News and Updates

A Level Results 2022

18th August 2022

Today we are celebrating the hard work and multiple successes of our Sixth Form students here at Guildford County School. Our sincere thanks go to the Sixth Form and Exams teams for making sure that the preparation for today and the results distribution morning itself ran so smoothly and also to the many other staff who attended earlier on to help with the delivery of results and to offer their congratulations and support to the students themselves. Alongside the whole of an incredible Sixth Form staff team, it is important that we also take some time today to thank Helen Nurton very sincerely for her exceptional leadership of our Sixth Form provision over the past 8 years. Alongside her leadership and that of Gerry Black working so closely with Year 13, we have today seen the best A Level results in the school’s history.

I am pleased that the studies and preparation for the culmination of Year 13 felt, this year, to be more as we recognise in schools. With the return of public examinations and the opportunities therefore afforded for the students to show their calibre against a national field, we are now in a strong position to reflect on what we are capable of here at County. I wish for us to celebrate the many achievements of each and every student leaving us today; over the course of the 7 years that they have been with us, each has ensured that they will have a lasting place in the history of our school. 

There will doubtless this week be an ongoing discussion in the media about the value of A level grades, but we must not become embroiled in this at the school.  Choosing instead to adopt the narrative of resilient learners, dedicating themselves to their studies under the leadership of exceptional colleagues from across the school – teachers, support staff and governors alike. Every single student has worked tirelessly over a great number of years and they are now able to move on to the next stage in their education with the sense of achievement and recognition that they all so richly deserve. 

Before we look at the results of the cohort as a whole, I am delighted to be able to share with you some individual stories of success.

Two students, Ada Kirczenow and Joseph Hearn, secured places at Cambridge and Oxford University. Ada will study Natural Sciences at St Catharine’s and Joseph has decided to decline his offer from Oxford University and study Computer Science at Warwick University. We are tremendously proud of Rebecca Boddington and Jeanie Pryer. Both students have shown exceptional tenacity and dedication and secured places at Durham University to study Climate Science and Biological Science. A special mention goes to George Shepherd whose dedication to his EPQ was inspirational. We wish him all the best studying Bio Medical Science at Southampton University. Marina Warchus has done incredibly well to be accepted at Ravensbourne University, London to study digital Film Production – a highly competitive course and Emma Robertson has accepted a place to study Medicine at Cardiff University. We are also really excited for Josh Kennedy and Harry Mason who will start an apprenticeship for BAE and Georgina Pickering who has an apprentice as a veterinary nurse. We wish Tim Stewart all the very best when he starts at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. At the time of writing, 88% of all of our departing students have secured places at Universities of their choice, including 32 offers from Russell Group Universities.   

Today represents the end of one phase of each student's education and the opportunity to recognise and celebrate what they have achieved. We are delighted to be able to congratulate the Class of 2022 for their many achievements and also to wish them well as they move on to the next phase of their lives with our full support and our very best wishes for the future. I am hopeful that many will choose to become members of our ever growing alumni community and that we will then be able to continue to watch their successes over the years to come.

Please see below some headline data for your interest. You will be pleased to know that we have comfortably retained our Alps 2 progress grading, meaning that we remain in the top 10% of Alps Sixth Form providers nationally.

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With my very best wishes to you all,

Steve Smith, Headteacher

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