Sixth forms across Waltham Forest spent Thursday (13th August) celebrating alongside their students, as A Level, T Level and BTEC results landed and school leaders queued up to praise the work that got them there.
At Highams Park School, principal Nigel Armsby said he was "absolutely delighted and incredibly proud" of his Year 13 students. The school recorded 226 grades between A and B. Among them was Joshua, who took two As in Biology and Maths and an A in Chemistry and is off to read Medicine at Queen Mary University, and Jasmin, whose As in Biology, Chemistry and Maths take her to City St George's to study Pharmacology.
Holy Family Catholic School & Sixth Form reported an exceptionally strong showing from its vocational students, with 96% achieving grades from Distinction* to Merit — the school singled out Health & Social Care and Media as particularly strong. On the A Level side, Nicholas achieved A* A* A A and will study Theoretical Physics at UCL, while Aaliyah secured A A A C and heads to Queen Mary University of London to read Law.
"These results are a wonderful reflection of the ambition, resilience and commitment our students have shown throughout their time at Holy Family," headteacher Carolyn Laws said. "We are delighted to celebrate everything they have achieved academically, but we are equally proud of the compassionate and confident young people they have become. They have truly lived out our ASPIRE values, and I would like to thank our dedicated staff and families for the encouragement and support they have provided throughout their journey."
It was another good year for Walthamstow Academy, where 88% of A Level entries were graded A* to C and just under a third came in at A* or A. More than half of its Year 13 leavers secured places at Russell Group universities, including Muby Ahmed and Nahla Salim, who both achieved two A*s and an A and are going to University College London to read Medicine.
Collecting her results, Nahla put the credit squarely with her teachers. "I couldn't have done it without the support I got from my teachers," she said. "At times when I thought my hard work wasn't enough, they made me understand that it is just as important to believe in yourself whilst working hard for your goals. Thank you for everything!"
Others at the academy went on to a spread of courses and campuses: Taef Qahdan took AAA and a place at King's College London to read International Relations; Evie-Rose Grant achieved AAA and will study Psychology and Criminology, also at King's; and Alfie Beazley earned DDD in Triple BTEC Business, taking him to UCL for Business and Health. Sharifa Mahamed attained A*AA to read Economics, Finance and Data Science at Imperial College London.
Zayn Choudhury, who achieved three As and a place at UCL to study Business and Health, said: "I am grateful to my wonderful teachers who constantly pushed me to better myself."
Walthamstow Academy principal Emma Skae said she was "so proud of all our Year 13s today".
"They have worked so hard and thrown themselves into achieving these wonderful results," she said. "They have shown real dedication and commitment to their studies and it has really paid off. I know they will go on to achieve further successes and will continue to do themselves proud. I would also like to thank our amazing staff, who worked so hard alongside their students, encouraging and pushing them along the way. I know from what the students say about their teachers, that their support has been greatly appreciated."
