Royal Hospital School pupils achieve top results to secure future pathways

Royal Hospital School (RHS) in Ipswich are delighted to announce that their Year 13 cohort have performed extremely well in their A Level results, with the majority securing their first choice of future pathway.

The number of grades at A*/Distinction* to B grade (72.4%) is the highest the school has gained, except for Teacher Assessed Grades (TAG 2021), reflecting the continued upward trend of performance from the school’s Sixth Form. This overall performance is as expected, slightly above the midpoint for the 2019 and 2021 results and reflects the combined hard work of RHS pupils and teachers.

Highlights

• 13.7% A* / Distinction*
• 41.3% A* to A / Distinction*- Distinction
• 72.4% A* to B / Distinction*- Distinction
• 88.8% A* to C / Distinction*- Merit
• Over a third of the year group secured points equivalent to 3 A grades or better.
• 16 pupils achieved three A* or A grades (or equivalent) and a further 20 pupils achieved the points equivalent of three A grades.
• BTEC performance was particularly strong with two thirds of all grades gaining Distinction or Distinction* and 43% of grades Distinction*.
• Departments that performed particularly well, achieving 100% A* to C, are Art, Business, Design & Technology, Economics, English Literature, Geography, History, Latin, Politics and BTEC Sport. English Literature, History and Latin gained 100% A*-B.
• Design & Technology results were particularly strong, with 75% of grades awarded A* or A. Mathematics achieved over 80% A* to B, which is highly commendable as one of the school’s more popular subjects.

Simon Lockyer, Headmaster, comments: “This year’s results provide very good news for pupils and for the school in general, showing an upward trend of academic performance from our sixth form. I am delighted that the majority of our pupils have secured their future pathway, whether that be at their university of choice, a degree apprenticeship or other chosen pathway. This is a cohort who had not previously encountered a full public examination series, so it is testament to their hard work and resilience that they have achieved such a strong set of results. Pupils have performed really well across a full range of subjects, including our BTEC programme, demonstrating that RHS continues to provide a broad curriculum that successfully caters for all our pupils.

“I am very grateful to my colleagues who have provided excellent academic support, commitment and encouragement to our pupils to allow them to achieve their best, in addition to exceptional opportunities that go way beyond the curriculum. Our immediate response to provide online learning during lockdown ensured a continuity of education that undoubtedly contributed to this successful outcome.”

Catherine Stevens, Deputy Head (Academic), comments: “There has been much discussion on what schools and their pupils might expect from their results this summer, with many media outlets suggesting that they were likely to be ‘unexpectedly’ lower than in 2021, and that therefore more pupils might miss out on their conditional university offers. What appears to have been missed is that schools and universities have long understood the message from DfE and OfQual that results will lie between 2019 and 2021 and universities have taken this into consideration in the way they have made offers.

“As such, we are really pleased with our results, particularly from a cohort that has not sat GCSE exams, which demonstrate some key upward trends at the top grade levels. We celebrate the many excellent performances that have enabled the vast majority of our pupils to pursue their chosen path. Despite the disruption this year group has faced, they have demonstrated a really strong knowledge and understanding of their courses and are well placed to move onto the next stage of their education or career.”