Earlier this summer, Year 13 Ringwood School students sat public exams for the first time, having not had the chance to sit their GCSE exams which were cancelled during the disruption of the pandemic.
Steeling their understandable nerves, our students have shown the upmost determination and resilience throughout their A-Level and BTEC Level 3 courses and have today reaped the rewards. It has been a pleasure to greet students this morning as they came into school to collect their results. All students have been keen to share their successes with their teachers and all echoed their thanks to the staff who have guided them through their courses over the last two years.
We are delighted that our students have performed broadly in line with previous years, despite the move back to pre-pandemic grade distribution, which has resulted in fewer higher grades nationwide. This year the percentage of top grades (grades A*/A/B) is only 1% lower than last year at 64%. The percentage of A*-C grades at A-Level is 84% and the average grade at our centre this year is again a grade B.
There has been exceptional success in many subjects this year. It has been a strong year for Science again with 71% in Biology and 73% in Chemistry attaining the highest grades (A*-B). English Literature saw 83%; Maths 77%; Geology 73% and Geography 72% of the cohort attain A*-B. Further Maths and History have secured an amazing 100% A*-B. There have been many personal successes. For example, 16 of our students have secured at least 3 grades at A*/A.
We are a sixth form that is proud to offer some vocational options alongside our more traditional A-Level subjects. These qualifications have also delivered significant success this year with an average grade in these subjects once again being Distinction* (equivalent to an A-Level A*). All students on the BTEC Single Musical Theatre course attained a Distinction*; 88% of the Double Musical Theatre award attain a Distinction or Distinction*. In the OCR Sport Level 3 86% of the cohort attained a Distinction or Distinction* and 83% of our Health and Social cohort have secured a Distinction or Distinction*. Again there have been significant personal successes. One student has secured 3x Distinction* and a Distinction from his four vocational qualifications.
The most important thing about A-Level and BTEC Level 3 qualifications is what they allow a young person to do next. Our students are now embarking on the exciting next stage of their journey with many heading off to university this autumn to read an incredibly wide and interesting range of subjects including Medicine, Earth Sciences, Computer Science, Physiotherapy, Zoology, Linguistics, Costume Design, Sports Journalism, Nutrition , Adult Nursing, Sport Rehabilitation, Economics, Psychology, Civil Engineering, Global Sports Management, Pharmacy, Architecture, Applied Software, Physics and Philosophy and Professional Dance to name but a few. Some students are taking up apprenticeship opportunities, and others are entering the world of work.
We wish all of our students every success for their future.