This week it has been the turn of the Fifth formers to show that they excel in public exams as well as the Sixth formers. The GCSE results show that an outstanding 82% of grades awarded were at A* and A , with over half the grades at A*. This is the third consecutive year in which the proportion of A grades has exceeded 80%, and the average score per entry is significantly higher than an A grade.

The year group set records for high achievement. 61 boys – half the year group – achieved A* or A throughout all their exams and an unprecedented 27 students achieved 10 A* grades or more. Of these, the top performers were Jonathan Baker, Michael Hollins, Jonathan Inglis, Christopher Milsted, Sanesh Mistry and Philip Ruis, all of whom had nothing lower than A* in their 11 GCSEs, whilst the highest scorers of all were Arran Bhatiani, Harry Hopla and George Tasker, who each achieved 12 A* grades.

The new A* grade at A level has been the focus of the press on this results day, and the St Albans leavers have certainly claimed their share. Over 60% of all grades awarded to the School’s pupils were at A* or A, and of these 18% were at the new A* grade. 88% of grades were at A*, A and B. UCAS points per candidate were a record 379.4, and UCAS points per entry a record 112.7. However, these are provisional results pending remarks following concerns about the marking in one or two subjects.

The new A* grade makes its first appearance

Headmaster Andrew Grant paid warm tribute to all the hard work, by staff and students, that has gone into these achievements in a year when, with university applications at a record high, the pressure on students to perform at the highest levels has never been greater.

Special congratulations are due to Sam Abbott, James Clegg, Josh Cooper, Graham Davis, Lewis Farrimond, James McConnell, Amul Patel and Alex Wernick, all of whom achieved 3 A* grades and a standing ovation for Calum Pontin, bound for Oriel College, Oxford to read Civil Engineering, who clocked up four, as did David Phillips, also adding two “S” grades in the Cambridge STEP examination en route for the Maths Tripos at Queens’ College Cambridge.

Between September 2009 and July 2010, St Albans School CCF cadets raised over £30,000 to fund a series of projects in Mwanza, Tanzania. These projects were successfully completed through The Banana Tree Project, a UK based charity founded in 2006 to “assist in the relief of poverty, hardship, sickness and distress of street children and orphans in Mwanza, Tanzania and to help with their education”. In July 2010, thirty-six cadets travelled to Mwanza as part of a three week journey across Tanzania. They were able to see for themselves the conditions in which many orphans and former street children live and go to school. With assistance from local craftsmen, builders, teachers and orphanage staff, the St Albans School sixth formers completed their projects and helped transform the lives of many young people. Heartfelt thanks were offered by children and adults for the assistance given and the UK students returned to St Albans School with a far better understanding of how some people live and what can be done to help in the future. This BTP report provides a brief overview of how the funds were raised and spent.