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10 August 2021
Students at Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools are celebrating their A level results after a remarkable chapter in their lives.
The students in Monmouth Schools Sixth Form showed tremendous resilience as they overcame disruption and uncertainty caused by the pandemic during the past 18 months.
The Monmouth students achieved outstanding individual results after adapting to learn in different ways – both at home and at school.
A total of 37.3% of all grades were A*, while 65.8% were A* to A, and 86.8% were A* to B.
Four students fulfilled their Oxbridge offers.
Xiaoli Biggs, aged 16, who lives near Monmouth, will be reading Engineering at Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, after achieving four A* and an A* in Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) to add to A* in both Maths and Further Maths. She also has 15 GCSEs under her belt and Grade 8 in Music Theory, flute and piano. Inspired to pursue a degree in Engineering after an alumna, Priyanka Aswani, returned to school to give a talk, Xiaoli would like to be an aerospace engineer.
Head Girl at Monmouth School for Girls, Anna Vines, gained two A* and two As and will be reading German and Linguistics at The Queen’s College, Oxford. She is also taking up a choral music scholarship. A member of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, Anna lives near Monmouth and is also in the Rodolfus Choir (run by Ralph Allwood). Anna won the Oxford-German Olympiad in 2020 and led the cello section in Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools Symphony Orchestra and Senior Strings.
Robin Skailes, who achieved two A* and an A to add to his A* in both Maths and Further Maths, fulfilled his offer for a place at the University of Cambridge. However, Robin, from Ross-on-Wye, has decided to read a degree in Computer Science with Cyber Security at the University of Southampton, a course which he believes is better suited to his future career path.
Ellie Cole, who was awarded two A*s and two As in her A levels last summer, has accepted an offer to read German and Hebrew at St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford.
Ellie applied to Oxford whilst in Germany, sitting her admissions tests in Munich and doing the interviews from the school. She attended Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools from Nursery to Sixth Form and, as part of her degree at Oxford, will spend a year abroad at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Four students are following their dreams to read Medicine. Ally Lam, who recorded four A*, will be studying at King’s College London, while Cwmbran’s Anais Deere, with three A*s, is heading to University College London. Adam Parkes, with three A*s, has secured his place at the University of Birmingham and Nicole Lau, with three A*, to add to her A* in Chinese, will be taking her degree at Cardiff University.
Chloe Watkins, with an A* and two As, has secured a place to read Dentistry at the University Bristol. Mari Paulson, with two A*, an A and an A* in EPQ, and Ellie Parker, with an A* and two As, will be reading a veterinary degree at the University of Nottingham and University of Liverpool, respectively.
Charles George (Maths, University of Warwick), Jonah Harrison (Chemistry, Imperial College London), Rose Li (Architecture, University of Edinburgh) and Che Theaker (Mathematics with Finance, University of Exeter) also achieved four A* in this year’s results.
Deputy Head Boy at Monmouth School for Boys, Joshua Middlecote (Mathematical Computation, University College London), Maria Toma (Computer Science, University College London), Vivian Zhang (Mathematics with Management and Finance, King’s College London), and Aidan Mason (Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham) all achieved three A*s and an A.
Headmistress at Monmouth School for Girls, Mrs Jessica Miles, said: “This year’s A level students have had to cope with uncertainty and disruption, they have been asked to adapt, to learn in different ways and in different locations and using different tools. They have been supported along the way by their teachers who have worked incredibly hard to develop lesson plans and assessments that have been used both in the classroom and remotely. I am immensely proud of them and extremely grateful for all their commitment.”
Headmaster at Monmouth School for Boys, Mr Simon Dorman, said: “Our Year 13 cohort has performed magnificently in their A level assessments, in spite of facing severe disruption to their studies throughout their Sixth Form courses. We could not be prouder of them and they should be congratulated on their excellent grades. A total of 43 students out of 132 achieved three or more A*/A grades, which is 32.6% of the cohort.”
Mr Dorman added: “Our students have been supported magnificently by our brilliant teaching staff, who have worked tirelessly. The students will now go on to university armed with enviable grades and new skills learned during the pandemic, which will stand them in good stead for the transition to higher education. This is an exciting time for them as they confirm their university places and prepare for the next stage of their education.”
Principal, Mr James Murphy-O’Connor, said: “I am delighted that the hard work and dedication of our students are recognised in the results. Last year, schools had widespread confusion with the algorithm, and this year’s results are fairer and more accurate, and students and parents understand how they have been reached. We were required to submit a policy on how we would determine grades – which were reviewed by exam boards and amendments were made. Significant checks and balances were introduced to ensure fairness in this year’s grade awarding.”
