Despite sweeping changes to the exams system and a forecasted drop in the number of top grades awarded this year, James Lockwood, Headmaster at the Royal Hospital School in Holbrook, Suffolk, has announced a 100% A Level pass rate and a substantial increase in the number of pupils achieving A* and A grades.
James Lockwood, Headmaster:
“I am delighted to report that the 2015 A Level pass rate at the Royal Hospital School is 100%, a third of grades were A or A* and the overall percentage of A* to C grades was 80%.
An impressive 27 pupils gained the equivalent of three A grades despite media expectations that there would be a fall in the number of top grades awarded. Attention has pointed specifically to the sciences; predicting that students who took Physics, Biology and Chemistry would be ‘particularly disappointed’. This has certainly not been the case at the Royal Hospital School – the A*/A pass rate for Chemistry this year is 55% and 50% for Biology and Physics compared to the overall national average of 26% in 2014.
Our Art, Maths, History, Politics and Religious Studies departments should also be proud of their outstanding results all with more than 80% of pupils gaining A*-B grades.
This success has been down to focus and determination on the part of the pupils and the exceptional support provided by their teachers and tutors. I am very proud of all our sixth formers; both in terms of their A Level results and the life experiences and co-curricular enrichment they have gained here at RHS. The majority will go on to secure their places at some of the best UK universities including Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Imperial, Durham, Leeds, York, Exeter, Bristol and Birmingham and on courses as diverse as Medicine, History, Economics, English Literature, Engineering and Anthropology; many will have surpassed more than they dreamed possible.
As Headmaster, it has been my aim to unlock the full academic potential of each individual but, more importantly, to encourage every pupil to discover him or herself and make the most of the opportunities presented, so that he or she can go out into the world and make a meaningful and fulfilling contribution. With 91% of our pupils in graduate level employment within 5 years of leaving RHS, I am certain that we are providing the best possible grounding for a successful future for our young people in whatever career path they chose”.
Top grades achieved by pupils at the Royal Hospital School:
- Sean Cuddihy (A*,A*,A*,A*,A*) Mathematics, Brasenose College, University of Oxford
- Pelayo Martinez Garcia-Maurino (A*,A, A, A, A) Economics, Homerton College, University of Cambridge
- Winnie Lei (A, A, A, A, A) Applied Medical Science, University College London
- George Rennison (A*, A*, A, A) English Literature with Creative Writing, University of East Anglia
- Lucas Kim (A*, A*, A*, A) Materials Science and Engineering, Imperial College London
- Francesca Morelli (A*, A*, A*) Medicine, Birmingham University
- Peter Crockett (A*, A, A) Mechanical Engineering, Bristol University
- Roman Korotaev (A, A, A) Business Studies, City University London
- Euan Guckian (A*, A, A) History, University College London
- Rachel Miles (A*, A, A) deferred application to university
- John Pattenden (A, A, A) taking up an apprenticeship
- Victoria Foreman (A, A, A) Anthropology, University College London
Head of School achieves five A*s and secures his place at Oxford
Sean Cuddihy has gained an incredible five A* grades at A level and has secured his place at Oxford University. These top grades were in Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Spanish. Sean also took Greek GCSE in the sixth form to add to the ten A*s and one A he achieved in 2013. He will now go on to study Mathematics at Brasenose College.
Sean joined RHS in Year 7 from Holbrook Primary School and as he has progressed through the School, he made the very most of the opportunities available to him both within and outside the classroom culminating in gaining the position of Head of School in his final year.
Sean’s Housemaster Jonathan Pooley, said:
“Sean is by far the most exceptional young man I have encountered in my 25 year teaching career. He is intelligent; showing tenacity, vigour and contemplation in his studies and in his various leadership roles in the Combined Cadet Force and Cross Country team, as Head of House and subsequently as Head of School he has excelled. He has earned the respect of his peers through displaying confidence but not arrogance, being understanding, compassionate and open-minded, thinking flexibly and laterally not hierarchically, and having a likeable and relatable personality without compromising his principles. It is nothing short of a privilege and an honour to have shared in Sean’s journey through to his last leg of school life and I am confident that we will hear great things of Sean’s exploits in the future.”