Last year’s Fifth formers are celebrating after achieving a record 70% of GCSE grades at A and A*, with 31% of results hitting the top grade. Headmaster Andrew Grant has rebuffed the annual claims about grade inflation, congratulating A level and GCSE students on their achievements. “The most able, hard working and well-taught students will always rise to the top,” he said, “and these results are a tribute to the excellent work of our staff and students.”

Some of those hard working students have done particularly well. Oliver Bond, Mark Edwardes-Jones and Chengyuan Zhang all achieved A* grades in every one of their GCSEs, while twins Richard and James Leather collected 15 A* and 3 A grades between them. Alejandro Palekar-Fernandez scored one of the top five marks in AQA Spanish (sat by  35,412 candidates nationally), while Philip Behean and Christopher Larkin were similarly placed in AQA French (100,997 candidates nationally). David Phillips (taking Maths a year early in the Fourth form, as do all our candidates) was among the top five candidates in AQA Maths (87,934 candidates). This is the second year in succession that a St Albans School pupil has placed in the top five in AQA Maths.

The announcement of the A and AS level results has again shown the impressive success of the School’s Sixth Form candidates. This year’s U6 students achieved record results, improving further on the excellent results of recent years. The average grade at A level is now closer to an A than a B, and an especially pleasing statistic is that the overall percentage of grades A and B is now 90%. The percentage for the School’s girls is 94%.

The average number of A level passes in the U6 was greater than 4. All Sixth formers gained passes in at least three A levels. A total of 35 candidates scored grade A in three and a half A levels (three full A levels plus one AS) or more. 24 candidates achieved grade A in at least four A levels or the equivalent and, of these, 6 achieved grade A in 5 A-levels or more. Of particular note are Sam Kirsop, the departing Head of School, who achieved 5 A grades at A level, with a further AS at A grade and a Distinction at Advanced Extension level, and Matteo Alchini, whoachieved 6 A levels at grade A, with a further two AS levels and a Merit in an Advanced Extension Award. He is going on to Cambridge to read Geography. Heather Wong gained 5 A grades at A level with a further AS as well as a Merit in an Advanced Extension Award.