A-Level Results Day: ‘Outstanding’ set of grades as students look to next steps

There were big smiles at Lynn’s Springwood High School this morning after “another outstanding” set of A-Level results for one of the largest sixth forms in Norfolk.Close to one-fifth of students gained an A* or A grade and just under one-half of students gained an A*-B grade.Springwood’s STEM subjects also did well again this year with 20% gaining A*/A.

“This is another outstanding year for our sixth form students,” said executive head teacher Andy Johnson.”They have all worked so hard with their excellent subject teachers and tutors and it is great to see their hard work paying off. Springwood continues to provide an excellent academic sixth form for Norfolk.”Roger Livesey, chair of trustees and Springwood Local Governing body, added: “Springwood Sixth Form represents the final destination for our Trust’s students alongside many who join us from other secondary schools covering a wide area of Norfolk.

“It is fabulous to see so many successful young people moving on to bright futures.” Jamie Warner-Lynne, Director of Sixth Form Studies, said Springwood was especially proud of those students who secured places at prestigious universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge: Ren Griffiths (Human Social and Political Sciences), Lexie Ampomah (Archaeology and Anthropology), Mackenzie Whitehouse-Baker (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) and Nathan Croasdale (Engineering) are all heading off to Oxbridge.Meanwhile, Vinethmi Kulasinghe will study Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at UCL, Finley Meehan will study Music and Sound at the University of Surrey as part of the prestigious Tonmeister course (a job description in the music and recording industries that describes a so-called ‘sound master’), and Noah Hayes will study Computer Science at Bath. This was also a bumper year for medical school places with four students set to take this path. Elizabeth Mathew, Ahmad Saeed, Matthew Hawkes and Will Dickerson will all be attending medical schools across the country.

“As well as benefiting from the support of a range of external providers, all of these students took leadership roles in our Medicine Programme, sharing their experiences with one another and the Year 12 cohort,” Mr Warner-Lynne said.He added that Springwood had continued to build on its growing success in supporting students who have chosen high-level apprenticeship routes.Nathan Taylor will take up a policing degree apprenticeship with Norfolk Constabulary, Will Bland will start a project management apprenticeship with Lockheed Martin and Evie Lane will pursue one with chartered accountants Mapus, Smith and Lemon.

Meanwhile, Adam Wren will take up a tax apprenticeship with Larkin Gowen, Cadence Staff and Edwin Sabu will become apprentices in accountancy with PEM, and Ruby Goodchild will begin an apprenticeship in Chartered Surveying at Maxey Grounds. Mr Warner-Lynne added: “Although excellent teaching is vital for academic success, the broader opportunities Springwood Sixth Form offers are vital in securing the very best future destinations for each student.“Many of these students also took advantage of the full range of enrichment opportunities on offer at Springwood Sixth Form, including our programme for Early Applicants, quality work experience and support accessing internships at multinational companies in London and fully-funded Study and Volunteering experiences in far-flung countries such as Seoul, Tanzania and Thailand.”

Ren Griffiths will study Human Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge and was delighted with her A* in RE and two As in Psychology and Maths.The 18-year-old said: “I checked the UCAS website before I came in to collect my results so I knew I had my place but I was nervous and excited to see what my results actually were.”I knew I must’ve done well to have got my place in Cambridge and now I can’t wait to start uni because it’s a subject I’m excited about.” She added: “I will miss Springwood. I’ve enjoyed it here, I’ve made some really good friends and I’ve felt supported by the staff throughout my time here.”Vinethmi Kulasinghe will study Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at UCL after achieving five A*s in Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).“I was very nervous coming in here today to collect my results even though I knew I had got into UCL,” the 18-year-old said. “I thought maybe that I’d got one A* so to get five was incredible.”I dropped my envelope in disbelief, I couldn’t believe it. I was so happy. My parents and my sister came in with me today and they were so pleased for me because they knew how hard I had worked.” As for her degree choice, Vinethmi, who has been at Springwood since Year 7, added: “I am fascinated about AI, it’s the next big thing and it’s the way things are going at the moment with technology but why I picked this course is because with the robotics element, it’ll be a combination of hardware and software.”She added: “I have loved my time at Springwood, I don’t think I would have liked to have gone anywhere else. The teachers have been incredible with me.”

Lexie Ampomah will study Archaeology and Anthropology at Oxford after achieving two A*s in Maths and Physics and two As in Further Maths and Economics.“I am so happy with my results,” Lexie said. “I found out I had got into Oxford before coming here but I was still nervous about my results. I really wanted to do well in Maths so I was pleased with this result.The 18-year-old added: “I’ve always been happy here at Springwood. The teachers have been amazing, so supportive and have great knowledge about their subject.” Mackenzie Whitehouse-Baker will also study at Oxford after achieving two A*s in Maths and Economics and a B in English but it was a rollercoaster of a morning for the 18-year-old.“I didn’t get into the Oxford college that I’d originally got an offer for so it’s been a stressful morning but I was glad to have accepted a place at another Oxford college with these grades,” he said.“It was a rollercoaster of emotions today but I’m relieved now because I’m still going to Oxford, which is what I wanted to do and I’ll be studying philosophy, politics and economics.”

As for what he might do after his degree, Mackenzie added: “I’ve always had an idea of wanting to get into teaching or journalism but nothing is set in stone.”Reflecting on his time at Springwood, he added: “I have been here since Year 7 and I have loved my time here. The school has always been really supportive and I’ve made lots of great friends during my time here.” Nathan Croasdale will study Engineering at Cambridge after achieving four A*s in Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics.“I was so relieved to see I got my place and delighted with my results, particularly in physics as the exam was hard,” the former Smithdon student and Dersingham resident said. “I’m not sure right now what I’d like to do with my degree but maybe try to work in Formula One or something with cars.”

Finley Meehan is looking forward to studying the Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) degree at the University of Surrey after achieving three A*s in Maths, Music and Physics.“I’m really pleased with my results but I was most proud of my music grade and now I’m really looking forward to going to Surrey to study for this degree, which means I can still do music whilst studying,” he said.“My uncle recommended this course to me because I was doing the right A-Levels for it and I liked the look of it. I’m not sure what I’ll do with this degree yet but this course does have a year in the industry so I’m hoping that’ll help me figure out what I can do. He added: “I’ve really enjoyed my time at Springwood, the teachers are great. There’s always been a positive atmosphere here.”

Meanwhile, Felix Egmore achieved three As in Chemistry, Biology and Maths and is now looking forward to studying Chemistry at Imperial College London – the same degree and university that Mr Johnson attended.“I was spam refreshing this morning to check that I had got into Imperial and when I saw I was in, I hugged my mum, it was a great moment,” he said. “It’s one thing getting the offer and it’s another thing then getting the grades.“It felt like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders coming into Springwood this morning to get my results. I came in with a huge smile on my face and most of my friends got where they wanted to as well so it’s been a great morning.”As for following in the footsteps of Springwood’s executive head teacher, he added: “As soon as Mr Johnson found out, he called me to his office and he was telling me stories about his time there and we’ve had plenty of chats since. He’s just as excited as I am, I think.” This year 43 students became Norfolk Scholars for achieving either two grade A*/As and one grade C, one grade “A*/A and two grade Bs at full A level, or A/A* in Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and three B grades or two Distinctions and one Merit at BTEC/OCR National Level, or one distinction and two Merits and A/A* EPQThese students were: Zyad Abdelwahed, Lexie Ampomah, Noah Bannister, Ivy Brown, Freddie Burt, Rosie Clark, Libby Coe, Daniel Cook, William Cousins, Nathan Croasdale, Abigail Denham, William Dickerson, Tiah East-Freeman, Felix Egmore, Bertie Gathercole, Joseph George, Ren Griffiths, Harry Grimmett, Matthew Hawkes, Noah Hayes, Amy Holmes, Grace Jarvis, Ruby Jeffries, Jasmine Kirby, Vinethmi Kulasinghe, Evie Lane, Xiang Lin, Elizabeth Mathew, Tom Mathew, Finley Meehan, Edward Melton, Alexander Moreland, Isabella Perks, Chloe Sayer, Ahmad Saeed, Jeeya Upadhyay, Louisa Walker, Elsie Whitby, Mackenzie Whitehouse-Baker, Ben Whitmore, Bella Wilkinson-Robinson, Harry Woolsey and Leah Yeldham.

---

---