NEWPORT has cemented its reputation for academic success with another set of sensational A-level results.
At Adams’ Grammar School, 77 per cent of candidates scored A* to B in their chosen subjects, while at Newport Girls’ High School that figure was 83.5 per cent, up from 80 per cent last year.
Nervous teenagers attended their school to pick up their results yesterday morning. Adams’ Grammar opened at 8.30am while the brown envelopes were ready to be collected at 9am at Newport Girls’.
This year 131 students took A2 exams at Adams’ and more than half of them achieved A* or A grades.
At Newport Girls’, meanwhile, where 63 students sat A-levels, the pass rate at A* was 17.3 per cent – a 1.8 per cent increase on last year.
And 20 girls achieved all A* or As, well above the national average of 26.6 per cent.
Headteacher Ros Garner said she was delighted.
She said: “To have 20 girls achieve all A*s or As is just fantastic.
“Overall the vast majority of girls have got their first choice place in university.
“And they are going to do virtually every subject there is, including engineering, law and zoology.
“It shows that the school offers excellent teaching right across the board and students are able to specialise in whatever they want.”
Two Newport Girls’ students have achieved places at Oxbridge. Chrissie Clarke, from Newport, is going to Cambridge to study English and Ellie Lacey, from St Georges in Telford, is going to Oxford to study history.
Michael Barrett, headmaster at Adams’ Grammar, said he was pleased with the school’s results – but insisted that creating well-rounded individuals was more important.
He said: “These results confirm the excellent partnership between teachers and pupils. They are a reflection of the intellectual passion communicated by teachers and the endeavour and commitment of our students to their academic intentions.
“However, it is also important to consider these results in the context of the vast array of extra-curricular activities and out-of-school interests pursued by our pupils.
“Academic success by itself is immensely rewarding. Results get you through the door but if you’re not an interesting person then on their own they mean nothing.
“Our job is to get them to the next stage with skills which allow them to thrive.”