Girls at St Swithun’s School are once again celebrating successful A level results against a national back-drop of decreasing numbers of top A level grades. 27.4% of candidates were awarded an A* grade (up on 2014 and against a national average of 8.2%) and 68.9% of entries awarded grades of A* or A (compared to drop in the national average to 25.9%).
Leading the way were St Swithun’s physicists, with 50% of the girls who took A level physics being awarded an A*. Not to be outdone Greek, French, politics, music and food technology all had an impressive 100% of candidates achieving all A* and A grades. An impressive 74% of all pupils who took a science subject achieved an A* or A grade.
One in five of the upper sixth took the demanding Extended Project Qualification, which is highly regarded by universities, with 79% achieving an A*/A grade.
On an individual basis, 7 girls were awarded three A*s or better and 45% of the upper sixth were awarded three A grades or better. 5 girls achieved the impressive feat of scoring full marks in one of their A levels.
St Swithun’s leavers will now go on to study degree subjects including law, medicine, biomedical sciences, physics, biology, veterinary science, chemical engineering, PPE, history, geography, mathematics, English, classics, philosophy, politics and music at universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, UCL, Exeter, York, Warwick, Edinburgh and Imperial College.
Jane Gandee, headmistress of St Swithun’s, said “We have enjoyed the company of the upper sixth throughout their time at St Swithun’s and shall miss their intellectual curiosity and their willingness to take the lead in many aspects of school life. We are delighted with their A level results, a reflection both of the strong pupil – teacher partnership and of our belief in every individual’s potential for success.”