Students at The Grange School, Hartford have maintained their very high standards this year, mastering the challenges faced by A Level reform.
Well over half of all Grange grades were at A* or A, over double the national average.
A fifth of Grange entries was awarded an A* grade, with four students achieving the full sweep of A*s across all of their subjects: Katie Binns, Lachlan Chavasse, Alex Goldie and Emma Higson.
The Grange School has a history of supporting students to access the most competitive courses by academically stretching them.
This year is no exception, as all of the school’s Oxbridge, Medical and Veterinary Science students will take up their places armed with superb grades.
Following on from his success qualifying for the British Mathematical Olympiad, Alex Goldie achieved four A*s (Chemistry, Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics) and goes on to read Engineering at Oxford.
Alex will be joined by a fellow Grange Mathematician, Andrew Stamper, who goes on to read Computer Science at Oxford having achieved three A*s and two As.
The Grange’s pedigree for the sciences shone through again this year, with over half of the grades at either A or A*.
Leading the way was Chemistry, with 90% of students achieving one of the two top grades.
Biologists and Physicists kept pace, as three quarters of students in these subjects achieved a grade B or higher.
Both Felicity Deeley and Andrew Middleton enhanced this knowledge outside the classroom by pursuing an Extended Project Qualification (a separate qualification) to independently pursue their scientific interests.
Felicity will go on to study Biological Sciences (Durham) whilst Andrew studies Physics (Warwick), having achieved seven A*s and two As between them.
Of all of the Grange students undertaking an EPQ, almost two thirds achieved the top A* grade for this additional qualification.
Grange students also pursue a range of unique combinations from a broad offering of subjects, and have experienced success across these.
Leading the way in the social sciences are the Economics students, with all students achieving a grade B or above.
The school showed great flair in the arts too. Both the Graphics and Art departments produced outstanding exhibitions in the summer term and were delighted that the students’ efforts yielded dividends, as 97% of grades were grade B or higher.
The Music department is no stranger to success either as William Prior goes onto read Music at Oxford, having achieved two A*s and an A, fresh from his success as the lead in The Grange’s acclaimed production of Phantom of the Opera. (read more, here)
The Grange encourages its students to make the most of every opportunity, both in school and out.
Over the February half term break, 12 students visited The Gambia, helping lay the floor of the new classroom at our sister school, the Darul Arkam.
Impressively, these students balanced their charitable work alongside their studies, with 91% achieving grade B or above.
Similarly, Cameron McGregor-Ogden achieved four gold medals in the ski events at the World Transplant Games alongside his studies.
Achieving A A B means that Cameron is now going to pursue Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Leeds.
Not to be outdone, Harry Craven trained for the England U18 rugby squad whilst preparing for his examinations.
As well as successfully completing an EPQ on ‘whether rugby is bad for your brain’, Harry has achieved grade As in Biology, Chemistry and Geography.
As The Grange offers education from the age of 4, for many students it is the end of a fourteen-year journey and the start of an exciting new adventure.
Three quarters of The Grange’s A Level students will this year attend their first choice of future study.
One such student is Alice Gerrard who, armed with three As, heads to study Medicine at the University of Liverpool.
Head of The Grange, Deborah Leonard commented: “We are very proud of the class of 2018, who have approached school life with true Grange spirit, pursuing many different extra-curricular interests alongside their studies.
“I am delighted to see them head off to a diverse range of higher education courses from the more traditional choices of Engineering and Sciences, through to more practical courses such as Sport and Exercise Science and Filmmaking.
“We wish them every success in future.”
