It was make or break time for hard-working students across St Albans and Harpenden on Thursday (August 17), with good A-level results securing university places for many.
As results flooded in, students at Oaklands College celebrated 100 per cent pass rates for nine different subjects, including English language, biology, psychology, and history.
A particularly successful student, Anxhela Syziu, secured two A*s and an A after coming to the UK from Albania, with a now two-year-old son.
Oaklands principal Zoe Hancock wished all students “every success”.
Over at Beaumont School headteacher Martin Atkinson congratulated everyone - the school obtained the most A* grades in its history.
Head of sixth form, Paul de Kort, said: “Our students rose to the challenge of the new courses, with several achieving straight A or A* grades, earning them places at prestigious Russell Group universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, and an unprecedented six students studying medicine this year.”
Nearby Sandringham School also praised students. More than 30 pupils got straight A*s and As, and almost every pupil was accepted into their first choice university. Headteacher Alan Gray said the results were “wonderful”.
In the city centre, St Albans School upped the number of A* grades from 25 per cent in 2015 to 34 per cent this year. More than half of the teenagers earned at least one A*.
Headmaster Jonathan Gillespie said the “outstanding results” are “testament to the commitment and dedication” from students and teachers.
Verulam School did not fall short. School vice-captain Alex Proudman triumphed - he received three A*s and will be going to Oxford to study Engineering Science.
It is a similar story at Nicholas Breakspear, with head girl Ellie Corroyer earning A*AA to study maths at Nottingham University. She said: “As long as you know you’ve done your best and put the hours of hard work in, then you should be happy with the outcomes.”
For the fourth consecutive year, pupils at Samuel Ryder Academy outperformed their predecessors, and headteacher Matthew Gauthier said he is “not surprised by the outstanding results”.
Head of sixth form, Helen Potter, agreed: “These results confirm that our sixth form is on an upward trajectory, heading for more future successes.”
St Columba’s College headmaster David Buxton joined in praising the teenagers. He noted the increase in A* and A grades was “particularly pleasing”.
Imperial College London has accepted a St Columba’s student, Billy McDermott, having achieved three A* grades.
At Loreto, the majority of pupils earned a place in the university of their choice, and Townsend released a statement saying all students who applied to university “happily accepted their places”.
Harpenden schools fared just as well, with Sir John Lawes head boy Tom Pigram heading off to Oxford to read English and German with his three A*s.
Head of sixth form, Cait Rickard, said that “despite the anxieties caused by the new style of examination” the school is “thrilled” with the “strong results”.
Roundwood Park also got its best ever set of A-level results - one success story is Charlotte Morris, with three A* grades and a place at University of Bath to study biochemistry.
Herts county council cabinet member for education, Terry Douris, commented: “I hope all the hard work has paid off. Whatever the outcome when those envelopes were opened, I wish you the very best of luck in whatever is next.”
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