Students make the grade as pass rate jumps again!

Published: 20 August, 2010
by PETER GRUNER

ISLINGTON sixth formers are celebrating another year of improved A-level  results but there will be concerns for many that they will not be admitted  to their university of choice.

Provisional data shows a 99 per cent pass rate and 61 per cent of students were awarded A*-C grades. This compares to 49 per cent in 2009, resulting in a  12 per cent increase.

For the first time an A* grade at A-level has this year been introduced for students who achieve more than 90 per cent in a subject. 21 per cent of sixth-form students from Highbury Grove, Central Foundation Boys School and Highbury Fields Girls School were awarded an A* or A grade.

At Highbury Fields School, Wai Fun Lam gained an A* in maths and A grades in biology, chemistry and physics. 

Annmarie Mcgann from Highbury Grove was celebrating two As and two Bs in economics, Polish, biology and chemistry.  She has been accepted by Glasgow University.  

She said: “I’m very happy with the results today. My sister, mum and dad have all called me. Nobody in my family has ever been to university so it’s a big deal for us.”

Annmarie’s classmate, Peter Soi, will study civil engineering at UCL after achieving two A*s, two As and a C grade in art and design, maths, physics and Chinese. 

City and Islington College had an overall pass rate of 97.7 per cent, with 43 per cent of these entries marked at A*-B grade. 

Simisola Onagbesan from the college has been offered a place at Birmingham University after gaining an A in accounting and finance and two Bs and a C in other subjects.

Islington boys from Central Foundation also fared well. Yusuf Ali is planning to study animation at Middlesex University with his A in economics and business, A* in design and technology and B in ICT. Also from Central Foundation, Toby Adesanmi gained B grades in maths and double science after only coming to England from Nigeria two years ago. 

He will be taking up a place at Nottingham University to study chemical engineering.