Hundreds of students in Hammersmith & Fulham are celebrating after receiving their A Level results on Thursday.

Grades across the borough are flying high above the national average.

Provisional results for the borough (not including Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College and Burlington Danes Academy) show that 98.9% of students in H&F passed with A*-E grades, compared to the national average of 97.9%.

Even better, at 79.7% the percentage of students gaining A*-C was 3.7 percentage points above the national average of 76%.

Students hitting the heights with B, A and A* grades were also better than average with 59.8% reaching the top grades – 7.5% above the national figure. 

This year’s results were up on 2010’s figures for students getting A*-C grades, which stood at 75.1%. It was the 29th year in a row that A Level passes have risen nationally, with the overall pass rate rising slightly from 97.6% to 97.8%.

These figures are taken from students in Lady Margaret in Parsons Green, Fulham, William Morris Sixth Form in St Dunstan’s Road, Hammersmith, and London Oratory in Seagrave Road, Fulham.

Cllr Helen Binmore, cabinet member for children’s services, said: "This is a great result for the students, their parents, our teaching staff and for the borough as a whole. Our schools have really been encouraging pupils to reach the highest possible heights and they have all done themselves proud.

" It is incredibly important to get a head start in education and I really am pleased to see so many of our borough’s students doing so well. I hope now that they can build on this success to go on to bigger and better things, and that these results help them map out a bright future for themselves. The figures show that with the right attitude, pure hard work and real determination, anything is possible."

At London Oratory in Fulham, the figures showed a a huge improvement in results as the percentage of pupils achieving passes at A*-B rose by double figures, at 11%, to reach 74.4%.

The jump in exam entrants receiving A*-C also improved by 7.9%, hitting 90.2%.

Lady Margaret also boasted a massive improvement, jumping to a 78.4% success rate for those receiving A*-C grades, up 6.4% on last year.

The proportion of students receiving A*-E rose by 8.7% to 95.9%. The school also was able to boost a 100% pass rate with students getting A*-Es.

Headteacher Sally Whyte was stunned and delighted with the news. "I am so proud. These are our best results for some time. This result is a tribute to the dedication of the teachers and the students who are prepared to work hard."

William Morris’s pass rate at A*-E was 97.7%, with a slight decline from last year in results at A*-C at 61.7%, down from 70.9%.

In Shepherd's Bush, it was also the first year for students at Burlington Danes Academy to collect their A Level results, with provisionally 49% of students getting A*-B grades, 68% achieving A*-Cs and a 98% pass rate overall, at A*-E grades.

August 19, 2011