Scenes of celebration at Westonbirt as A Level and BTEC students collect their results

Westonbirt Sixth Formers are celebrating very good A Level and BTEC results, as many of them secure their first-choice university destinations.

41% of grades achieved were at A*-A. This September will see students take up places at top universities including Oxford, Edinburgh, York and Nottingham and study a diverse range of degree subjects including medicine, computer science, business, graphic design and commercial music.

Amy Lewis achieved A*A*A in Religious Studies, Classical Civilisation and History and is taking up a place at the University of Oxford. Amy said:“I’m off to Lincoln College at Oxford to study Law. I am really pleased with what I have achieved at Westonbirt.”

Ariella White achieved AAA in Biology, Chemistry and History and is taking up a place at the University of Nottingham to read for a degree in Medicine. Ariella said: “I’m really pleased! The teachers here have been really supportive – a massive thank you to them for helping me with my grades and my medical school application.”

Caleb Laurence achieved A*AB in Mathematics, Physics and Further Mathematics. He will study Aeronautics at the University of Southampton. Caleb said: “I’m very excited to be going to my first-choice university. The support here at Westonbirt has been great. I’ve had lots of careers advice and been steered in the right direction.”

Deputy Head Academic, Simon Balderson, said:
“This year group is arguably the one whose educational experience has been most dramatically affected by COVID. Their GCSE exams were cancelled, due to lockdown, making A Levels and BTECs the first formal, external exams they have sat in their entire school career. That, combined with the much tougher stance exam boards have taken, as they try to return to pre-pandemic grading, has required them to show real resilience and strength of character as they approached these exams. We are very proud of everything this cohort has achieved. As ever, a very high percentage of our students are going on to excellent universities such as Oxford, Edinburgh, London and Nottingham, to read a wide variety of subjects such as History of Art, Law, Computer Science and Architecture. This year we have also been delighted to see a number look beyond our shores and seek alternative universities in Spain and the US.”

Headmistress Natasha Dangerfield, says:
“We are so incredibly proud of our Year 13 students and their achievements. As a school, our aim is to prepare them for life beyond Westonbirt whether that be university, an apprenticeship, gap year or career and to be the best versions of themselves.I would like to thank all of my colleagues at Westonbirt who have worked so hard to support our students and to wish all those who have received their results today every success for the future. I urge our leaving Year 13s to listen not to the media conversations which may make them feel that they may have suffered at the hands of deliberate adjustment of grade boundaries; but to remember the efforts that they personally invested in their achievements today, which go well beyond an exam grade. They depart as best versions of themselves now, but they have much more in them as they journey beyond us.”