ROEDEAN Year 13s were celebrating today after the school achieved the highest ever examined A level results, despite huge disruption to their education during the pandemic.
Some 71% of results were awarded the highest A*-A grades, with an impressive 30.5% at A*. These achievements far exceeded the last comparable examined A level results in 2019, and the students are to be warmly congratulated for their dedication and resilience.
19 students achieved two or more A* grades, and well over half of the cohort achieved three or more A grades. Particular congratulations must go to five students who have been awarded 16 A* grades and more between them.
Many students also successfully completed the Extended Project Qualification, with 83% achieving A*-A grades, and the independent research skills they developed will stand them in good stead during their undergraduate studies.
Headmaster Oliver Blond said: “These results show the incredible dedication and resilience of our students – after having had their GCSEs cancelled at short notice and experiencing months of remote learning and uncertainty, they should be very proud of these achievements. This set of results highlights all the hard-work they put in under very difficult circumstances, but, most of all, the collegiate and collaborative approach which led them to support each other more than ever and to work very closely with their teachers to ensure understanding and progress at every point. Close support and a calm atmosphere enabled the students to go into the examination hall undaunted and with great confidence in their knowledge and ability. I am absolutely delighted for them and extremely grateful for all the hard work of their teachers and support staff.’
These results provide a very solid springboard to the next stage in the girls’ education. The school is delighted that 72% of the cohort achieved the grades for their first-choice university, and that all those holding university offers for Oxbridge and medicine places achieved the required grades. The most popular university destinations are Cambridge, Edinburgh, King’s College London, University College London, and the London School of Economics.
Nearly a third of the students will be pursuing STEM courses at university, reflecting the trend at Roedean over the past decade. Roedean students will also be taking up an impressive range of creative arts undergraduate courses.
Mr Blond added: “Not only have these students achieved outstanding academic results for themselves, but they have also demonstrated real independence and initiative beyond the classroom, with increased social awareness, an outward-looking approach, and a desire to make a difference in the world. They will go far, and we wish them all well!”
Roedean Year 13 Megan Turtle is heading to Central St Martins in London – arguably the world’s most prestigious art school, after scooping an A* in art, and three As in maths, physics and Russian.
The Haywards Heath teen will study product design and says she is hugely relieved the waiting is over.
She said: “I worked really hard to get this and it has paid off. The not knowing whether we would sit exams earlier in the year and the waiting to see how things would go with Covid and how it would affect our education has been really tough. There were so many assessments through the year that we had to be on top of things academically all the time and that was really hard but I managed. I can’t wait to start at Central St martins now!”
Tuhina Anoop scooped A*AAB in maths, further maths, economics and politics respectively and will be heading to LSE next September as she has landed a paid year’s internship at JP Morgan.
Based in Eastbourne, Tuhina said being part of the cohort whose education has arguably suffered the most from the pandemic was tough socially too as she missed her friends from around the world at her school Roedean.
She said: “I had to be really focussed and structured throughout the online learning but my school played a big part in that because they were so quick to get everything up and running for online classes.”
She added: “Im so happy with my results and really looking forward to doing a year with JP Morgan – it was really challenging to get my place so it feels like all my hard work has paid off today!”
Olivia Taggart landed A*A*AA in maths, further maths, Russian and Chemistry respectively – despite getting Covid in the middle of exam season.
Olivia, who is heading to Bristol University to study maths explained: “I was feeling really tired and wondered if it was the dreaded Covid. It was late at night, the night before my chemistry paper, and I did a test and got a positive. I couldn’t believe the timing of it as I had not actually had Covid before!”
Fortunately she had sat most of her papers, except for Chemistry where she had sat only one paper, so the exam boards were able to use an average of the work she had done to produce her final grades.
Olivia, who lives in Twineham in Sussex, added: “I think it was a combination of my predicted grades, the papers I had already sat and all the assessments we had done previously that helped with the grades. I am just so relieved!”
Categories: Roedean School School News
