Published on: Thursday, August 17, 2023
Sixth Form pupils celebrated with family and friends this week, and marked another year of excellent academic and personal achievement.
This cohort has managed three years of disruption, including not sitting public GCSE exams two years ago due to COVID restrictions and government ministers being emphatic about pushing results back down to 2019 levels. Education experts recognise this as the most unfortunate cohort in recent history, but despite all this, King’s pupils have risen to the occasion and produced an excellent set of A-level and BTEC grades.
There were some outstanding results, with 32 delighted pupils gaining three or more A or A* grades, or equivalent; Catherine Hayton topped the list with A*s in Biology, Further Maths, Physics and Maths followed by six pupils achieving two A*s and A grades. James Thompson, Orlando Mann and Kieran Low achieved the highest possible grades in BTEC Sport (D*D*D), providing them with the UCAS points required by prestigious universities.
The great majority of pupils who had offers from universities have been accepted onto their first or second choice courses, which will see pupils join some of the country’s leading institutions, including Imperial College, KCL, Durham, Nottingham, Manchester and Exeter.
Whilst our top performers joined King’s from a wide range of different schools, it was particularly pleasing to see pupils who started their journey at King’s College Prep perform so well; Max Earp, Robbie McSwiggan, Henry Hawkins and Olivia Stanbury achieved some of the best results in the UK.
Over a quarter of Maths and Further Maths candidates achieved A* grades, and 100% of the pupils who studied the extended project qualification were awarded an A* or A. Overall, an impressive 73% of King’s pupils were awarded an A*-B grade.
Oliver Ridley, Head of Sixth Form commented: “The last few years have been tough for young people in education, and it is testament to the hard work of this group that they have done so well. They only had the final few months to benefit from our new Sixth Form Centre, but I am excited to see how this building impacts on the academic culture of the King’s Sixth Form over the next few years.”
This is the first cohort of Sixth Formers that Headmaster Michael Sloan will congratulate, as he joined King’s College last September. He reflected: “I am delighted the pupils at King’s have once again achieved excellent results. Each grade represents two years of hard work and commitment and opens doors for the next stage of their educational journey. In a few short months many former King’s pupils will be starting courses at some of the top universities in the world such as Oxford, Durham, Imperial College London and further afield in the United States and beyond, we wish them continued success.”
The interest in places at the school remains extremely high from nursery to the Sixth Form due to its reputation for excellence as well as strong A-level and BTEC results. Over 20 new pupils will be joining the Sixth Form in September to study in the dedicated state-of-the art Sixth Form Centre. The new facility supports a university-style approach to Sixth Form life and provides opportunities for collaborative working and private study, along with a vibrant social scene - all good preparation for life and study beyond school.