Students at Bristol Grammar School are celebrating outstanding A-Level results today, a testament to their hard work and dedication. In one of the largest A-Level cohorts in the school’s history, 53% of the almost 500 exams taken by BGS students were awarded one of the top two grades. Impressively, over a third of our students achieved three or more A*/A grades, with 15 of them securing three or more A* grades.
Joe, who earned four A* grades in Maths, Further Maths, Economics, and Geography, will now go on to St John’s College, Cambridge to study Economics, one of six BGS students heading to Oxford or Cambridge this year.
He told us, “I’ve had a great time at BGS, and I will miss it, especially the hockey – although I hope to play at university – but I’m definitely looking forward to university and the next steps in life.”
He will be joined at Cambridge by Zoey who will study Natural Sciences. Zoey achieved an extraordinary five A* grades in Maths, Further Maths, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, along with an A* in her Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), which she completed as part of BGS’s exciting Sixth Form electives programme. The EPQ is a hugely respected qualification that offers excellent preparation for the independent study and research required at university. This year, almost 70 students completed an EPQ at BGS, with over a third earning the top A* grade.
Reflecting on her time at BGS Zoey said, “BGS offers so many opportunities, and I’ve tried to make the most of them. I’ve loved them all, particularly the sport, and all the people I’ve met here.
“I am so pleased with my results – I wanted to do well for myself, and for all the teachers who have supported me. I’m nervous, but excited, for the next chapter now and what lies ahead.”
Along with a number of pupils who have been at BGS since Reception – the first such cohort since the opening of the Infant section in 2010 – this year’s A-Level cohort also includes 50 students who joined BGS at Sixth Form. Among them was Liz, who was Deputy Head of School and one of the school’s Bursary Award ambassadors. She was delighted by the A*AA she gained in her A Levels, achieved alongside taking part in a whole range of co-curricular activities – including winning the prestigious Gabblers after-dinner speaking competition, and taking a leading role in in school dance, drama and musical performances – and she now has a place to study Politics and International Relations at the University of Bath.
Like Liz, Jasmine also took part in a wide range of performing arts while at BGS and will now be taking up a place at Arts Ed in London. She told us, “I’m going to Drama School to do a BA in Acting, so I don’t need particular grades for my place, but I still wanted to do well for myself. I’m going to miss BGS and all my friends and especially the Drama department – the opportunities I’ve had here inspired me to pursue acting beyond BGS.”
One of those who completed their A-Levels at BGS is a care-experienced student who achieved a brilliant set of grades – AAB – in her A-Levels, supported by the Hope Virtual School, and she will now go on to study Biological Sciences at Sheffield. The school’s ongoing work with the Royal National Children’s Springboard Foundation, which helps care-experienced children to benefit from being matched to suitable independent schools, means it will be able to support many other care-experienced children in the years to come (including the three others we currently have lower down the school).
BGS is also delighted that the young man who joined the Sixth Form as an Iranian refugee achieved three A* grades and will now study Medicine at Bristol as part of the Bristol Scholars scheme. He is one of 12 students from BGS who will be pursuing medicine or veterinary studies at university.
Jaideep Barot, Head of Bristol Grammar School, said, “We’re so proud of all our students for their hard work and commitment, not just to their studies, which we recognise in particular today, but to all that BGS has to offer. I know they would want to join me in thanking our outstanding staff, who have worked so hard to enable them to achieve more than many of them may have thought possible.
“Following on from our students’ incredibly impressive IB results last month, these results show just how hard this wonderful year group has worked, and how far they have come. Across the year group, our pupils are going on to study a huge variety of subjects – from Art Foundation and Acting, to English and Fashion Marketing – reflecting the wide-range of talents and interests they possess.
“We wish them all the best at they move on to the next exciting phase of their lives, and we can’t wait to hear all about it.”