Outstanding exam success despite extraordinary challenges
This week has seen the release of grades for IGCSE, AS-Level and A-Levels for pupils from our Years 11, 12 and 13, following an anxious wait through the summer after a difficult school year. Following the cancellation of public examinations in May/June 2021, the grades this year were based on evidence gathered and collected by teachers. Cambridge International and Pearson Edexcel, the bodies who award these educational qualifications, scrutinised random samples of this evidence to ensure the grades being awarded were fair and justifiable. The impressive standard of the grades awarded, therefore, is truly reflective of the pupils’ dedication and learning.
A-Level grades were especially strong, with 34% of all A-Levels resulting in an A*, 68% were A-A* grades and 90% were a C grade or above. This is higher than in any of the three previous years and is higher than the UK average this summer:
A-Level Results 2021
Location A* A-A* A-C
St. Lawrence College (2021) 34% 68% 90%
United Kingdom (2021) 19% 45% 88%
St. Lawrence College (2020) 26% 52% 85%
St. Lawrence College (2019) 20% 51% 84%
St. Lawrence College (2018) 13% 34% 80%
While many did very well at A-Level, pupils who excelled included Eleni Kalendi and Penny Paraskevopoulou, who both secured 4A* grades; Emma Lamb and Markella Papadopoulou who both achieved 3A*1A, and George Savvas, Yirui Cui and Yijun Chen who each attained 3A*.
At AS-Level grades were strong, emerging as the second-best set of AS-Level results from the last four years. At AS-Level the highest grade achievable is A (there is no A*). Of the 199 AS-Levels entered by our 63 candidates, 52% resulted in an A grade and 76% resulted in a C grade or stronger. Several pupils achieved a clean sweep of four A grades. These included Nikolaos Zairis, Marina Vassiliades, Zoe Raptis, Leda Persidi, Lenora Kirkland, Isabella Karaiossifidi, Thanasis Kapoutsis and Lin Ning Huang.
At IGCSE, we had a huge number of entries with 631 IGCSE grades across 86 candidate pupils completing Year 11 of school. This was easily the biggest number of IGCSE entries the school has known, and the resulting grades were the strongest in recent years. 33% of all IGCSEs were awarded the top grade of A*. 54% of all IGCSEs resulted in an A or A* grade (the UK equivalent was 30%) and a whopping 90% of all IGCSEs were awarded a C grade or higher. There were many stories of outstanding performance among our pupils, including Anna Sokolova (9A*; 1A), Stella Stojanov (9A*), Nikolaos Synodinos (9A*), Timothy Tay (9A*), and Delfin Saygi (8A*; 1A) to name just a few.
Phil Holden, Head of St. Lawrence College, was delighted. “This week our school has seen a total of 942 grades for IGCSEs, AS-Levels and A-Levels awarded to a total of 183 pupils. The very high standard of grades is extremely gratifying as it reflects the hard work completed by pupils through a very difficult period of their schooling. I congratulate our pupils, and I also thank and congratulate all the staff of the school. The success of our pupils is a consequence of their entire education – not just the most recent year or two”.
