Banburyshire's independent schools celebrate A Level successes

Kingham Hill, just outside Chipping Norton saw 45 per cent of the grades awarded in the A* to A grade band, a record high for the school and well above the national average of 25.8 per cent.

Overall Kingham Hill saw 65.4 percent of grades B or higher and 85 percent were in the A* to C bracket.

Star student Claire Gu received an incredible four A* grades in mathematics, further mathematics, physics and Chinese and an A in economics. Claire will now be going to Imperial College London to study Mathematics.

Also of note was the achievements of Salome Khvistani who earned an A*, four A grades and a B and will be going to University College London to study Social Sciences with Quantitative Methods.

Salmone said: “Thank you Kingham Hill for the feeling I have right now. I am so grateful and always will be.”

Headmaster Nick Seward, said: “I am so proud of my pupils and staff for achieving our best ever A level year. The ‘personal best’ culture at Kingham Hill School reminds me of our successful Olympians, and with nearly half of all grades at A* and A, the results are similarly spectacular.”

Meanwhile Sibford School also saw percentage increases for students obtaining A* to A and those obtaining a grade B or higher.

The highest academic standards were achieved by James Cook, who gained two A*s; twins Alex and Daniel Bullard-James, who achieved an A*, A, and B and an A and two Bs respectively; Laura Grant and Millie Stewart, who also achieved an A and two Bs; and Rosie Weston, who achieved two As and a C, all the more remarkable as she took time out in May to compete in the 2016 European Triathlon Championships in Portugal where she won the Gold Medal in the Under 20s section.

Cate Mallalieu-Needle, Head of Sibford Sixth Form, said: “The overall results reflect some significant personal achievements and I am absolutely delighted.

“I would also like to give special commendation to those students who have shown tremendous resilience in the face of challenging personal circumstances. These include Millie Stewart and Katy Mackenzie, both of whom have suffered bereavement, and James Cook, Joshua Mulhearn, Colton Braddyll-Brown and Annabel Baker who have demonstrated incredible perseverance and fortitude.

She added “Finally, the school would like to mention the posthumous achievement of B grades in History and Design & Technology awarded to Angus Oakey who tragically died on 23 March this year. I know his family will be extremely proud of his achievement.”

Bloxham School too, were reporting record breaking results with a rise of 12 percent in A* to B grades. and an eight percent rise in A* and A grades.

Amongst those celebrating was Octavia, who secured two A*s and two As and won a place at Bath University to study Civil Engineering. Accompanied by her parents, Octavia said: “I am really pleased with my results. I am going to enjoy the last few weeks of my holiday and now can’t wait to head to Bath later in September.”

Headmaster, Paul Sanderson, said: “I am incredibly proud of the students, who have all worked so hard and thoroughly deserve their success today. The upward trend in our performance is particularly pleasing and achievement in the AS exams is an encouraging sign of success for next year.”

Tudor Hall reported 38.1 percent of students achieving an A* or A grade, 78.6 percent receiving a B or higher and a perfect 100 percent pass rate.