Bury St Edmunds A-level results: Abbeygate Sixth Form College, St Benedict’s Catholic School, County High School, Thurston Sixth, Culford School and West Suffolk College
Students from the Bury St Edmunds area have been collecting their A-level results this morning.
Nationally top A-level results have risen for the first time since 2021 - with 27.8 per cent of all students achieving grades A* or A.
Here SuffolkNews brings you a roundup of A-level results from the Bury St Edmunds area.
Thurston Sixth
Students at Thurston Sixth, in Beyton, have been celebrating their A-level results this morning, with 28 per cent achieving the top A and A* grades.One of those was Katy Wilson, 18, of Pakenham who was rewarded for her two years of hard work with A* grades in maths, further maths and chemistry.
Katy, who is now heading to the University of Birmingham to study maths and music, said she felt very stressed before receiving her results.
“It’s a big achievement, it’s two years of my life and I couldn’t have done any better,” said Katy.
“I have loved my time here the teachers have been amazing.”
Alex Gosling, 18, of Stowmarket, and Ben Gedge, 18, of Elmswell, both decided not to look at their results online before arriving at the Beyton Campus.
Ben, who received A* grades in maths and further maths and an A in chemistry, said: “I thought it is a lot better seeing it on paper than online.
“I feel relieved, I don’t have any more pressure.
“Sixth form has been very good, very supportive.”
Ben, who will now be studying maths at Durham University, said he feels as though students at the sixth form have benefited from smaller class sizes.
Alex, who avoided using Google Maps on his phone so he didn’t accidentally see his results, said: “Sixth form has been challenging but it in a fun way.
“There has been a nice atmosphere picking up my results and I am glad I didn’t look online.”
“All students are to be congratulated upon their achievements”, said Maéve Taylor, principal at Thurston Community College.
“All of these students had unprecedented disruption to their GCSE studies, yet their commitment to studying and to the wider sixth form experience is commendable, with many of this cohort having undertaken Silver Duke of Edinburgh awards and participated in many music, dance and drama performances, as well as raising money for charity.”
A total of 78 students took A-levels at Thurston Sixth with an overall pass rate of 99 per cent.
The percentage of students achieving A* - C grades was 81.1 per cent.
Abbeygate Sixth Form College
Leavers at Abbeygate Sixth Form College have been reflecting on their A-levels results, with the deputy headteacher praising the students for achieving ‘phenomenal’ results.
A total of 526 students took their exams this year, with 71 per cent achieving A* to C. The pass rate was 98 per cent.
Among those who were celebrating was Olivia Barber, 18, of Bury St Edmunds, who is off to study English at University of Oxford after attaining three A* in English Literature, history and politics.
She said the results was everything she had hoped for.
“I found out this morning at home,” she said. “I jumped around when I saw the results – I was really happy.
“I told my family and they were cheering for me. My parents were quite nervous.
“I felt that A-levels where much harder than anything I’ve ever done before but I did it.
“It was really scary leading up to the exams. I’m just glad it’s over.”
Meanwhile, Thomas Surridge, of Mildenhall, will be moving to the United States next month to study mechanical engineering at Northwestern University, in Evanston, near Chicago.
Thomas attained A* in maths and further maths as well as an A in physics.
He said he was happy to have found a degree where he can combine his love for maths and physics.
“I had an idea I wanted to do a mixture of maths and physics, but I wasn’t entirely sure what kind of engineering I wanted to do. Over the years I gravitated towards mechanical engineering.
“The opportunity to combine maths and science in a field where I can also be creative at the same time has swayed me towards mechanical engineering.
“I’m really happy with the results. I worked really hard over the last few years.”
He said he was planning to check his results at the college, but after his friends started to share their results, he decided to join them.
“I initially said to myself I will wait until I get to school to open them but I couldn’t wait,” he said
“Before I checked the results, I had 30 seconds of nervousness, but then it was a big relief.
“My family were in the room with me when I opened them. They were really happy.
Thomas added: “The exams were quite different for me because most of my friends applied through UCAS.
“My application to the US had a different release date so I found out quite early on which meant I was able to just focus on my exams.”
Gabriella Bruce, 18, of Stradishall, who is off to Newcastle to study medicinal chemistry, celebrated achieving an A in chemistry, a B in biology and a C in German.
She said she was pleased with her results as they were better than she anticipated.
“I’m really happy,” she said. “It was what I was predicting for my best case scenario and it’s actually better than what I expected.
“I thought I’d get one grade lower in all the subjects, because for a while, I wasn’t doing as well as the grades I got today. I had to work really hard.
She added: “Leading up to the exams, it was quite stressful because it doesn’t ever feel like you’ve done enough.
“My parents were really happy. They said I will do really well and I’ll get into my uni, but I didn’t really believe them. They were right.”
Stuart Small, assistant principal, was really proud of all the students.
He said: “They have done a phenomenal job. They worked incredibly hard and their dedication has paid off.
“Some students haven’t got quite what they wanted. My message to them is don’t forget how well you have done.
“This is just a piece of paper. It doesn’t change who you’re.
“It’s nice to see the process through to its conclusion. We worked with these students for a long time. We supported them through their ups and their downs and to see where they’re off to do is rewarding.
“Young people still have gaps in their learning,” he added. “The legacy of Covid has impacted them in different ways, such as attendance.
“There was a pressure for them to perform and they’ve risen to that.”
County High School
The final sixth form cohort at County High School in Bury St Edmunds have graduated on a high with 89 per cent of grades achieved at A* to C.
Also, 41.5 per cent of grades were awarded an A or A* and 64 per cent A*-B. The overall pass rate (A*-E) was 98.1 per cent.
Headteacher Sally Kennedy said they were ‘very proud’ of their final cohort, of which there were just 17 students.
She said: “We are very proud of our sixth form students who have all worked very hard and supported each other to fulfil their potential.
"We know the personal challenges some of our students have faced and we are very proud of the resilience and determination they have demonstrated over the past two years.
“We wish them the very best as they move onto their next adventure and look forward to them returning to inspire the next generations of students at County High School.”
Notable student achievements included Camelia Gregor, 18, from Thurston, who only moved to England from Romania at the start of Year 11 and for whom English is an additional language.
After consistent hard work over the last three years, Camelia achieved three A*s and a double A* in her Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and will now be going on to study global development and anthropology at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
Of her results, she said: “I wasn’t expecting it in the first place. I’m still a bit in shock. I was expecting maybe Bs.”
She added: “During A-levels I questioned myself all the time - whether I could work harder or be better at my subjects. Now I have got my results, it was fine all the time. Now I can see the work has paid off.”
Her A-levels were in photography, English literature and sociology and her uni course will see her follow her passion for what’s going on across the globe and how it impacts people socially, economically and politically.
The school is also very proud of Astria Manning who will be going on to study history at Magdalen College, Oxford, after achieving three A*s and Anika Cox, who will be going on to study French and German at Lady Margaret Hall College (LMH), following her successful A-level results of two A*s and an A.
Astria, 18, from just outside Bury, achieved her three A*s in government and politics, history and religious studies.
She said: “I really wasn’t expecting to get three A*s. I felt the exam season didn’t go very well. It may just be me overthinking things. I felt some of the exam papers were quite tough.”
She said she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do exactly in the future, but she wants it to be related to history, maybe archiving or working for a museum or researching for history TV shows.
Anika, 18, from Red Lodge, got A*s for English literature and German and an A for French.
As well as studying at LMH, she has a choral scholarship for Oxford’s Exeter College, where she will sing in the chapel choir.
Anika, a former head chorister at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, said: “I got higher in English than I thought I would, but I had already seen it on UCAS - I knew I had the right grades to get into Oxford, I just didn’t know what I had got - which took the pressure off this morning.”
She said she really enjoys translating so she may do something with that in the future.
Also celebrating was Shaun Belcher who achieved A*A*A and a double A* in his EPQ and will be going on to study computer science at UEA.
St Benedict’s Catholic School
At St Benedict’s Catholic School, a total of 63 students sat A-levels, with 75 per cent of grades A*-C. The overall pass rate was 97 per cent.
Also, 26 per cent of grades were at A or A* and 50 per cent were A-B.
Headteacher Imogen Senior said: “We are really, really proud, there are lots of really strong results as a school as a whole and for individual students.
“There are individual students who have done exceptionally well and especially those who have done so in the face of adversity.”
Maria Ferreira Anjo, 18, from Thetford, was pleased to have achieved what she needed in her subjects of biology, chemistry and psychology to get into Bradford University to study paramedic science.
Throughout her exams, she was supported by Morrigan the black labrador, who belongs to Mrs Senior and her husband Jon, a chemistry teacher at the school.
Maria said: “I get stressed when I do exams and Mr Senior suggested I take their dog into the exams. If I got overwhelmed I would pet Morrigan and that would calm me down.”
While taking her A-levels, she said she had had a lot going on at home.
Mrs Senior added: “We are so proud of her.”
In praise for the school, Maria said all her teachers and Mrs Senior had done so much for her.
“They are just so awesome. It’s just the best school,” she said.
Other notable achievers included Oscar Lyons, 18, from Bury, who achieved A*s in Spanish and religious studies and an A in music and will go on to study jazz piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
He said: “I’m a jazz pianist. I do my concerts and I have got my own ensemble and we play around Bury and just everywhere really.”
He said it was just really nice to get the results and be happy with them.
Luc Wallace, 19, from Bury, was ‘very happy’ with a trio of A*s in maths, biology and chemistry.
“It was a lot of hard work and it feels great for all the hard work to have paid off,” he said.
He is going to take a gap year and is considering reapplying to study medicine after applying before and not getting in.
Mrs Senior said while the A*-C percentage was very slightly down on last year, this is what they expected as this cohort had adjusted grades at GCSE because of the coronavirus pandemic.
You can see a full roundup of results across Suffolk here.
Culford School
At Culford School, near Bury St Edmunds, students are celebrating their impressive performance, with 41 per cent per cent of all grades awarded at A*-A, well above the national average of 28 per cent, while 64 per cent were graded A*- B and 88 per cent A*-C.
The overall passrate (A*-E) was 99 per cent.
Marcus Rackowe, head of sixth form, said: "On behalf of all the staff at Culford, I extend my warmest congratulations to the upper sixth for their outstanding results.
“Their determination over the past two years has truly paid off. We hope the connections and friendships they have created at Culford will last a lifetime, and we look forward to witnessing all they achieve in the future."
Students will be studying in the UK and overseas, with 95 per cent securing a place at a university of their choice.
Head, Claire Bentley, said “We are delighted with this excellent set of results for our pupils, who have worked tirelessly over the last two years.
“Despite media reports attempting to lower expectations and entry requirements into universities, our pupils have shown their resilience and dynamism in producing results that will enable them to pursue their chosen routes through university and degree apprenticeships.
“We are very grateful for all the hard work and commitment from colleagues, whose dedication has enabled pupils to make the most of the vast array of opportunities and the outstanding teaching and learning at Culford. We wish our leavers every happiness and success as they take their next steps.”
West Suffolk College
At West Suffolk College, a total of 1583 students received vocational qualifications achieving a passrate of over 95 per cent with the majority achieving merit and distinction grades.
In terms of the new T-level qualification, 43 students studied on construction, design and surveying, education and early years and health pathways.
On the health and design pathways, 100 per cent of students passed their course.
Dr Nikos Savvas, chief executive of Eastern Education Group, which runs the college, said: “It’s been another incredible year for Eastern Education Group and I would like to congratulate all of our learners on a fantastic set of results.
“Thanks to the support of our amazing staff, the class of 2024 have excelled themselves and we look forward to seeing them all go on and achieve great things in the future.”
Elsie Dean, 19, from Mendlesham, gained a distinction in her T-level in education and childcare with West Suffolk College.
Elsie said: “I’m very pleased and I’m going to Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge to study primary education.
“I really enjoyed my time here. I got to make lots of new friends. The teachers really helped me and supported me with any difficulties and made sure I got the best grade.”
This story will be updated throughout the day.
