Staff at The Kings School in Ottery St Mary have expressed their delight at the results achieved by students sitting their A-Level and BTEC results.

Post-16 Students from the school received their results on Thursday (August 18) in what is being described as a ‘transitional year’ between 2019 when the last exams took place and the following two years when assessments were done directly by schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After getting their results, students are now able to progress on their next steps in education or employment with some Kings’ students receiving three A*s and a number of pupils will now be going to top universities, including Oxford, studying courses including law and medicine.

A spokesman from The Kings School said that while it is important to celebrate the highest attaining students, it’s also important to recognise the achievements of others who are delighted with their grades.

Headteacher Rob Gammon said “This set of examination results has been achieved in the context of an incredibly difficult two years.

“This cohort of students were unable to sit their GCSEs in 2020 and this summer’s exam results are the first external assessments that they have taken.

“Their resilience has been remarkable given these conditions.

“We could not be prouder of such an inspiring and talented group of young people.

“These results would also not have been possible without the support of parents and carers and the hard work of staff at the school.”

Midweek Herald: Kings School student Abi Price with her resultsKings School student Abi Price with her results (Image: Kings School)

Midweek Herald: Annie Dunn with her resultsAnnie Dunn with her results (Image: Kings School)

Midweek Herald: Ben Sheridan getting his A-Level resultsBen Sheridan getting his A-Level results (Image: Kings School)

Midweek Herald: Joe Hynam got his A-Level resultsJoe Hynam got his A-Level results (Image: Kings School)

Midweek Herald: Josh Bell got his resultsJosh Bell got his results (Image: Kings School)

Midweek Herald: Lydia Gammon collecting her A-Level resultsLydia Gammon collecting her A-Level results (Image: Kings School)

Midweek Herald: martha Raffell got her A-Level resultsmartha Raffell got her A-Level results (Image: Kings School)

Nationally, A-level grades received by UK students are down on the past two years but remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland got results on Thursday, having sat exams for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak.

Grades had been expected to drop back from 2021 levels – when pupils were assessed by their teachers – as part of a transition year which saw marks aiming to reflect a midway point between last year and 2019.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) said the overall pass rate – the proportion of entries graded A* to E – fell by 1.1 percentage points from 99.5 per cent in 2021 to 98.4 per cent this year.

But this is up by 0.8 points from 97.6 per cent in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.