'Bright future' for Ripon Grammar School students after receiving 'outstanding' A Level results

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With 79% of grades awarded at A*/B, and more than half of all grades at A*/A, most students have secured their first or second choice of university on a diverse range of courses, from aeronautical engineering to fashion, medicine and philosophy.

Headmaster Jonathan Webb said: “Results days are days of joy and celebration as examination results open up new pathways in life and new institutions of learning.

“While today has inevitably been like no other with grades awarded without examinations being sat, the achievements of students at RGS are real, valid and worthy of huge celebration.”

Eight students achieved a clean sweep of A*s with top performers Phoebe Hall and Tabitha Milton awarded four A*s in addition to an A* in their extended project qualifications, worth half an A Level.

Mr Webb emphasised that, while the school’s results had been adjusted down slightly, as they have been nationally, they remain, overall, consistent with previous years: “I am delighted to say our results are as good as ever and the students, and staff who have supported them, are to be congratulated on another tremendous performance.”

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“Grades were rigorously assessed and awarded by teachers at RGS and then mathematically adjusted by Ofqual to reflect, it is hoped, the historic trends achieved by the school.”

While there have been impressive performances across the board, with more than 20% of grades awarded at A*, Mr Webb stressed: “We must focus on the process of learning as much as the end result, however arrived at. School is about learning, exploring new avenues and making real life choices. I am sure the lessons learnt will mean very bright futures for our leavers of 2020.”

The majority of the school’s 142 A-level students have secured places at elite Russell Group universities, including Oxford and Cambridge: “The variety of courses chosen is equally to be celebrated,” he said.

He added that the school’s sixth form team was working hard to support those students facing the process of clearing, contemplating gap years or seeking to adjust their offers upward:

“Inevitably amongst the many successes there are some who may be disappointed with how the process has worked for them. We will be guiding and supporting them and wish them all the best in their search.”

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The school’s overall pass rate is 99.1%, with a total of 106 grades at A* and 147 at grade A.