St. Lawrence College pupils do themselves and their school proud!
While summer continues for all pupils, for some the last week has been a week of tension and concern, waiting for their exam results. Now though the waiting is over and the IGCSE, AS-Level and A-Level results have been released. And once again, St. Lawrence College pupils have produced a set of results that our school community can be collectively proud of.
Our Year 11 pupils sat for their IGCSE exams back in May, with 457 IGCSEs being sat by a total of 60 candidates. Across those 457 IGCSEs, by far the most common grade achieved was an A* grade – the best grade possible and only awarded for an exam mark above 90%. In fact, of the 457 IGCSEs taken, a remarkable 113 resulted in an A* grade – that is 25% of all the IGCSEs taken. What is more, 44% of all the IGCSEs resulted in either an A*or A grade. This is a little lower than the very high 2015 results, but still ranks well with results from the previous decade of Year 11 year groups. The second most frequent grade achieved was B – indeed two out of every three IGCSEs sat was within the A*/A/B grade range.
The UK national average of Year 11 pupils that receive at least five GCSEs of grade C or better is usually around 55%-60%. This year at St. Lawrence College, 92% of our Year 11 achieved this. What is more – and this was a first for our school – not a single IGCSE among the 457 taken across 16 subjects by 60 candidates was returned ungraded. In terms of success in specific subjects, of all IGCSEs taken in French, Greek or Russian, over 90% resulted in at least an A grade. Likewise 68% of pupils that sat for English Literature. Among the year group, there were several stand out performances from pupils. Emily Holden managed to score A* in every one of her nine IGCSEs. Alessandro Gressani secured eight A*s, Sadin Abdel Fattah and Alexander Petropoulos each bagged seven A*s while Stefania Riga and Ivy Hewett each scored six A*s among their IGCSEs. Congratulations to all of them.
At AS-Level and A-Level there were exactly 300 exam entries across 84 candidates – slightly more than last year’s 292 entries. The AS-Level is at once both a ‘stand-alone’ qualification as well as marking the halfway point for those aiming to complete the full A-Level in a subject. Combining this year’s results for these two qualifications, by far the most common grade awarded was A (including A* which is only available at A-Level, not AS-Level). 37% of all exams taken resulted in this top grade being achieved. While slightly lower than the percentage achieved in 2015 and 2014, it is, at 37%, exactly the same success rate as 2009 and 2010 (with smaller year groups on both occasions) and within a percentage or two of all other recent years’ results. Furthermore, the second most common grade achieved across all 300 exams was a B grade. Thus, 56%, or well over half of all AS-Levels and A-Levels taken in the 2016 exam session resulted in a grade within the A*/A/B grade range.
For the pupils awaiting their A-Level results, there was also the question of gaining admittance to universities. The vast majority are progressing to UK universities and along with the A-Level results came the final confirmation as to which university they will study at and what they will study. These results have sent our pupils to top universities across the UK. As examples of the diversity of destination and course, Melina Beykou, who achieved A*AAA will study Biological Sciences with Molecular Genetics at The University of Edinburgh. Marilena Eleftheriou (AAA) will start a Neuroscience degree at University College London (UCL). Mark Slipchenko (A*BBC) will study Economics at The University of Kent, while Danish Syed (AAB) is admitted to The University of Glasgow for Electronics and Electrical Engineering. Other degree courses to be studied include Dentistry, Politics, Business Management, History of Art, Sport Science and Fashion Marketing.
Headmaster Phil Holden commented “I congratulate all pupils on their exam achievements and wish those who are leaving us to continue their learning in higher education the very best of luck. Our IGCSE, AS and A-Level results are truly very strong in the global context of British education. I thank the teachers throughout St. Lawrence College for the professionalism, dedication and care that they always give and which have led to this day. Those teachers have done more than help our pupils pass their exams. They have helped our school leavers grow into young citizens with a sense of responsibility as well as being learners with adaptable skills. As such our pupils are well-prepared”.
