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Video: Liam Fitzpatrick
opens his A level results

by Jess Banham

Students across Kent and Medway have been celebrating - and
commiserating - as the mad rush for grades yields results.

Thousands of students from all over Kent and Medway have been
slashing open their envelopes, to see whether they have got their
hoped-for grades.

In Ashford, it was a fantastic year for A Level
results at Highworth Girls Grammar School.

More than 40% of students achieved an A* or A grade, with over
73% obtaining an A* to B grade.

A number of students excelled, with nine receiving four or more
A* or A grades, and four more gaining five A to B grades.

Among the high achievers were Fern Lai and Grace McMullon with
four A*s, and German student Celeste Pfahler, with five As and one
B, all the more impressive as English is her second language.

Norton Knatchbull School pupils were celebrating another year of
top A-level results.

Chris Thompson, 18, from Kingsnorth, was one of the star
performers at the Hythe Road school, picking up A*s in chemistry,
maths and biology.

Sutton Valence School
students celebrate their A level results

He said: "I knew I had done all right after checking the UCAS
website but I didn't expect three A*s at all."

Across the road the sixth formers at North School in Essella
Road were also pleased with this year's results.

Pupil Samantha Tallett, 18, from Willesborough, achieved an A*
in photography, a C in English and an C in psychology.

"I'm really pleased," she said. "I wasn't an expecting an A*."
She plans to go to Canterbury Christ Church University to study
primary education.

Head teacher Lesley Ellis said: " I'm really pleased to see so
many of our students achieving three of more A-levels at high
grades, enabling them to take up their places at their first choise
universities."

Students from Towers School and Sixth Form Centre were
smiling this morning as they opened their A Level results.

"i’m really happy with what i got. i did study quite hard but i’ve no idea how long for – a long time, i know that" – bethan warman, student

Shanice Anthony, 18, from Kennington, was over the moon with her
two distinctions and a merit for business studies, drama and
music.

These results mean she has secured her conditional place at the
University of Kent to do Drama and Theatre Studies.

The school has 120 students in the upper sixth, and has seen a
huge improvement in its results compared to last year, with a 99%
overall pass rate, and a 98% two or more pass rate.

Among those schools in Medway which fared well was the Bishop of
Rochester Academy in Chatham, which had a
turbulent first year.

Principal Colin Boxall said: "Our sixth form students have
worked very hard to achieve some pleasing results. We would like to
congratulate them and thank the parents for supporting and
encouraging them to get beyond their expectations.

Yathukulan Maheswaran (pictured
below) was grinning from ear to ear after picking up his
results.

The Rainham Mark Grammar School
head boy, of Houghton Avenue, Hempstead, was predicted A* grades
and As by his teachers and he delivered, managing to get three A*
grades and two As.

George Yardley, Sam
Humphries and Nicole Moor from Holmesdale School celebrate their A
level results

He will start a course in medicine
at Imperial College in London this September, something the
18-year-old said he has always wanted to do.

Yathukulan, whose family is from
Sri Lanka, said: "I’m so unbelievably happy. We’ve been working for
this for so long. I was pacing my room this morning."

MidKent College in
Gillingham recorded an overall 5% improvement on
2010/11 results. Acting principal Sue McLeod said they had achieved
their best ever results.

At St Anselm’s Catholic School in Old Dover Road,
Canterbury, students achieved a 96% A-E pass rate
with 45% of exams at A*, A or B grade equivalent.

Head Teacher Mike Walters said: “We know that the students’
efforts will reap rewards as they go on to Higher Education and
employment, and that the school will have contributed greatly to
the students’ academic development and confidence.”

Yards away, celebrations also broke out at Simon Langton Girls’
Grammar School - with 98% of all exams taken passed including 20
students who achieved straight A*/A success.

Dover College headmaster
Gerry Holden congratulates student Richard Winstanley on his
excellent A level results

Meanwhile, at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys in Langton
Lane more students enjoyed a party atmosphere with an overall 99%
pass rate and 67% of grades at A* to B.

Thirteen students at the school have secured places at
Oxford and Cambridge Universities or medical school.

Head of School Ken Moffat said: “It is a mark of pride for us
that so many of our students have managed to secure places at the
country’s elite universities which is what our approach to
education focuses on.”

Students at Kent College Canterbury in Whitstable Road recorded
an overall 100% pass rate with 62% of exams achieving A*-B grades.
Most students secured their first choice university placements with
some selected for Oxford and Cambridge.

Outstanding results were also recorded at St Edmund’s School
Canterbury in St Thomas Hill with 73% of students gaining A*-B
grades while over 80% studying art, further maths and Latin
attained A*.

Head of the school Louise Moelwyn-Hughes said: “Such excellent
results have come as a result of much hard work and focus over the
last two years both by a talented student body and also by an
inspirational and able staff.”

Pupils at Homewood School
in Tenterden are celebrating a 95% pass
rate.

Around half are off to university, not put off by the increase
in fees.

Principal Sally Lees said: “A lot have got the places they
wanted at university.

“It is a credit to the pupils who have worked so hard. They get so
many negative comments about A levels getting easier when they are
not. They worked very hard to get the grades they needed.”

Harry Cooke was celebrating an A in graphics and Bs in English
and film studies.

He is off to Canterbury Christ Church University to do film, TV
and radio with the dream of becoming a radio presenter.

“There was a lot of revision and a lot of work to get the
grades,” he said.

“The higher university fees did make me think about it, but I
can live at home so will save some money that way.

What happens if you didn't get the results you expected? Click for more.

“You just have to deal with it if you want to go to
university.”

In Gravesend, one teacher was convinced
the exams were much harder this year.

Jo Scott, assistant head teacher for progress and intervention
at St George’s School, Gravesend, is an examiner herself.

Miss Scott said more experienced biology examiners were
admitting they were no longer prepared to mark students’ work
because they found it so difficult.

“We are talking about examiners with 20 or 30 years experience
saying they don’t understand the questions’ students are now having
to answer,” said Miss Scott.

“From my experience it is not the case that the exams are
getting easier.”

Students and staff at
Hartsdown Academy are celebrating

At Northfleet School for Girls there
had been year-on-year improvements, with outstanding grades
for many pupils who are going onto university or who have gained
apprenticeships.

Some of the overjoyed students are going as far afield as Africa
to volunteer, while others are joining the RAF or studying subjects
including event and festival management.

Head teacher Julie Wilson said: “I am proud of their
achievements and of the versatility they have shown in their
choices for the future."

In Sittingbourne, Fulston Manor again
celebrated what staff describe as an “excellent” set of marks.

All of the 90 students who sat exams achieved a pass rate of A*
to E.

Of those, 93% achieved the threshold of two A-levels with 64%
gaining two A-levels at A* to C – an 8% improvement on last year.
Ten students gained A*s.

The results have enabled about 45 teenagers to gain places at
the universities of their choice.

The Westlands saw 57% of its 88 students achieve grades A*
to C compared to 52% last year.

Meanwhile the number of pupils achieving A* to E grades was 99%
compared to 98% in 2011.

Staff were particularly pleased to see students achieving high
grades in traditional academic subjects, with maths and English
language topping the pile.

At AS level, the pass rate improved to 91%, with 57% of grades
at C grade or above – up from 29% last year. However, the real
improvement was that 80% of all grades for A2 and BTEC were the
equivalent of a grade C or above, compared with 65% last year.

Borden Grammar School’s students and staff are delighted with
this year’s results.

Out of a 100 students who sat the exams every one of them
achieved at least three A-level passes.

More than half of grades were A*/B grades while 14 students
achieved three or more A*/A grades among their results.

Highsted Grammar School is celebrating after students once again
achieved a 100% pass rate.

Of the 111 students who sat the exams 41% achieved at least one
A* or A grade while 56% achieved A*/B grades.

Overall the majority of students achieved five subject grades
with 17 students achieving 500 points or more and two students
achieving 600 points or more.

Sheppey students celebrated record A-level
results.

There were 108 year 13 students from the Isle of Sheppey
Academy’s East and West sites who went along to find out their
A-level and level three BTEC exam results.

Now in its third year, the school managed a 99% pass rate, which
was the same as last year, but an increase from 2010’s result of
95.5%.

Chatham Grammar pupils
Rhiannon smith, Charlotte wood AND Sam Slocombe congratulate each
other

All pupils who took exams scored at least two or more
A-levels.

There were improvements made in the percentage of A* to C
grades, which rose to 70%, up from 67% in 2011.

More than one-in-five (21%) of those that sat academic A-levels
obtained grades A or A*, 43% gained grade B or better.

At Wilmington Grammar School for Girls,
headteacher Maggie Bolton said she was really proud of the girls'
achiemements.

She added: "The results have topped last year’s record. The
overall pass rate was 100% and more students that ever have secured
the top grades needed to secure places at leading
universities.”

Bethan Warman, 18, studied biology, geography and psychology and
got two As and an A*.

Rainham Mark pupil
Yathukulan Maheswaran will be studying medicine at Imperial
College, London after getting 3 A stars and 2 As

She said: “I’m really happy with what I got. I did study quite
hard but I’ve no idea how long for – a long time, I know that. I’m
going to Nottingham to study biology. I don’t really know what I
ultimately want to do. I hope I’ll get a better idea while I’m
there.”

Rachel Price Haworth, 18, studied biology, maths and psychology
and got two As and an A*.

She said: “I studied really hard and now I’m going to Birmingham
to study psychology and hopefully do clinical psychology. Tonight
I’ll be going out with friends and family to celebrate.”

At
Dartford Grammar School for Girls Ella
Prendergast, 18, studied art, biology and psychology and got two A*
and an A.

She said: “It was quite hard studying for these and I didn’t
really expect this at all. Last year I got a D in biology so to get
an A was quite a shock.

“I did work really hard and I’ve been accepted to Cardiff but
I’m hoping I can get into Edinburgh now with my sister.”



Ella’s twin sister Olivia, 18, studied French, history and English
and got a B, A* and an A. She’s off to Edinburgh to study
French.

Students and staff at Hartsdown Academy in
Margate are celebrating the most outstanding A
level results for more than half a century.

Executive head teacher Andy Somers said: “The performance is the
best ever – the level of achievement is astonishing.

“Eight sixth formers gained three A grades; five gained two A
grades plus other passes; candidates achieved more B grades than
ever before.

“We are so proud of the students’ efforts and pleased for them
as it opens the door to aworld of opportunities for them.

“They all achieved or surpassed expectations. They will be
heading off to university, further education, training and
employment and will be able to further broaden their horizons.”

Best performing subjects were media studies with 89 per cent A
grades; performing arts with 86 per cent A grades; manufacturing
with 83 per cent A grades; and health and social care with 77 per
cent A grades.

Don't forget to come back later - as we update with
interviews and pictures from schools.

• Are you getting your A level results today? How did you do? Do you want to congratulate someone who did well, or cheer up someone whose results weren't as good as they'd hoped? Join the debate below.