Updated: A-level record-breakers have future planned out
STUDENTS across Staffordshire and Cheshire were celebrating today after achieving another record-breaking crop of A-level results.
The pass rate has risen for the 27th year in a row, soaring to 97.5 per cent nationally. It marks a 0.3 per cent increase on last year.
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TOP GEAR: Douglas Crosbie is taking a degree in motorsport engineering at Oxford Brookes University.
There has been a bigger rise in young people getting top grades, up by 0.8 per cent. More than one in four exam entries, 26.7 per cent, has been awarded an A grade this summer.
In Staffordshire, 18-year-old Will Scargill has walked away with six As in his A-levels today. He studied at Westwood College, in Leek, and is now heading to Oxford to take a degree in philosophy, politics and economics.
Will, who lives in Ipstones, said: “Doing six subjects was quite heavy. I was thinking of dropping one after a year, but I enjoyed all of them and couldn’t decide which to drop. I managed to cope with everything.
“It’s been nerve-wracking waiting for my results. I was getting quite impatient because I didn’t know if I’d got the grades I needed.”
His A-levels are in history, maths, physics, music, French and general studies. But Will doesn’t just shine in the classroom – he is a talented musician, a keen fencer, organises fund-raising concerts and does charity work, and has served as students’ union president at Westwood.
“I started playing the piano when I was at primary school and then took up the violin. I play in orchestras as well. I found music my easiest subject at A-level,” he said.
Other star students at Westwood College include Jonathan Graham and Samuel Walker, who have both snapped up five A grades.
North Staffordshire’s highest-performing school today is the independent Newcastle-under-Lyme School.
Just shy of 40 per cent of all its A-level entries have been awarded As this year. Almost 74 per cent of students’ grades are As or Bs.
At St Joseph’s College, at Trent Vale, 61 per cent of young people’s marks are As or Bs.
Eighteen year-olds Hary Gopalan, from Clayton, and Hannah Rich, from Walton-on-the-Hill, Stafford, have both chalked up five As after studying at St Joseph’s.
At St Thomas More Catholic College, in Longton, teenagers have smashed through exams records today.
A third of young people’s grades are As or Bs – a jump of nine per cent in a year. The school has done especially well in science-related subjects.
St Thomas More has tried all sorts of novel approaches to spark young people’s interest in physics.
Students have even been studying the science behind Stoke City midfielder Rory Delap’s amazingly long throws. They helped make a prototype for a catapult machine, which they hope to test out against him.
Deputy head Andrew Wootton said: “It’s not only helped with physics, but maths as well.”
He puts some of the school’s success down to more focused support for students, with two mentors dedicated to helping sixth formers.
Nationally, there have been longstanding concerns about young people dropping sciences after 16. They are widely considered to be among the toughest subjects at A-level.
But today’s results show a welcome increase in the number of candidates taking chemistry and physics. Entries for biology have fallen.
Tom Neat, from Bagnall, is one of the students opting for sciences. He has achieved four grade As in maths, physics, chemistry and electronics at Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College.
The 18-year-old said: “People tend to do subjects like physics because it gets them somewhere. It’s for people who want to do medicine or engineering.”
Tom is eyeing up a career in electronics and will be studying engineering at Cambridge University.
He added: "I'm pretty happy with my results. I had already checked the UCAS service on the internet before I got my grades, so I knew I had got into university."
Heather Bennett, aged 19, from Blythe Bridge, has also studied sciences at the Fenton college.
She has gained A grades in chemistry and biology and a B in environmental science today.
Heather said: "It's unbelievable, I can't put into words how relieved I feel. I've worked so hard for this.
"I'm now going to be going to Manchester to study chemistry."
Nationally, the most popular A-level subjects have been English and maths. An extra 7,882 people took maths A-level this year and an extra 1,382 candidates took further maths.
But languages have fared less well. There were 552 fewer people doing French at A-level. German entries have also slumped. Less mainstream languages, including Chinese and Urdu, are growing in popularity among students though.
There has also been an increase in people opting for economics. Mike Cresswell, director general of exam board AQA, said it could be attributed to “the dreaded words credit crunch”.
Across Staffordshire and Cheshire, there was plenty to celebrate in the exams stakes today.
At Newcastle College, the overall pass rate has reached a record 98 per cent. A total of 45 students have achieved A or B grades in all their A-level exams. More than two-thirds of the college’s total grades are A to Cs.
Principal Karen Dobson said: “These are our best ever results and we’re very proud of our students and staff.”
At South Cheshire College, the pass rate has hit 99 per cent and four out of 10 A-level entries have scored As or Bs.
Just over half of the exam marks at Alsager School have also been achieved at B or above.
Alsager student James Ung, who has gained three As and a B in his A-levels today, learnt English as a second language. He only began studying in English seven years ago.
At Malbank School, in Nantwich, 14 students have got at least three As. The proportion of teenagers getting a C or above has also shot up by 10 per cent.
Headteacher Jeanette Walker said: “We are very pleased. The vast majority of students have exceeded their target grades.”
In Stafford, King Edward VI High has also seen marked improvements.
Headteacher Colin Elstone said: “It has been across all areas. I’m absolutely delighted.”
King Edward is part of Stafford Collegiate, where A-level students from across the town can choose to study at two or even three different school or college sites. Results are up across Stafford today.
And Alleyne’s High, in Stone, which is also part of the collegiate, is celebrating the best results for five years.
Our advice list:
What's next:
Government guide to helping students after getting A level results - www.direct.gov.uk/whatsnext
University clearing system:
UCAS: www.ucas.co.uk
Staffordshire University – log on to www.staffs.ac.uk/clearing or phone the recruitment hotline on 0800 590 830.
Keele University – log on to www.keele.ac.uk or phone 01782 733000.
Manchester Metropolitan University – log on to www.mmu.ac.uk/clearing or phone 0800 915 0668.
Gap years:
Work placements in industry:
Volunteering opportunities:
Apprenticeships:
Student finance:
From Direct Gov
National Union of Students: www.nus.org.uk
Connexions:
In Staffordshire – www.cxstaffs.co.uk
In Cheshire – www.connexions-cw.co.uk
In Shropshire – www.shropshireyouth.com
Connexions centres:
Biddulph – Tunstall Road, Biddulph. Phone: 01782 297865
Cheadle – Councils Connect, High Street, Cheadle. Phone: 01538 483870
Congleton – Lawton Street, Congleton. Phone: 01260 276116
Crewe – Market Street, Crewe. Phone: 01270 251002
Hanley – Pall Mall, Hanley. Phone: 01782 295300
Leek – Fountain Street, Leek. Phone: 01538 483169
Longton – Bennett Precinct, The Longton Exchange, Longton. Phone: 01782 591000
Newcastle – Hassell Street, Newcastle. Phone: 01782 297383
Stafford – Foregate Street, Stafford. Phone: 01785 356656
Tunstall – Clive Street, Tunstall. Phone: 01782 825681
Uttoxeter – Uttoxeter Library, High Street, Uttoxeter. Phone: 01889 256426.
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5 Comments
by David, Burslem
Monday, August 24 2009, 1:14PM
“Having completed Maths and Further Maths, followed by a Maths degree in the late 70s and then, over the last 3 years, helped my children through their A level Maths I musr entirely disagree with the previous comment; today's syllabus is, undoubtedly, more demanding.”
by Rustinho, Silverdale
Thursday, August 20 2009, 5:58PM
“I've had a suspicion for many years that the education system IS being "dumbed down" to coin a phrase.
As an example, the A level maths syllabus in the late 70s was roughly equivalent to the A level maths and A level further maths syllabus in the early 90s.
You can only achieve what you can with what you are given to be assessed on. The best comparison is with your peers and not looking at year on year comparisons.
A substantive report produced by Sheffield University (I think - from memory at least - perhaps another contributor would care to look this up?) estimated that grade inflation was running at about half a grade per year for quite some time.
It's a shame. It annoys me to see the education system being used as a political football rather than the educational comparative yardstick that it should be.”
by Paul Bodman, Meir
Thursday, August 20 2009, 4:38PM
“As a final year student at Coventry University, I want to congratulate everyone who's got the grades they needed. Don't listen to those critics who claim the exams are getting easier - they just want an excuse to moan about something. Frankly I find it an insult to our intelligence that they think we're being dumbed down. After all, it's the older generation who apparently had a better education that are running our governments and ruined our economy!”
by facebook.com/tfsdeth, Alderley edge
Thursday, August 20 2009, 4:06PM
“No one cares. im sick of how everyone makes such a fuss about this EVERY year.”
by jade, Alderley edge
Thursday, August 20 2009, 4:06PM
“No one cares. im sick of how everyone makes such a fuss about this EVERY year.”