A-level students across Essex are celebrating as their results come in today, with exams now back to normal following two years of disruption due to the pandemic.
Results will be updated throughout the day as they come in.
Saffron Walden County High School
Staff at Saffron Walden County High School said they are "immensely proud of the class of 2022 and all they have achieved".
The "fantastic" set of results will see the majority of students accepting their first-choice options for either university or apprenticeships and employment.
Eighteen students achieved three or more A* grades and 17 students achieved at least double distinction in their vocational qualifications.
Among those with brilliant results are Rosie Chen, Florence Wolter and Hattie Altaparmakova, who have all achieved four A*s and will now take up places at Oxford University.
Hattie said: "I'm so excited to be going to Oxford, it's so nice knowing for certain now and I am so grateful for all the support I have had along the way!"
They join five other students who will accept Oxbridge places this year.
Students who achieved an outstanding three A*s are Oscar Toogood, who will be studying maths at Durham, Kaj Schmidt, who will be studying economics at Bristol, and Alan Adamec, who will be studying at a university in France.
Rosie Wilson is also delighted with her fantastic results, achieving a double distinction in health and social care and a B in criminology. She will be travelling to Italy as a nanny next year.
Other students have achieved excellent degree apprenticeship and employment places as a result of their grades.
Ella Hayles is excited to accept her degree apprenticeship with Google having achieved a double distinction in Business and a B in Media Studies.
Cameron Bushell has achieved a degree apprenticeship with WSP, an international civil engineering company, and Euan Freeman will now be completing a Project Management degree apprenticeship with Alstom, a global engineering company. Olivia Smith is also delighted to accept her Accountancy apprenticeship at HSA.
Headteachers Caroline Derbyshire and Polly Lankester said: "These students, if you remember, were those sent home prior to taking GCSEs and were subjected to two lockdowns and hence had never taken formal examinations until this summer.
"The fact that they have achieved so very highly is a tribute to their hard work, their character, the dedication of their teachers and the determination of the school staff to ensure that they received the best possible education and support in these most difficult circumstances.
"In some ways their achievement is all the sweeter in light of the challenges they and their teachers had to overcome.”
Director of Sixth Form Amy Kennedy commented: "It has been such a pleasure to work with this year group.
"They should be so proud of all of their achievements, and I wish them all well with their plans for next year”.
Joyce Frankland Academy
Students from Joyce Frankland Academy are celebrating an excellent set of A-level results.
While they have faced less disruption from the pandemic than their predecessors, they too have faced some disruption to their education and have nonetheless met and overcome challenges.
The school said they are "very proud" of the academic progress made by students, who have "worked enormously hard have exemplified the academy’s core values to explore, fulfil and flourish".
George Sellars has accepted a place at Bath to study maths and physics after achieving A*, A* A, and Sophie Eldrett is going to study zoology at Sheffield after achieving A, A, A, B.
Other students are going on to study at a variety of universities, including Thomas Kennedy, Alex Pierre, Maddie Dudley Scales, Maddie Bedford and Lilly Andrews.
They are studying a range of subjects including architecture, fine art, business management and marketing and marine vertebrate zoology and law.
Joyce Frankland Academy is especially proud of Toby Sutton-Long, who was one of the head students, and Noah Collins, who achieved amazing results and have a bright future ahead of them.
Principal Duncan Roberts, said: “We are enormously proud of all the students who have received their results today.
"We are an inclusive Sixth Form, and whether students intend to go on to university, apprenticeships or work, we continue to have an impressive success rate in enabling them to fulfil their ambitions.
"Staff work tirelessly to ensure that all students receive academic and pastoral support which enables them to flourish.
"Whether students have been members of this Academy for seven years, or two, they have played an integral role in being ambassadors for our traditions and values.
"We wish them all the best with their future endeavours and they will remain an important part of the Academy’s history.
"The ongoing success of our students demonstrates just how vital a part the Sixth Form plays in the Academy’s past, present and future.”
Felsted School
Felsted School pupils’ A-level achievements have enabled them to take the next steps towards their individual educational and career pathways.
Forty-six per cent of all subjects were graded at A or A*, and almost three quarters of all subjects were graded at B or higher.
Felsted head Chris Townsend said: "This is a truly outstanding accomplishment, given the many disruptions of the last few years in education and beyond.
“I am incredibly proud of this year group for all the hard work that they have put in, and I know that they will join me in being enormously grateful to their teachers and tutors who have supported them throughout this time.
"We wish them every success as they move forward on their chosen pathways and look forward to hearing how they will go on to make a difference in the world.”
Among Felsted’s top A-level performers is Felsted’s Head of School Kit Morley-Jacob, who achieved 4 A*s in TEP (Theology, Ethics and Philosophy), Psychology, History and Latin. Kit exceeded his offer to read History at Durham University. An Academic and Sports Scholar, Kit has played for Felsted's 1st XI cricket, hockey and football teams for a number of years and is also a talented tennis player. Kit was also the co-Secretary General of the Model United Nations.
Kit comments; “Felsted has been the most amazing experience for the last seven years. I am delighted with my results and I cannot express my thanks enough to the teachers who supported me extraordinarily well. There are so many things I will miss about Felsted and I’m sure I will be back…if they’ll have me!”
Twins Barnes and Alex Oakley achieved eight A Levels A*- A between them. At Felsted since Year 7, both siblings have played an active role in many areas of the school.
Prefect and Academic Scholar Barnes plays rugby and drums, and enjoyed representing his boarding house at house chess and as part of the winning inter-house quiz team.
Head of School and Academic Scholar Alex played 1st team netball and tennis and captained Felsted hockey in an unbeaten season. She was also head of her boarding house, a member of the Felsted academic ‘Andrews’ Society and involved with Magic Bus, one of the school’s partner charities.
Felsted’s Young Musician of the Year, Sana Abu Jabir will be following her dreams to study music, applying for music conservatoire in 2023.
An academic and Junior Guildhall music scholar, Sana plays percussion to diploma level, performing with the Felsted jazz band and orchestra.
She is also the principal percussionist in the Junior Guildhall symphony orchestra and recently performed at the BBC Proms with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in the percussion section.
Deputy Head of School, Dominic Bird, secured his place at the University of Warwick where he will study economics after a gap year.
An Academic Scholar, Dominic joined Felsted at the age of four and has been fully involved in all areas of school life since then. He plays grade six guitar, is a member of the Steel Band and is a great sports all rounder, playing hockey, rugby and cricket.
Dominic also expanded his global outlook with his involvement in Model United Nations, previously representing Felsted at a conference held in The Hague.
Deputy Head of School, Nyah Mohindru secured her offer to read English Literature at Cardiff University. A drama scholar, Nyah has been involved in many Felsted productions over the years including Beauty and the Beast, Treasure Island and My Fair Lady.
Nyah comments; “Having been at Felsted since Reception I’ve had the opportunity to really challenge myself both in the classroom and on the stage. The wonderful support of my teachers has really prepared me for my future studies.”
Keen artist Hannah Dowling is going on to an Art Foundation year at City & Guilds London Art School before heading to Bristol to study English with a year abroad where she hopes to go to Los Angeles.
During her time at Felsted Hannah performed in the Felsted production of Goodnight Mister Tom and was also the recipient of the prestigious Beaulah Prize at Felsted Speech Day, awarded to the pupil who has shown great perseverance leading to outstanding achievement.
Pupils have achieved places at top universities and apprenticeship programmes, including Durham, St Andrews, Newcastle, Warsash Maritime Academy and the Royal Academy of Music.
Helena Romanes School
Students and staff at Helena Romanes School in Great Dunmow are celebrating some of their best ever A-level and BTEC results.
Director of Sixth Form, Lee Cooke said “It has been fantastic to welcome our students back into school to collect their exam results and celebrate their success with them in person.
"Despite the obvious disruption caused by the pandemic, including not sitting their GCSE exams externally in 2020, this cohort have shown amazing resilience and dedication to their studies to achieve some outstanding results.
"I would like to thank all of the teaching staff, support staff and parents for encouraging and supporting students through their A-level studies.
"The Sixth Form team are extremely proud of all of our students and we wish them all the very best for the future as they move into their future pathways in further study, training or employment.”
Some individual students who performed particularly well and demonstrated resilience in their studies are:
· Oliver Brinkley who achieved an A*, two A’s and a B grade
· Kiera Hodgson who achieved an A* and two B grades
· Damon Elliot who achieved an A and two B grades
· Brooke Pugh who achieved an A and two B grades
· Zoe Johnston who achieved an A*, A Distinction* in Travel and Tourism and a Distinction in Health and Social Care.
Stephen Perse Foundation
Sixth Form students at the Stephen Perse Foundation - a family of schools in Cambridge, Madingley and Saffron Walden - have once again achieved outstanding results in this year’s A-levels and International Baccalaureate, with 36 per cent of all grades at the top A* grade or IB Higher Level grade 7.
Sixty-three per cent of grades achieved were A* to A, or IB equivalent, while 100 per cent of SPF medical students achieved a place at medical school.
Students from the Stephen Perse Sixth Form will be taking up places at some of the UK’s highest ranked universities, including four at Cambridge University, two at Oxford University, eight at University College London, five at King’s College London and four at Imperial College.
All seven applicants for Medicine or Veterinary Medicine were successful. In addition, students have also gained places at universities in the US, including at the prestigious Columbia University.
Jacqueline Paris, Head of Sixth Form, said: “Congratulations to the cohort of 2022 who have risen to the challenges and uncertainties of their sixth form studies with an impressive degree of maturity.
"I am delighted with the grades that they have achieved and the university places that they have secured.
"These are testament to the hard work, resilience and determination shown by this very impressive group of young people who are a credit to themselves. Everyone at The Stephen Perse Foundation is very proud of them.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here