Malvern St James Girls’ School is thrilled with this year’s A Level results, alongside A level equivalents: BTEC and Diplomas, as the overwhelming majority of pupils achieve the grades required for their preferred university course and destination. Over half of all grades (54%) awarded are A*- A, which is significantly higher than 2019 results, the last year in which students sat A Level examinations in the usual way. In addition, three quarters (75.3%) of grades are A*- B. There is also an abundance of personal success stories, as a quarter of girls attained A* - A grades in all of their subjects with several achieving straight A*s.

Pupils will now take up places at some of the most prestigious universities in the UK and across the globe. Examples include Medicine at Edinburgh, Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London, Liberal Arts at both New York University and the University of Leeds, History, and Politics at Newcastle, International Management at Warwick, Anthropology and Sociology at Durham, Psychology at University College London and King’s College London, Law at Cardiff, and History of Art at University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. One girl has achieved a scholarship place at Loughborough to study Architectural Engineering. There are also pupils who will go on to read Sports Coaching, Equine Science, and Art Foundation.

These courses show the breadth of interests of the girls at MSJ and particularly demonstrate the school’s commitment to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths). 100% of candidates achieved A*-B in Art, Chemistry, Drama, Geography, Music, and Product Design. Other headline figures for STEAM include 86% achieving A*-B in Mathematics; 71% in Biology and 67% in Further Mathematics.

Headmistress Mrs Olivera Raraty comments, “This year’s A Level cohort – at MSJ and across the country - have shown incredible grit and determination, positivity and resilience in responding to the challenges posed by the pandemic and should be immensely proud of themselves. This is the first time that they have sat public examinations, as they are the generation to have missed out on sitting GCSEs. They have also had to contend with the continuing disruption to learning presented by Covid throughout their Sixth Form years, so their achievement is all the more impressive.”

“Pupils have achieved excellent results, but it is not just about getting the top grades - we are equally delighted for those who achieved their personal best alongside developing themselves as rounded individuals.”

“I am full of admiration for the way pupils have worked under a shadow of uncertainty, not knowing whether exams would be sat in person or if they would revert to teacher assessed grades as per 2021. This has meant added pressure preparing for two possible scenarios, and they have shown extraordinary maturity and adaptability to stay focused.”

“My sincere thanks go to teachers and pupils for all their unwavering hard work and commitment, which has certainly paid off. I wish our Year 13 leavers the very best of luck as they go on to embrace new challenges and opportunities.”