Bright futures ahead as students shine in A-level exams

STUDENTS at state schools in and around Henley have celebrated their A level results while regional divides increased.

A level results day last Thursday saw a record high number of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland achieving the top grades with 28.3 per cent of all grades across the three nations marked at A* or A.

In England this was 28.2 per cent and the proportion of entries receiving grades A* to C was up marginally from 76 per cent in 2024 to 77.7 per cent this year.

Despite this upward trend there was an increase in the regional divide between the highest-performing region, London, and the lowest-performing region, the North-East of England.

The South-East was the second-best performing region in the country behind the capital for results graded A or above. This was 31.2 per cent — up from 30.8 per cent last year. At The Henley College 32.4 per cent of students received A* to B grades. The proportion of A* to C grades was 61.5 per cent.

The pass rate for level three vocational courses was 99 per cent, with 35 courses achieving a 100 per cent pass rate.

Sophie Harris, 18, who lives in Lower Caversham, achieved a Distinction, Distinction, and Merit in the level three public services BTEC course at The Henley College.

She is going to take a gap year as a waitress before studying law with criminology at Sheffield Hallam University for which she has secured a place in 2026.

She said: “I felt really happy. My parents were really pleased and I got my first choice university so I’m really excited.

“I want to study criminology because I think it’s interesting and I’ve always watched crime documentaries. I’m glad I got the results I did because I didn’t put in a lot of revision. I just went in and did it.”

She added: “The course was good. We went on a trip to Wales and made really good friends.

“We did different sections, a police and criminology section and practical work was included as well. There were some parts of the course that were difficult like when I learned about terrorism and the different defences.”

Mollie Campbell, 18, from Emmer Green, received an A* in English literature and an A* in psychology.

She will be going on to university to study English and Spanish literature.

Mollie, who tutors GCSE students in her spare time, said: “I was really shocked when I opened my results but so happy.

“I put in so much work. I was revising all day, every day. I didn’t do anything other than revise.

“I want to go into teaching English because I had a really inspirational teacher and do that for someone else. When I told my mum my results she cried. I called her from college. She said she was really proud of me.”

Public services subject leader Andrew Unsworth said their cohort of about 40 students had achieved good results.

He said: “The coursework came back after it had gone to the exam board and they had passed with flying colours so it was really good.

“Some of the exam results were very good as well and they were better than previous years.

“Some of the most impressive students are the ones that have been with us for three years and they started at level two and you can see their progression.”

He said the course gives students resilience, confidence and teamwork skills.

He added: “They come back better people. They grow into the academic work because by the end they are pretty much writing a dissertation which some of them probably couldn’t believe they could do.”

At The Piggott School in Wargrave 32 per cent of students received A* to A grades, the same as in 2024.

The proportion of grades A* to C was 85 per cent, one per cent higher than last year, and well above the national average of 78 per cent.

The average point score per A level entry at the school in Twyford Road was 39 points, making the average grade a B and the school’s pass rate remained the same as last year at 99 per cent.

Jeffrey Chan, 18, from Shinfield received four A*s in biology, chemistry, maths and further maths.

Jeffrey, who was accepted into Sheffield University to study medicine, said he felt “amazing” about his results.

He said: “I thought I would get two A*s and two As but I ended up getting this which was like “wow”.

“It was half shock and half excitement, I was so happy.”

Louis Palmer, aged 18, was awarded an A* in maths and three As in biology, chemistry and further maths.

Louis, who lives in Charvil, said: “I am pretty happy to be honest. I am going to do medicine, so as soon as I knew I was in I was chuffed. I got an email early this morning. I was pretty nervous beforehand.”

Louis, who is set to study at the University of Nottingham in September, added: “I thought some of the exams were quite tricky, so I am pretty surprised by some of my grades. But I am glad they are over.”

His friend, Alex Stewart, received three A*s in maths, further maths and chemistry and an A in Physics.

Alex, 18, from Sonning, said: “I am feeling really good now. It was mixed emotions this morning, a bit of excitement and a bit of nerves.”

He was accepted into the University of Bath where he will study maths, stats and data science.

To celebrate, the friends said they planned to go to a golf driving range in Bracknell.

Emma Knight, from Wargrave, received an A in biology, an A in maths and an A* in chemistry.

She is planning to study biomedical science at the University of Exeter next year. Emma, 18, said: “I’m feeling very good. Chemistry was the one I was least expecting an A* in, so that was a really nice surprise.

“The exams were okay. It was a bit stressful as our exams didn’t start until three weeks into study period so it was like being in isolation for a month until we started our exams.

“It was nice when it was over.”

Fellow student Emily Young, 18, was awarded an A in biology, an A in chemistry and an A* in maths and will study medicine at Keele University next year.

Emily, who also lives in Wargrave, said: “I was happy because it’s what I needed. It was quite scary, I didn’t sleep last night.”

To celebrate, the pair said they were planning to go to Wetherspoons in Henley.

Callum Palmer, 18, from Emmer Green received a B in business, B in economics and a D in PE.

He said: “I am feeling pretty good, I am pretty happy to be honest. The exams were all right, quite good. PE was the hardest one.” Callum, who currently works as a chef at Orwells in Shiplake, said he would continue to work at the Michelin-starred restaurant next year.

“I have been working there for about a year-and-a-half. It’s a really good opportunity for me.”

Alex Ramsden, from Twyford, was awarded a B in computing, a B in maths and a C in economics.

Despite missing his ABB offer he said he was pleased he had still been accepted by his first choice, Lancaster University, where he will study computer science.

The 18-year-old said: “I still got into my top choice despite missing it by quite a bit. I am really excited because this is the university I have wanted to go to for a couple of years now.

“It’s a nice place and it looked nice when I went there. I am hoping to do a year in industry as well.”

At Highdown School in Emmer Green 21.4 percent of A-levels earned an A or A* grade, up by one per cent from last year. The proportion of grades A* to C was 76 percent, up from 69 per cent last year. The pass rate for grades A* to E was 97 per cent, up from 95 per cent in 2024.

Among the school’s top performing students was Miles Escott who was awarded four A*s in computing, physics, maths and further maths.

Noah Mitchell achieved three A*s and one A in maths, further maths, physics and chemistry and will study maths at Warwick and Georgie Wilson will study at Cambridge University after achieving three A*s in biology, chemistry and maths.

Headteacher Laura Mathews said: “I’d like to congratulate Highdown sixth-form students for all they have achieved and thank staff and families for all their dedication and support.

“You are a talented and dynamic group of individuals and we wish you all the best success for your future. Well done!”