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10 August 2021
Oxford High School GDST would like to extend its congratulations to all pupils receiving their results today. Although Oxford High School’s results are absolutely in line with its usual excellence it is more important, today, to focus on the paths that our pupils are taking as they stand on the threshold of their futures and the obstacles they have had to overcome to reach this exciting moment of their lives.
These are not just grades; every one of our pupils has triumphed over loneliness, isolation and adversity to ensure that their futures are assured. They have demonstrated truly remarkable levels of determination, resilience and maturity through unprecedented times, supported by their teachers and form tutors, and today their hard work pays off as they prepare to embark on their next adventures – and what a variety there is!
Oxford High celebrates the individuality of every one of our pupils so that they feel empowered to make ambitious and daring decisions, and the breadth of this year’s choices is testament to this ethos. Several pupils have gained places across the United Kingdom for service-related courses such as Medicine, Social Policy, and Sociology and Engineering, with one particular pupil especially keen on improving the efficacy of blades for disabled athletes. On the commercial side, Business, Economics, Management, Law and Criminology are in the mix together with Medicine, Psychological Sciences, Biomaterials Engineering, Mathematics and Neuroscience all continuing the narrative of Oxford High School’s deservedly high scientific reputation. All these are known but the mission of Oxford High School to release every student’s authentic voice shines through so many of the other choices: Japanese and World Philosophies, Russian and Philosophy, Marine Biology, Chemical Engineering, Russian, Physics, Geography and Social Anthropology, Land Economy and truly the gamut from Art to Zoology. The new focus on languages and Art at the school is clearly reaping benefits with Art, Textiles, and History of Art all featuring this year. It is very exciting to see that such a wide range of languages (Japanese, Russian, French and German) features in students’ choice of degree, and that many students will be developing their awareness of the wider world further through the study of Politics and Environmental Science.
In terms of destinations, this September we have students starting in Oxford and Cambridge as well as most Russell Group universities, with Bristol, London (Kings’ and Imperial) Durham and Warwick being especially popular. At an international level, one of our students has chosen to study Engineering in Switzerland and another, a capped England under-21 football player, will be taking up a place at Hofstra University in New York: one of the top universities in the US for women’s soccer. Though many prestigious universities feature on the list of this year’s destinations, the focus at Oxford High is, and will continue to be on empowering every student to find the place that is right for them in line with their individual aspiration and ambition.
Marina Gardiner Legge, Headmistress, said ‘In one of the toughest years in living history students have battled through and provided strong and robust evidence to support every grade being awarded today whether at Oxford High School GDST or elsewhere. All tribute to all the school staff and parents who have supported this terrific group of pupils over the past seven years and encouraged and empowered them to go beyond the ordinary, to learn without limits, to find their own voices and be ready to embrace their futures. I am so proud of each one of them. Their joy, advocacy for themselves and others, and desire to make their positive mark on the world gives me huge optimism for all of us.’
Rachael Pallas Brown, Director of Sixth Form said, ‘It has been a real privilege to work alongside such a wonderful, dedicated and committed group of individuals. Despite the barriers of lockdown and the pandemic they have extended their knowledge and their reach far beyond A levels with successes ranging from contributing to academic journal articles, leading conferences with world-class speakers while also supporting others in both our school and the wider community through our peer mentoring programme, volunteering and raising money for a wide range of charities and organisations. Lucky enough to be members now of the GDST network that same support will continue to help them to network and grow throughout their careers, to embrace a future without limits’.
