Students celebrate A Level successes

Nervous students from the town's five sixth forms and Hastings College filed into school for the last time to discover whether they had achieved the grades necessary for their chosen university.

And many of the schools joined in the celebrations after posting high pass rates across the board.

Hillcrest School reported improved results this year, with 28 per cent of students passing with A or B grades.

The best individual result came from Tess Charles, who attained four A grades in chemistry, maths, physics and future mathematics. Retiring head Allan Russell said: "About 28 per cent of our passes were at A or B grades which is very pleasing and a tribute to the hard work of students and staff.

"It has been a privilege working with such hardworking students of all abilities. This is one of the things I will most miss in my retirement."

A total of 81 per cent of students achieved passing grades at The Grove/Filsham Valley federated sixth form, against the national average of 96 per cent. And 37 per cent of students managed to attain passes with an A, B or C grade.

In a joint statement, Filsham Valley and The Grove headteachers Chris Kelly and Paul Martin said: "Our students have done well. The individuals achieving A and B grades particularly delight us.

"The vast majority are able to go on to their chosen university course. They have made excellent progress throughout their time in the Joint Sixth Form and fully deserve their success.

"Our results have demonstrated we are able to provide an effective post-16 experience for our community. We have particular success in adding value to the progress of students from Year 12 to Year 13 and providing excellent support for students with special educational needs. It is essential any changes that are made to post-16 provision in this area builds on this excellent work."

The Helenswood/William Parker federated sixth form also boasted some impressive results. Three students achieved over 400 points, with one A grade equalling 120 points.

William Parker and Helenswood heads Derek Greenup and Jenny Blackburn said: "We are very pleased indeed with the A level performance of our students. They have worked hard and once again several have gained straight A grades.

"It seems nearly all the students have got into their chosen universities, which is very encouraging."

And Hastings College were also amongst the schools celebrating, with 100 per cent pass rates in a number of subjects.

Director of sixth form studies Lynda Brown said: "These are early days and our statistics department is still digesting all the figures, but it looks like this may be our best year yet. There are some outstanding individual successes, with quite a few As standing out. We have achieved 100 per cent pass rates in 12 subjects so far, which is fantastic.

"The results are a real credit to our students and staff who have put in great effort. We re-organised the sixth form provision this year and it looks like it might have paid off."

Amongst the elated students was Beth Bridewell, 19, who achieved 4 As and will now go to Dartington College of Arts to study writing.

She said: "I'm really happy, especially as I only had four months to study for these having transferred from the International Baccalaureate course. I'm going to go to work now and hopefully my manager will buy me a drink!"