A and A* Grades Hit 30% For First Time As LVS Ascot   Celebrates Excellent GCSE Results

24 Aug 2017

 

LVS Ascot achieved the impressive milestone of over 30% A* and A grades for the first time, up from 26% in 2016, as the independent all-ability school celebrated an excellent set of results showing rises in all areas.

The success was shared by all students, with 85.5% of all papers achieving A* – C grades (83.8% last year) and 93.2% of students recording five or more A* – C grades, up from 90.1% in 2016. 13% of all students received at least three A* grades.

Headline figures:

• Grade A* exam papers –  8.1% (up from 4.9% in 2016)
• Grade A exam papers –   22.2% (up from 21.1% in 2016)
• Grade A* and A exam papers –  30.3% (up from 26% in 2016)
• Grade A* – B exam papers – 61% (up from 58% in 2016)
• Grade A* – C exam papers – 85.5% (up from 83.8% in 2016)
• Students with 5 or more A* – C grades – 93.2% (up from 90.1% in 2016)
• Students with 5 or more A* – C grades inc. Maths & English – 88% (up from 87.4% in 2016)

Tom Reid had more reason than most to celebrate after sitting a number of exams in hospital whilst paralysed by an infection. In April he fell ill with a bacterial disease that attacked his spine and brain. He was told at John Radcliffe hospital to forget his exams this year as he wouldn’t be able to sit them, and may end up wheelchair-bound for life. LVS Ascot supported Tom’s determination to focus on and still sit his exams, and worked with the hospital and exam board to make it happen, resulting in an A, five Bs and three Cs. During his initial exams he required a scribe to write for him and someone to read the exam questions due to his paralysis. As he improved he worked on his handwriting and was able to take some exams independently. His mother Melanie said: “I’m hugely proud of Tom. The school has been amazingly supportive and nurtured Tom to the position he is in today. LVS Ascot has offered unfaltering attention to Tom even when Tom had no motivation. Teachers from the school visited him in hospital regularly, helped him revise and worked with Tom on achievable goals. The support he has had from the school has been incredible. So much so Tom is now going to stay here for A-Levels rather than go to Henley College where he was going to attend. Tom has exceeded my expectations; I am bursting with pride”.

It has been an incredible month for Darshan Solanki who celebrated achieving an amazing nine A*s and two As having been at the school since Year 7 on an academic scholarship. He will now stay on to study biology, chemistry and maths A-levels at LVS Ascot sixth form. This time last month, Darshan was part of the LVS Ascot Duke of Edinburgh trip to Nepal which saw students feed elephants, dance with tribesmen, teach pupils at a local school and take on a six-day trek through monsoon rains. His mother Rina said: “I’m ecstatic with his results as he has put in so much hard work. We owe thanks to the school and teachers who have provided him with so many opportunities in music, sport and trips as well as academic support. The school is not just about academic achievement, they have offered Darshan the chance to be involved in so many other things and it has brought the best out of him”

Another student whose exam success has added to amazing additional experiences at LVS Ascot is Bryn Parry-Jones who achieved six A*s, three Bs and two Cs. He will now study physics, maths and computing at LVS Ascot’s new sixth form centre which opens in September and will provide a modern and welcoming environment for existing and new students. In March Bryn was able to meet and gain advice from a leading world technology expert for his Extended Project Qualification as the school welcomed Mark Silis to the school. Mark, Associate Vice President at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, offered Bryn advice on his project around cloud-based storage solutions and praised the level of LVS Ascot’s IT and computing teaching.

Daniel Walker returned from Reading Festival in his pyjamas to collect his results – a trip that was richly rewarded with three As and six Bs before he returned back to Reading Festival where he is looking forward to seeing Eminem. Daniel will now study biology, chemistry and maths A-levels at LVS Ascot, emulating his brother Jake, on hand to support Daniel today, who collected impressive A-level results from the school last week which have sent him to his first choice of Loughborough University.

The Barnes twins – Christina and Harriet – were also delighted after both achieved multiple A*s and will now go on to study A-Levels together. Other students celebrating included A’isha Usman-Mu’Azu and Irvine Mviti who received five A*s, four As and oneB, and four A*s, five As and one B respectively.

Principal Christine Cunniffe said: “I am extremely proud of all of our GCSE students who have shown that hard work produces excellent results, and of our teaching staff for inspiring them to exceed their expectations. To be over 30% for A* and A grades is an amazing achievement and was the high point of a really good set of results. I am delighted that the majority of students will be staying on to LVS Ascot’s new sixth form centre which opens in September”.

 

Photo: Tom Reid, pictured with mother Melanie, was paralysed when exams began four months ago but with the school’s support achieved excellent results