Kingsbridge Community College is delighted to be celebrating another year of ‘excellent achievement’ from its Sixth Form students who have done ‘brilliantly’ in their A-Level and Vocational qualifications this summer.

Matthew Shanks, Trust Lead, Education South West, says: ‘Staff, students and families are rightly proud, having worked together to ensure the very best of outcomes for every young person.

‘Our Year 13 students have sat full external examinations for the very first time in their lives, as their GCSEs were cancelled during the pandemic.

‘We are exceptionally proud of how they approached their examinations and the results they have achieved reflect their effort and tenacity.

‘There is much to celebrate for this cohort; their fantastic outcomes are a result of work over all 7 years at Kingsbridge Community College.

‘The history of high academic performance has been continued at KCC and those with the highest grades, achieving a phenomenal 3 A* grades or more include: Oliver Pengelly-Turner, Lucy Rossiter, Ben Carroll, Oliver Dudley, Sam Jones, Vanessza Varga and Gabriel Curtis. The following students received 2 A * as a part of, for some, 4 qualifications: Safiyah Asharaf, Oliver Carroll, Charlie Pearson, Anna Williams, Fred Taylor.

‘An incredible 54 students achieved at least one A or A* grade in their academic qualifications; 69% achieved grades A*-B and 92% received grades of C and above.

‘Those taking Technical and Vocational courses achieved an average grade of a Distinction.

‘There were significantly notable performances in the Vocational Qualifications by Finlay Atkinson, Lewis Dunne, Zack Kingdom, George Guard, Jules Edward-Pratt, Eliot Ely, Jak Powesland-Heath, Mikey Sandham and Rudy Oblensky, who all achieved an incredible triple Distinction* or more.

‘We are also delighted that the vast majority have been successful in being placed in their first choice of university course and other pathways.

‘There are so many individuals who could be named for their achievements; our congratulations and admiration go to all of our students who have conducted themselves brilliantly throughout their time with us at KCC.

‘As you may be aware, the government has been working to bring grades back into line with the 2019 national GCSE results after the impact of the pandemic.

‘The government has stated that after last year’s more ‘generous’ grading to reflect a ‘recovery period’, summer 2023 results will return to be in line with those in pre-pandemic years.

‘This context makes the outcomes of Kingsbridge Students this year even more impressive. '

Tina Graham, principal, said: ‘Congratulations to all students for their achievements. Hard work brings rewards.

‘It is important to remember that these young people had their final years of study set against the backdrop of a pandemic. We all commend them and their teachers for overcoming the disruption and the difficulties to get here.

‘Most students completing their 16-19 studies in 2023 will not have sat a formal exam before this year.

‘Grades show that our students have been able to cope admirably with the disruption that the pandemic has caused to their education; they have shown resilience and perseverance in the face of many challenges and we are exceptionally proud of all that they have achieved both in and out of the classroom over their time at KCC.

‘We will continue to work with students so that they are supported and can achieve their next steps into employment, training or further study.

‘In analysing this year’s results, it’s important to remember that the return to roughly pre-pandemic grading means that these results are naturally lower than those in the three years since 2019.’