‘How nice it is to get back to a classic results day and celebrate together’

INDEPENDENT schools in the Henley area continued to receive a high proportion of A to A* grades compared to the national average of 27.6 per cent.

Shiplake College saw its best ever set of results, outside of the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

Thirty-nine per cent of students at the independent day and boarding school received A* to A grades, up from 32 per cent last year.

It also saw an increase in the percentage of students receiving A* to C grades from 88 per cent last year to 97 per cent. The overall pass rate dipped marginally from 99.7 per cent last year to 99.6 per cent.

Izzy Young, from Harpsden received three As in biology, psychology and sociology and is heading to Bath to study psychology in September

Izzy, 19, said: “The sociology is one mark off an A*. I’m very happy. I got into my top choice. The exams were okay, they were fine. I just had no idea how it actually went. Just pleased to have them over. I’m so glad it’s done. I mean, I was a bit worried because the last exam didn’t go very well.”

Alice Spooner, 19, from Emmer Green, received an A in sociology, A* in criminology and a distinction star in business BTEC and will be heading to Nottingham University to study criminology.

She said: “I didn’t expect these results. It feels good, I was surprised. I didn’t really see many people during my preparation for them, so it has paid off.”

Vald Melnyk, 19, who lives in Bix and came to the school from Ukraine, achieved Bs in maths and computer science and a C in economics. He is planning to attend Reading University to study computer science.

He said: “I’m very pleased because it’s exactly my offer. They exams were quite tough, to be fair, especially computer science. I’ve been preparing for half a year, at least, but probably my language was a bit of a barrier for me.

“I’ve been doing at least five hours a day of revision and I still kind of want to continue and keep studying. I don’t want to stop.”

Monty Wallace, 18, from Harpsden, received As in economics and history and a C in maths, and will be taking a gap year to travel and work before heading to Exeter to study PPE next year. He said: “The exams were pretty hard but I’m pleased they are done now.”

Headmaster Tyrone Howe said he was delighted with the performance of the pupils. He said: “There’s a real buzz because they have smashed it, quite frankly. We have had ouR best ever academic results that we’ve had in the school outside the two years of covid.

“So, you can’t really ask for any more than that. We always talk about Shiplake being a personal best school and there’s no question that the vast, vast majority of our pupils have set their own personal best.

“They’re leaving here with huge smiles on their faces. It has been a lovely morning and is a testament to all the hard work that goes on.”

Mr Howe said that the school’s success was partly down to changing the academic culture at the school and better tracking of the performance of its pupils.

He said: “The teachers work incredibly hard and we try and develop a culture where it’s cool to try hard and it’s cool to care about what you do.

“I think what we’ve done, particularly with this cohort, is we’re even better at tracking the performance and giving positive intervention where it’s appropriate. That means that there are fewer surprises.

“We were very ambitious for this year group and it’s great that they came through and the results reflect what we thought the potential was.”

At Queen Anne’s School in Caversham, 36 per cent of pupils received A* to A, down from 49 per cent last year, and 84 per cent of pupils received grades A* to C, down slightly from 88 per cent. The overall pass rate was 99 per cent.

Head girl Lara Renders, 18, from Binfield Heath, got Bs in business and psychology and an A* in geography. She will be going to study liberal arts at the University of Exeter next year after taking a gap year in Southeast Asia and Australia.

She said: “I don’t really know what I want to do in the future, so liberal arts kind of gives you different courses and allows you to see different interests, it’s quite versatile.”

Lucy Triptree, 18 from Shiplake received two A*s in English literature and religious studies and an A in business. She will be going to the University of Exeter to study business management.

She will be following in the footsteps of her sister Sophie who also attended Queen Anne’s and will be going into year three of her law degree at the same university.

Lucy said: “I found some of the exams quite tough but it was a really nice surprise to open the results today because I’ve worked quite hard. I’ve been here at Queen Anne’s since the start, since lower fourth, so I’ve made so many nice friends and the people are really nice.”

Alice Bruun, 18, from Caversham, received three As in geography, PE and English literature and is going to study physiotherapy at Birmingham University.

She said: “The last two years have been pretty good, I’m sad to leave. Geography was my favourite subject because I liked the teachers and my class, and I liked human geography. I want to go into the NHS and then sports physiotherapy.”

Her father, Matt Bruun, 51, who is the vice-president of a tech sales company, said: “Alice worked really hard and kind of steadily, we’ve had no dramas. We’re really proud of her and the school has been fantastic as well. It’s been as smooth as it can be really.”

Lara Lancaster, 18, from Wargrave, was awarded As in biology and art, craft and design and Bs in chemistry and and film studies. She is going to study biology at the University of Exeter and hopes to become a marine biologist.

She said: “I did well, I got what I wanted to get. I’ve always wanted to do marine biology. I did some conservation stuff in the summer and love the sea.”

Aine Madeley, 18, from Caversham, received A*s in business, psychology and religious studies. She is going to the University of Exeter to study business management.

She said: “I was quite shocked with one of my results because I thought I was going to get a B or C because one of my exams didn’t go very well, but I guess it did.

“I don’t really have a goal. I’m just trying to work to get to the next step and then when I’m at uni I will figure it out. That’s why I’m doing business so I can try and go into whatever really. I know a couple of people who have been to Exeter and have really loved it.”

Her mother Brid Madeley, a technical director for a software company, said: “She worked incredibly hard, but on the day of the results we said what will be will be. I’m very proud for all her efforts and that it paid off.

“She’s just been constantly studying and I suppose you just support them by staying out of their space and cooking them dinner. She deserves it and I’m incredibly proud. It’s not just grades, it’s your attitude in life.”

Ben Stephenson, the head of sixth form, said he was very proud of the students, many of whom studied for their GCSEs during the covid pandemic. He said: “It’s been really pleasing. Lots of them exceeded their expectations and did get into their first choice. What’s been great this year is the universities have acknowledged that those who have been on the cusp can still get accepted which has been really nice.

“We’re very much looking back to the 2019 results. I think what people forget is that although these guys sat GCSEs, this is the first time nationally they’ve ever sat exams with no idea of what’s coming up on the paper. So, I think they’ve done phenomenally well considering this is a different experience from before.”

Headteacher Elaine Purves said it was nice to be back to pre-pandemic format of results day and for students and teachers to be able to celebrate their results together.

She said: “We’re really, really pleased. They’re a fantastic year group and they’ve really come out on top with their results which are setting them up for the next stage.

“They’ve worked really hard with teachers and I’m very excited for them. I was saying to one of the parents how nice it is to be back to classic A-level results day and knowing that the way they’re being evaluated is back to the pre-covid way of doing things.

“It’s very nice for students and teachers and we’re happy the results today are reflective of what we would expect them to be.”

At Reading Blue Coat School in Sonning 52.7 per cent of all grades were A* to A, up from 42 per cent last year and 20.4 per cent were at the highest A* grade, up from 17 per cent last year. More than 90 per cent of pupils achieved A* to C.

Harry Butterworth, from Shiplake, secured a place to study history and politics at Cambridge University after achieving three A*s in English literature, history and politics.

The 18-year-old, who is deputy house captain for Aldworth House, said: “I was feeling happy. It was nice to go in and see my teachers and I was able to thank them.

“I feel proud but I do not like to feel proud of myself. I like to take this as it comes. I have been putting in time and had good teachers to help me along the way. I did a good amount of studying each day and kept it going throughout the period of study leave.

“My parents were very pleased with my results. My mum and dad were surprised and so happy to see me do well.”

Joint head of school, Phoebe Johnson, 18, from Henley, will be studying sports and exercise science at Nottingham University after achieving A*s in chemistry, PE and psychology.

Phoebe also rowed for the school and trialled for Great Britain this year. She said: “I was absolutely delighted. I know I’ve worked very hard for the last two years and I’m just very pleased that the results on the paper were reflecting the work that had been put in. They were my predicted grades, so I was absolutely thrilled.”

Headmaster Pete Thomas said: “As our students finish their time at Blue Coat, I’m delighted that their ability and efforts, the care and dedication from our teachers, and the tremendous support of their families have been rewarded with an excellent set of results. It ensures that an exciting world of opportunity awaits them.

“It has certainly been a great pleasure to watch them grow into fine young adults and flourish in abundant opportunities outside of the classroom too and I know they will enter their chosen universities and futures able and willing to give so much.”

The Oratory School in Woodcote did not provide statistics for A* to C grade or A* to A grades. Last year, these were 77 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively.

School captain George Clark, from Whitchurch, achieved As in business, English literature and geography.

George, 18, will be starting at Girton College, Cambridge University, in September to read geography, an offer which he said had surprised some people.

He said: “I’m not your typical academic. I have to graft my way there. I was always described when I was younger as a rough diamond that needed a bit of polish.

“Initially when I joined I was known for my sport. My housemaster said when he left ‘I always thought George was a bit of trouble and would knuckle down and focus on his sport’. My GCSE mocks were a wake-up call. I realised I had to graft.”

To revise George kept it interesting by focusing on a variety of subjects each day. He said: “I wanted to do six topics a day. I would do a bit of everything each day. I used a whiteboard and had my notes in front of me and would then try and memorise them on the whiteboard. I worked quite hard at it and I was confident I was going to get it but the results with A level can go either way.”

George said that working closely with his geography teacher, Mr Arnold, himself an Oxford graduate, helped boost his confidence going into his Cambridge interview and the pair met once a week to prepare. He said he was hoping to make it on to the university football team.

George said: “Hopefully I will be starting with pre-season football. It will be a fresh start. You work hard and you can play hard afterwards.”