and Islington College
Students at City and Islington College (CANDI) celebrated A Level success as the college saw the number of students achieving top grades significantly exceed results prior to the Covid pandemic.
CANDI Sixth Form College saw 71 per cent of students attain A* to C grades – an 18 per cent increase on 2018-19 – with many going to Russell Group universities including Oxford and Cambridge.
Among this year’s top performing students were Isobel Rout, Keefe Choong, Amy Lay and Mohammed Yusuf, who all achieved three straight A*s in their exams.
Isobel, 18, who gained three A*s in biology, psychology and history, is heading to Oxford University to study experimental psychology.
She said: “I’m really happy. I couldn’t have done any better. The exams were quite stressful as there was a lot of content covered. I had a few nerves this morning, but I’m so relieved its now over.
“My teachers at CANDI were really supportive and would go beyond what was asked of them to make sure you understood their subjects.
“I’m looking forward to university. I want to get into neuroscience. It’s a very fast-moving field with finding treatment and prevention for conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
Keefe, 18, secured a place at Warwick University to study computer science after gaining A*s in maths, further maths and computer science.
He said: “I wasn’t too stressed this morning as I left the exams feeling confident because of all the preparation and past papers we did.
“Having a good relationship with your teachers is important and I had that at CANDI. The teachers were very helpful and easy to talk to. If I had any questions, I could go straight to them and they would explain it, especially in maths.”
“I’m happy all the hard work’s paid off and I can now enjoy my summer.”
Amy, 18, gained A*s in photography, textiles and graphics, and is going to UAL: Central St Martins, to study a Foundation Diploma in art and design.
She said: “I wasn’t nervous. I thought whatever grades I get will be a reflection of how hard I worked, but I am amazed at my results. It’s been a really tricky year as my mum moved out and I was living with a flatmate, but I think that made me work harder.
“My family made a lot of sacrifices to allow me to stay in London, and that made putting studying first really easy and especially when it’s something you love.”
“My teachers were incredible. I have never known teachers who are as passionate as the teachers at CANDI. They will go out of their way for you. Even though they had a lot on and 100 other students, they always made time for you. I wouldn’t have done it without them.”
CANDI has one of London’s largest choices of A Levels with more than 30 subjects available to study along with a wide range of vocational qualifications and apprenticeships.
Colleen Marshall, vice principal, said: “Our students have shown admirable resilience in very challenging and unprecedented circumstances during the Covid crisis, to still achieve fantastic grades and gain places on degrees at some of the country’s best universities."
City of London Academy, Highbury Grove
Students at City of London Academy Highbury Grove have been celebrating their a 99 per cent pass rate in A Level grades A* to E, with 53% ranging from A* to B.
Headteacher of City of London Academy Highbury Grove, Aimee Lyall, said pupils had demonstrated huge determination to achieve excellent results, despite continuing to feel the effects of the pandemic.
“They should be delighted because their hard work and determination have been reflected in their grades," she said.
“I wish all our students the very best of luck in the next phase of their lives.”
City of London Academy Highbury Grove is a member of the City of London Academies Trust, which runs the City of London Corporation’s 10 sponsored academies across Hackney, Newham, Islington, and Southwark.
Chair of the City of London Academies Trust Board, Tijs Broeke, said their students "should be very proud".
“I hope that we have prepared them for bright and successful futures, and we wish them every success as they move on to the next phase in their lives," they added.
The City Corporation has been named twice by social mobility charity, Sutton Trust, as the UK’s best academy sponsor for empowering pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to perform above the national average, and the leading academy sponsor for Progress 8 and Attainment 8, which track pupil progress and achievement.
Dame Alice Owen's School
Dame Alice Owen’s School is celebrating fantastic A level results again this year, with 59 per cent of students achieving three or more A/A* grades.
An impressive 23 students have accepted places at Oxbridge and over 90pc of students achieved the grades required to take up their university offer.
Some 15pc of students have attained 4 A*As and a remarkable five students have achieved five A*s including their extended project qualification.
A total of 74pc of all grades achieved were A*A with 42pc of all exams graded A* and 32% A, while 17pc of grades were awarded at a grade B resulting in the school achieving 91pc A*-B.
Mrs Hannah Nemko, headteacher, said: “I am so proud of how well our young people have achieved throughout these last difficult years.
"The Year 13 students were those who had no previous experience of sitting public examinations which made the whole period very stressful for them indeed. They should all be very proud of what they have achieved.
These fantastic results are testament to the consistent hard work, drive and determination of our students as well as that of our exceptional staff and supportive parents and carers; we know that these fabulous young people will continue to go on to do great things.”
Mr Gary Haigh, Chair of Governors added: “These are a fantastic set of results. The governors, our staff, all our parents, carers and students should be very proud of what they have achieved.”
Dame Alice Owen's is partially selective by means of an entrance examination, 20 pupils are admitted yearly from Islington because the school was previously located there.
It was founded in Islington as a boys' school for 30 students in 1613, and it is one of the oldest schools in the UK and named after its founder, the 17th-century philanthropist Alice Owen.
North Bridge House
Sixth form students at North Bridge House School's Senior Canonbury branch in Islington are celebrating another year of impressive A Level results, having achieved 67 per cent A*-B grades.
Every single one of the pupils at the independent school in Canonbury Place achieved A*-B grades in eight subjects across the curriculum, with notable success in the languages where everyone secured A*-A grades (or equivalent) in Italian and Chinese.
Top performing student Thomas Hunt achieved an A* in fine art, an A in geography and an A in Italian, and is delighted to have secured a place at the world-renowned arts and design college, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.
Fellow high achiever, Enrico Meucci Lyons also celebrated success in languages and the humanities, achieving A*AB in Italian, English literature and history.
He is thrilled to have gained entry to his first-choice university, SOAS University of London, to read international relations and law.
Manaka Ueno did women in STEM proud, achieving highly in maths, further maths and physics.
Most notably she secured an A* in maths and an A in further maths and is now looking forward to pursuing her passion for STEM at university in Japan.
All members of the school’s 2022 cohort secured places at their first-choice universities, to study degree courses including law, pharmacy, psychology, social policy and speech and language therapy.
Assistant headteacher and head of sixth form, Alex Margerison, said: “We are extremely proud of our students’ successes.
"I am particularly delighted to see their achievements across such a broad range of subjects. With our small class sizes and focus on individual needs and interests, we support our students through the rigours of our traditional yet wide-ranging A Level curriculum, and our students’ top grades are a testament to both their hard work and that of our teachers.”
St Aloysius College
St Aloysius’ College has announced it has delivered "another dazzling set of exam results".
The Catholic all-boys school in Highgate, which has a mixed sixth form, claims to have "triumphed once again", with both A Level and vocational results improving significantly since 2019.
Pupils secured 17 per cent A*-A grades, 52pc A*-B grades, and 75pc A*-C grades, while in vocational subjects 82pc of students achieved D*D*D* or DDD, placing the school among the top post-16 providers in the borough.
Headteacher, Paula Whyte, said, “Today is another great day for the school. I am absolutely delighted for our students.
They gave everything in these exams and represented our superb sixth form with the utmost commitment and professionalism.
"These results are absolutely first-rate and they should feel so pleased with what they have achieved."
She said that the results represented "another step forward on the positive path that this school is now on".
The school was ranked as "good" by Ofsted inspectors last month.
Ms Whyte said: “There are a lot of people who deserve to share in the success of these results, for this couldn’t have happened without the strength of community we enjoy at St Aloysius’.
"I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to students, staff, governors and partners; to everyone who devotes so much to our school.”
Pupils and teachers were joined in their celebrations by Cllr Mechelline Ngngo, Islington Council's executive member for children, young people and families, and Jon Abbey, the council's corporate director of children’s services.
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