Outstanding performances include deputy head boy winning place at Cambridge
Diallo Williams to go to Cambridge to study law
|
A Level students at Isleworth & Syon School have faced one of the most challenging set of circumstances for any cohort in the school’s history but they have still managed to deliver some extraordinary performances.
As with many schools across the country, there is frustration over this week’s decision by the government over the about the possible use of mock results to appeal grades. The school described it as an unhelpful distraction which caused confusion and frustration to students and staff alike, especially as the procedures for such appeals are yet to be published. However, the students have maintained a focus on the next stage of education or on apprenticeships and the world of work.
Deputy Head Boy Diallo Williams will study law at King’s College, Cambridge, whilst former Head Boy Aadi Mudhar is off to the University of York to study Film and Television Production along with classmate Ross McQueen. Dara Razaghi will study medicine at University College London and Ruhul-Amin Ahmed will take up a place at The University of Bristol to study Aerospace Engineering. Alec Brundle has already jetted off to Siena College, Albany in the USA where he starts his Chemistry degree on Monday whilst also benefitting from a rugby scholarship.
Ben Dunham is an especially inspirational student in this year’s cohort. Halfway through Year 12, he was fighting a life-threatening infection that required an emergency operation and a lengthy spell in intensive care. He spent significant time in recovery but battled back to school at the start of Year 13 and the schools says he has always maintained a positive attitude. He managed to complete his courses and he will now take up a college place locally.
A spokesperson for the school said, “His Sixth Form experience has truly been one that demonstrates the virtues of resilience and perseverance that we value so highly.”
Just a few months ago the school received an award from SSAT (the schools, students and teacher network), in recognition of the exceptional progress in 2019 for the Applied General Subjects. Students who completed either triple, double or single awards (three, two or one grades) in Business, ICT or Sport, achieved 80% Distinction* or Distinction Grades (the equivalent to A* or A grades). Indeed, 100% of all awards taken in 2019 were graded at Merit or above.
This year’s cohort maintained high standards. Amongst them, Alfie Dennis, Ryan Peries, Danut Minecan and Alex Spahia attained a string of top grades - they are all off to a variety of universities around the country. Ryan also managed to be scouted for international selection in both football and rugby whilst studying hard.
Headteacher Mr Ferguson commented, “Congratulations to all the students on their results in what has been one of the most challenging periods of time in education. We wish them all well with their next steps.”
This year’s results nationally look set to be controversial despite a increase in A* and A grades with headteachers describing some lowered grades as "unfair and unfathomable".
In England, 36% of entries had a lower grade than teachers predicted with 3% were down by two grades with 2% of grades being increased. Schools sent predictions to exam boards along with a ranking of pupils by ability.
Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union said, "While there has been an overall increase in top grades, we are very concerned that this disguises a great deal of volatility among the results at school and student level," said Mr Barton.
"We have received heart-breaking feedback from school leaders about grades being pulled down in a way that they feel to be utterly unfair and unfathomable. They are extremely concerned about the detrimental impact on their students."
The Sixth Form Colleges Association has called the system for calculating A-level grades, "flawed and unreliable" after almost all colleges said grades were lower or much lower than predicted.
For students hoping for university places, it is expected to be relatively easier to get places due to a sharp fall in the number of international students and UCAS say that universities are likely to be very flexible with students who have missed grades.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
August 13, 2020
