Pupils, teachers and staff at Mount St Mary’s College are celebrating after the Spinkhill school achieved its best A-level results for five years, going against national trends.
A* – B grades are up on 2011 by 8%, with 54% gaining the top grades and 75% of pupils achieving A* – C, up 12% from 2011. Both are the highest results in five years.
The Sheffield school’s Physics department is celebrating after a 100% A grade pass rate, meaning all seven A-level Physics pupils scored top marks.
Mathematics was another high-achieving department with 50% of pupils gaining an A*- A. Overall the majority of the 57 A-level pupils secured their first or second university choice.
The College has also seen the first cohort complete A-level Government and Politics (UK and USA) with 53% A*- B and 77% A*- C.
Amongst the high achievers are pupils with aspirations to read physics, history, languages, economics and chemical engineering.
Fencing star Amer Qaiyum from Brookhouse, Laughton, will now go on to the Imperial College London to read medicine after achieving an A in Biology, A in Maths, A in Physics and a B in Chemistry.
Cousins Luke and Michael Massarella from the region’s famous ice cream making family have also tasted the sweet taste of success. The teenagers, who are part of a long line of Massarellas who have attended the Mount, picked up all As and Bs in Accounts, Economics and Business Studies, Maths and Government and Politics. Michael is now going on to York University to read Economics.
Harry Castle, from Eckington, also achieved an A* AS-level two years early after sitting the music exam at the age of just 15.
Shane Hill, from Doncaster, joined the Mount’s sixth form through a rugby scholarship and will be celebrating after picking up an A in Maths, A in Physics and a B in Biology. He is currently on a rugby tour with the College in Canada.
The Mount’s head boy, Tim Voice, from Chesterfield, gained an A in Government and Politics, B in History and a B in English Literature.
Fellow Chesterfield-pupil Alex Treece picked up an A* in Maths, A in Physics and B in Philosophy. Alex was the president of the College’s Debating Society and earned his first GCSE at the age of 12 when he secured an A in Statistics, and his second, an A* in Maths, just two years later.
Mount St Mary’s head girl, Caroline Oliver, is gearing up to join the armed forces after being awarded a place at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. 
The 18 year-old from Rotherham will now take a gap year before going onto university and then joining Sandhurst.
The Mount also successfully introduced the two-year EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) with a 100% pass rate and 50% pupils gained an A grade in the first year. This is part of the school’s strategy to push the brightest pupils as a part of the new Bellarmine Programme. Students completed demanding independent research with guidance from tutorials. Topics included Nano-technology in Medicine, Music Compositions, Photography and Injuries in the Workplace.
Mount St Mary’s College sixth form is also made up of international students with many passing their Chinese A- level – three quarters achieved A*- B.
Laurence McKell, Headmaster at Mount St Mary’s, said: “Congratulations to all of our sixth form pupils who have worked so hard over the past two years.
“Although we are a non-selective school, our great exam results demonstrate how we continue to achieve high standards and help pupils to fulfil their potential.
“I would like to pay tribute to our fantastic teaching staff. They continue to inspire and lead by example, helping our pupils to develop into well rounded young men and women who embody the Mount’s ethos of putting others first.”