Pupils across Hammersmith & Fulham have been celebrating after producing another impressive set of A-level results.

H&F Council says combined provisional results across Burlington Danes Academy, Hammersmith Academy, Lady Margaret School, London Oratory School, Phoenix High School, Sacred Heart High School and William Morris Sixth Form saw a 98% pass rate at grades A*-E.

Students' hard work has paid off with 9% of pupils achieving elusive A* passes, one per cent more than the national average.

Councillor Sue Macmillan, Cabinet Member for Children and Education, says: " We know pupils and teachers at the borough's schools work incredibly hard and it’s great to see another fantastic set of results which reflects that.

" Congratulations to everyone picking up their results and I wish them luck in the next stage in their lives."

One of the highest achievers was Daniel Ayane, of Loftus Road, Shepherd's Bush, who landed a coveted scholarship at Harvard to study engineering as he turned 18 on results day.

Daniel achieved straight A*s in maths, further maths and physics and an extra A* in his extended project qualification in aerospace engineering at Burlington Danes Academy.

" There are no words that can describe it. If I'm honest I didn't expect that many A*s, wow, it's just amazing," said Daniel, who also celebrated his 18th birthday on results day.

" It started when my dad, who is a teacher and a great man, gave me a book about space and I started reading it and from then I was hooked on space, I loved space.

" Hopefully I am going to work at NASA and work on a future Mars programme."

Daniel is the first pupil in the school's history to land a place at the top US university. You can read more about him here.

At Fulham's London Oratory School, David Rodriguez Campo is another top achiever. Five years ago, he left his home in A Coruna in Galicia inSpain, and moved to the UK, barely able to speak English.

Now he is is celebrating gaining four A levels, and is set to start a degree course studying economics and finance at Bristol University. Not surprisingly, David, 18 achieved an A* grade in Spanish, but he also scored an A in economics, A in maths and B in business studies that most impressed, all achieved in a language which, until his teenage years, was a mystery.

" My mum decided to come to London, and I couldn’t speak any English,” he explained. “I went to a boarding school in Essex for a year, and then came here to London Oratory in Year 9.

" How did I manage? I don’t know; you just pick it up. My teachers were very good, and I’ve really enjoyed my time at school here."

Fellow student Ruth Parker, also 18, gained A* grades in biology and geography, and an A in chemistry, and will now go on to study biology at St Hilda’s College, Oxford.

Armed with three A*s and one A, 18-year-old Toby Guppy is also heading to Oxford, this time to St Catherine’s College to study engineering. His A* grades were in maths, further maths and physics, while the A was in chemistry.

Tehmina Rego, 18, gained A*s in maths and further maths, and an A in French, and is now off to begin studying at to Bristol University.

A levels however weren't the only results being celebrated. At Fulham Enterprise Studio, Lucy Fifield, who studied business and music and Louis Alleyne, who studied performing arts and music, both received Distinction* in BTEC level 3. These outstanding results will now take them on to BIMM London and University of Bedfordshire to study Music Business and Music Technology, respectively.

Taking an alternative route to success are Bobby Daly and Mohamed Ali, both of whom have secured apprenticeship opportunities in construction and IT, having achieved great success through their work experience programme.

Assistant headteacher Elaine Detain says: "All of our students have achieved the results that they need to take them on to their next step, whether that is university, an apprenticeship or employment and we are so proud of them.  Being a small environment allows us to really get to know our students and to have the chance to share in their success is a real privilege."

And while most students have been celebrating this week, London Oratory's headmaster David McFadden had some words of comfort for those who were disappointed with their results.

In his recent end-of-term report he told students: " The experience of failure is essential in forming young men and women of determination and self-discipline. As Nelson Mandela would say, the greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in the rising every time we fall."

 

August 19, 2015