Exam success for pupils in Kensington and Chelsea

Kensington and Chelsea pupils were celebrating with the borough’s schools achieving 32 per cent at A* to A and 85 per cent achieving at A* to C.

Pupils in Kensington and Chelsea were celebrating receiving their A Level results yesterday. They are the first group to sit exams without any consideration for the pandemic being taken into account since 2019. 

Cllr Catherine Faulks, Lead Member for Family and Children’s Services, said: 
“Firstly, I want to say well done to all the hard working pupils who received their A Level results yesterday, it’s a tremendous effort in what has been challenging times. I’m sure there are a mix of emotions following the results, some will have done better than they though and others will not have got the results they expected, but whatever your results there are a host of options available to you.

“Many will be off to university, take up an apprenticeship, or their first full time job, but if you aren’t sure or haven’t got what you wanted, there is plenty of support and advice on what options are available to you. Don't be downhearted, you can still achieve what you want.” 

A level results by school

Holland Park School’s students have achieved a 100 per cent pass rate overall as well as the following: 

• A* grades: 25 per cent compared to 12 per cent in 2019. 
• A* to A grades: 56 per cent compared to 36 per cent in 2019. 
• A* to B grades: 72 per cent compared to 61 per cent in 2019. 
• A* to C grades: 90 per cent compared to 79 per cent in 2019.

Kensington Aldridge Academy students have secured the school’s best A Level results unaffected by the pandemic. This year’s results saw 60 per cent of all entries received A* to B grades, and 90 per cent were A* to C. 

• 26 per cent A* to A grades
• 60 per cent A* to B grades
• Average grade = B

Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School students achieved a pass rate of 100 per cent,  35.6 per cent of grades were A* and A, compared to a national average of 26.5 per cent and 69.9 per cent were at A* to B.  Nine pupils achieved the grades to take up places at Oxford or Cambridge. 

Pupils views

We spoke with pupils at Chelsea Academy yesterday as they received their results.

Joseph received his results this morning and said “It was kind of a rollercoaster for me as I got one grade below my grade boundary. Then my headteacher told me I got into Cambridge.”

George got his results and is now going to Oxford University. He said: “I was nervous before the results, but now I’m giddy, almost euphoric... I’m off to do PPE – Philosophy, Politics and Economics.” Giving advice to those who may not have got what results they hoped for he said: “You results don’t define you and bad results don’t mean that you can’t come back from pitfalls, and you can’t come back from stuff that goes wrong just because you might get bad results.” 

Getting advice and support

If you need advice because you haven’t got the grades you expected, or you’ve achieved higher grades that you expected, your school is the best place to find experts to give you advice on your options.

If you are looking to apply for a university place go through Clearing.

If you’re planning to do an apprenticeship you can find out more details on the dedicated government website.