Ilkley Grammar School students are celebrating another year of excellent results following today’s publication of A-level, AS and other Level 3 qualifications.
With over a third of all A-Level grades at A/A* this year (34.3%), IGS students continue to perform exceptionally well, exceeding national standards where the overall percentage of grades in England at A*/A is 27.6%. Indeed, with 64.5% of all A-level grades at A*-B (England 53.6%), 84.7% at A*-C (England 76.0%), alongside an overall pass rate of 98.7% (England 97.1%) the class of 2024 have continued the year on year upward trend in results at IGS since 2017-18 with the overall average grade at a B grade.
Students completing Level 3 BTEC qualifications also secured a range of excellent results with students on these courses securing an average grade of a Distinction. Sasha Crabtree and Macy Johnson both secured Dist/Dist*in the Health & Social (Double Award) and Ayman Ahmed secured a Distinction in H&S (Single Award). Callum Nettleton secured a Distinction* in IT and Matthew Lloyd and Haydar Rehman also scored Distinctions in IT. In BTEC Sport (Foundation Diploma) Jack Devonald, Oliver Moscrop, Charlie Macina and Sonny Gibbons all secured Distinctions. In Media the following students all secured Distinction*: Scarlett Smith; Summer Smith; Ebony Gonzalez; Charlotte Dear; William Neilson; Thomas Mason; Charles Taylor and Noah Hansen. The following 5 students also secured Distinctions in Media: Toby Smith; Dexter Hurlstone; Lilia Brow; Aidan Samuel and Jack Devonald.
There were also some outstanding individual performances across the whole cohort including 9 students who achieved A* grades or Distinction* in every one of their full A-Level/Level 3 courses: Ben Ballard (A*A*A* Medicine, Liverpool); Josh Beevers (A*A*A*, MFL, Cambridge); Emma Docherty (A*A*A*A*, Microbiology, Leeds); Daniel Fazackerley (A*A*A*, Maths, Cambridge); Jasper Horn (A*A*A*, Medicine, Sheffield); Emily Jowett (A*A*A*A*, Medicine, Edinburgh); Scarlett Smith (A*A*Dist*, Spanish, St Andrew’s); Leah Turner (A*A*A*, Maths, York ); Alex Wood (A*A*A*A*, Physics, Oxford).
A further 35 students secured A*/A in all their A level/BTEC level 3 subjects including: Grace Atkinson; Lucy Bentley; Jack Blundell; Molly Brooks; George Buckley; Lottie Curry; Jacob Dawson-Watts; Erin Doyle; Simon Firth; Rory Gazeley; Max Gibson; Ned Gilroy; Ebony Gonzalez; Jack Ibbertson; Macy Johnson; Esther Killan; Matthew Lambe; Thomas Mason; Stanley Morton; Maisie O’Connor; Matthew Rodriguez; Beth Rogers; Abigail Rutter; Joe Scott; Ted Shaw; Josie Simpson; Summer Smith; Emma Townsend; Evelyn Truluck; Holly Vasey; Harriet Vaughan; Jamie Waugh; Frazey Welsh and Grace Widdup.
IGS students have therefore secured places on courses from Accountancy to Wildlife Conservation and as diverse as: Celtic & Anglo Saxon Studies and Language & Linguistics; Creative Writing and Film Studies; Criminology with Police Studies; Dietetics; Film; Football Business & Finance; Forensic and Analytical Science; Furniture and Product Design; Games Design; Marine and Mechanical Engineering; Medicine; Policing and Investigations; Real Estate; Sound and Music Production; Veterinary Medicine; War Studies and History. The destinations range from Plymouth to Aberdeen and from Belfast to Brighton and beyond.
A record-breaking 12 students have met their offers to Oxford or Cambridge.
Congratulations go to 12 students: Rosie Anderson (Natural Sciences, Cambridge); Josh Beevers (Modern and Medieval Languages, Cambridge); Lucy Bentley (Geography, Oxford); Daniel Fazackerley (Maths, Cambridge); Simon Firth (History, Oxford); Maisie O’Connor (Natural Sciences, Cambridge); Theo Prowse (Biochemistry, Oxford); Beth Rogers (Natural Sciences, Cambridge); Ted Shaw (Geography, Oxford); Josie Simpson (History, Oxford); Holly Vasey (Economics and Management, Oxford) and Alex Wood (Physics, Oxford).
Students have also secured a number of high profile, competitive apprenticeships. Emma Townsend will be working towards chartered accountancy through her Degree Apprenticeship which she will be completing with Forvis Mazars. Will Robson has been offered a Degree level Apprenticeship with the HMRC and other students are in the final stages of apprenticeship applications including with Blackrock Asset Management and Jet2.
In the Creative Arts several students have secured places at specialist Conservatoires. Charlotte Dear will be studying at the Royal Northern College of Music for the BMus (Hons) specialising in Voice (Soprano). Holly Fox has will study Music Performance at The Royal Northern Conservatoire and Adam Leather will study drums at the Guildhall.
This year Artur Korol becomes the first member of the IGS Ukrainian community to complete A levels/Level 3 qualifications. Having joined the 6th form in September 2022, Artur secured an A* in A level Russian, a Merit in L3 BTEC IT and a valuable pass in the notoriously challenging A level Computer Science, as well as securing GCSE maths last year. Artur’s achievement is all the more impressive given that he has been learning English since arriving in the UK alongside his studies and has also been completing his Ukrainian high school exams remotely. Artur has secured a place Leeds Beckett University to study Computer Science this coming year.
Carly Purnell, Headteacher said: “Congratulations to our year 13 class of 2024 who have achieved another set of excellent results in their A-Level and vocational qualifications, securing the grades to move on to a range of exciting destinations across the country. These involve a diverse range of fields from Engineering to International Relations, Fashion to Robotics, and include some of the most competitive courses and prestigious universities and conservatoires, as well as sought after apprenticeships with local and global companies.
“Whilst we are delighted with their collective success, we are particularly proud of students’ individual achievements and all those who have worked hard and shown resilience, commitment and determination to achieve their Personal Best. Alongside their academic success, many of them have also been an inspiration to the rest of the school, modelling our core values and demonstrating superb leadership skills and the ability to make a positive difference. We wish them all the very best as they head off into the world to continue the next stage of their journey.
“Once again, in congratulating our students for their well-deserved success, I would also like to thank the Post-16 Team and all of the teachers and support staff at IGS for their continued hard work and dedication to supporting our students, as well as acknowledge the important role played by families who work in positive partnership with the school. We now look forward to celebrating the wide range of academic, sporting and personal achievements of the year group more formally at our Year 13 Presentation Evening in December.”
Alex Fox, Assistant Headteacher, Director of Post-16 added: “It has been an absolute privilege to work with this cohort during my second year at IGS and to witness the incredible resilience and persistence they have all shown. These students have enriched IGS and we want to thank them for everything they have done for the school. These results are wonderful, but these students have been a credit to our school in all aspects of their time here. Every single grade achieved this year has been well-earned through hard work and dedication. I would like to thank the post-16 team, senior colleagues and the staff at IGS for their work over the past two years and for the part they have played in ensuring that students continue to believe in themselves and their capacity to achieve great things.”
Mr Sykes, Associate Assistant Headteacher i/c year 13 said: “It is always a privilege to work closely with students and supporting them with their applications. This is where all the hard work comes together with students securing their chosen destinations. It is also wonderful to work alongside such experienced and dedicated staff at IGS as well as with members of the wider Ilkley community who provide opportunities beyond those which the school alone can offer. I would like to say a huge thank you to these people for their time and efforts for our students.”
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