School A Level results exceed pre-pandemic grades

Yesterday's A Level results at King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham are higher than those recorded pre-pandemic, with 43 per cent of grades at A*, with individual stories of success underpinned by the students' unique passions and pursuits.

Upper Sixth students at King Edward VI High School for Girls (KEHS) are celebrating a set of A Level results better than those ever recorded pre-pandemic.

This year:

• 43 per cent of grades were A* (2019: 36 per cent), which is the school's highest ever proportion of A* grades, excluding the last three years when COVID-related special measures were in place for A Level grading
• 78 per cent of grades were A*/A (2019: 77 per cent)
• 95 per cent of grades were A* - B (2019: 95 per cent).

Of the Upper Sixth cohort of 92 students, 18 (20 per cent) achieved straight A*s. Reflecting the breadth of students' academic interests, 26 per cent of the cohort took four or more A Level subjects and 27 per cent took the Level 3 Extended Project Qualification, an independent research project which extends and develops students' abilities beyond the traditional A Level syllabus.

KEHS Sports Scholar Lashmitha, who is part of Archery GB and joined KEHS at Sixth Form, achieved 4 A*s in Art, Biology, Chemistry and Maths and an A in the EPQ, and will now read Medicine at the University of Cambridge.

She has been awarded a prestigious OCR bursary, of which only 10 are awarded each year to West Midlands students going to Cambridge.

Other Higher Education destinations that await KEHS students include International Social and Public Policy with Politics at LSE, Marine Biology at Plymouth, Maths with Statistics for Finance at Imperial College London and Politics and International Relations at the University of Bath.

Kirsty von Malais�, KEHS Principal, said: “We are delighted to celebrate this stellar set of A Level results with our students and their families.

“They have shown tremendous resilience during the last few years, and to have achieved so highly in their first set of public examinations is even more impressive given this context.

“Of particular note this year has been the success of our STEM subjects, which are among our most popular - Maths (61 per cent A*), Psychology (52 per cent A*), Biology (45 per cent A*) and Chemistry (43 per cent A*).

“Complementing this success, we are delighted that the arts all achieved 100 per cent A* - B grades, with four individuals achieving A* in Art and Theatre Studies alike, and two thirds of the entries achieving A* in Music.

“Underpinning this set of fantastic results are the individual pursuits and passions of each of our students, whether they are in sport, the arts, clubs and societies, fundraising or serving the local community. It has been a pleasure to see our Upper Sixth giving and achieving so much in these areas, and I have no doubt that they will draw fruitfully on these experiences in the future.

“Our students can now look forward to the exciting range of Higher Education pathways that await them, and I wish them all the very best.”

Download the 2023 KEHS A Level results here