Students Celebrate Best Ever A Level Results

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100 Per Cent Pass Rate at Lady Margaret and Oratory Schools

Hammersmith and Fulham students are celebrating after achieving the best ever A Level results.

Fulham's Lady Margaret and London Oratory Schools and William Morris Sixth Form in Hammersmith all achieved an unprecedented 100 per cent pass rate, while the national pass rate stood at 97.5 per cent.

At Lady Margaret School in Parsons Green the percentage of passes at grades A and B was 85.5 per cent, compared to 82.7 per cent last year.

Head teacher, Sally Whyte, said: “We’re delighted with this year's results which are the best ever at Lady Margaret. All the students did incredibly well and everybody is happy with the places that they’ve got.”

At the London Oratory School, the percentage of passes at grade A to C was 86 per cent, compared to 86.6 per cent last year.

Nationally, the Department for Children, Schools and Families says that overall pass rates at both A Level and AS Level have remained broadly steady, with 97.5 per cent obtaining grades A-E this year, compared with 97.2 per cent in 2008, and 88.1 per cent obtaining grades A-E at AS Level, compared with 88.2 per cent last year.

What is significant is that there has been a 12.2 percent increase in the numbers taking mathematics A Levels – up to 72,475 from 64,593 last year, according to the Department.

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Europe's largest teaching union says: "These are wonderful results and a testament to the commitment of young people and the skills of teachers.

" For all those critics who can't bear the idea that the improvement in A Level results is attributable to the hard work of young people and their teachers, they should have a look at the trend in improvement in the so called 'hard' subjects of Mathematics and Science. It is quite clear that irrespective of the subject, there is no difference in the quality of the examinations and there can be no question mark about the effort put in by young people."

20 August 2009