There were tears, hugs and a great many envelopes opened with shaking hands across Waltham Forest last Thursday, as sixth forms and colleges around the borough welcomed their Year 13 students back for A Level results day on 13th August.
At Highams Park School, principal Nigel Armsby said he was "absolutely delighted and incredibly proud" of his Year 13 students, who between them picked up 226 grades in the A to B range. Among them was Joshua, who took two As in Biology and Maths along with an A in Chemistry and is off to study Medicine at Queen Mary University. Jasmin secured A grades in Biology, Chemistry and Maths and will read Pharmacology at City St George's.
At Holy Family Catholic School & Sixth Form, it was the vocational students who posted some of the strongest numbers — 96 percent achieved grades between Distinction* and Merit, with Health & Social Care and Media leading the way. On the A Level side, Nicholas came away with A* A* A A and a place to study Theoretical Physics at UCL, while Aaliyah's A A A C takes her to Law at Queen Mary University of London.
Headteacher Carolyn Laws said the results were "a wonderful reflection of the ambition, resilience and commitment" of her students.
At Walthamstow Academy, 88 percent of A Level entries came in at A* to C, with close to a third of all entries earning top marks. More than half of the year group leaving this summer has secured a place at a Russell Group university.
Muby Ahmed and Nahla Salim both achieved two A*s and an A, and both are heading to University College London to study Medicine. "I couldn't have done it without the support I got from my teachers," Nahla said.
They were far from alone. Taef Qahdan took AAA and goes on to International Relations at King's College London; Evie-Rose Grant's AAA takes her to Psychology and Criminology, also at King's; Alfie Beazley earned DDD and a place to study Business at UCL; and Sharifa Mahamed's A*AA sends her to Imperial College to read Economics, Finance and Data Science.
Zayn Choudhury, who came away with three As, put it simply: "I am grateful to my wonderful teachers who constantly pushed me to better myself."
Principal Emma Skae summed up the mood in the hall. "I am so proud of all our Year 13s today," she said. "They have worked so hard."
Behind every one of those grades is a family that has lived through two years of revision timetables and late-night worrying, and a teacher who stayed behind after the bell. Congratulations to all of them.
