Students around the county are receiving their A level results this morning and learning their outcomes of two years work along with the rest of Wales, England and Northern Ireland.

They have achieved grades despite the country having returned to 2019 grading levels following the teacher assessments during the Covid pandemic.  

The disruption of Covid to students' education means many will not have sat exams before.

At Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools, students had an “impressive crop of top grades”, with 38.5 per cent A*-A grades, well above the national average of 27.2% and four students able to take up their places at Oxford and Cambridge.  

At MSC, 35 per cent of grades achieved this year in Year 13 were at the very top A*/A grades and 84% of students achieved A*- C.

Taking the English examination boards, results across the country have returned to 2019 grading levels.  

Despite this, Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools’ results still showed an impressive 38.5 per cent A*-A grades, well above the national average of 27.2%. 

In addition, the wide-range of subjects chosen for university reflects the broad curriculum offered at the school.  

Ellis Chan, Madeleine Bainbridge, from Ross-on-Wye, Otis Walker and Joe Smith were the successful Oxbridge students. 

Ellis, a talented pianist, takes a choral scholarship at Jesus College, Cambridge, to read Maths, having achieved four A*s. 

Madeleine, who joined the schools in Year 1, will read English Language and Literature at St Anne’s College, Oxford; Otis, last year’s Deputy Head Boy and vice-captain of the 1st XV rugby team, will go to Brasenose College, Oxford, to read Geography; and Joe Smith takes up his place at Wolfson College, Cambridge. 

The Haberdashers schools have supported students through their A level studies, whilst they have been able to follow their dreams and passions. 

Professional cricketer Sophia Smale, from Cwmbran, who missed some of the Spring term due to representing England at the Women’s ICC Under-19 T20 World Cup in South Africa, still achieved fantastic A and B grades. Sophia will receive her results whilst playing for the Oval Invincibles in the women’s Hundred competition. 

Keen golfer Megan Vineall, who was part of the Wales girls’ team in a three-day competition this summer, juggled her sport with her studies, obtaining a fantastic A*AA and will study Modern European Languages at Durham University.  

In a similar vein, Matei Vaideanu, from Chepstow, studied for his A-levels whilst undertaking the task of transporting hundreds of items to Ukrainian refugees sheltering in neighbouring Romania.  He gains A*A*A*C and will read Medicine at Imperial College, London.  

Oli Gill will receive help with his university funding through being a recipient of the Haberdashers’ Company Scholarship and gained a maximum haul of three A*s to study Economics at the University of Exeter.  

Outstanding results across boys and girls 

There were a number of other outstanding individual results for both UK and international students.   

Marco Ho and Ryan Cheng were awarded A*A*A*A and A*AAA and will study Biomedical Sciences and Physiotherapy at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Birmingham, respectively.  

Jason Pinto, from Abergavenny, achieved A*A*A and will follow in the footsteps of his parents in studying Medicine, at Imperial College London. 

Trumpeter Jack Guerin, from Chepstow, achieved A*A*AA and is heading to the University of Warwick to study Physics.  

Dylan Meek, from Monmouth, achieved A*A*A* and will be going to the University of Exeter, to study Geography.  

Hope Farquhar, Sam Britner, Lauren Young and Natasha Baird all gained excellent results of A*AA and will take up their university places to study French and Politics, Physics, English with a year abroad, and Economics, respectively, Sam is also a very talented Music Scholar, whilst Lauren, who lives in Monmouth, was Deputy Head Girl, last year. 

Some students have chosen to take a more vocational route and Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools can celebrate some notable placements next year. 

Archie Fisher, from Ross-on-Wye, will be taking up a Level 2 Race Technicians course with the National College for Motorsport at the prestigious Silverstone.  

Cian Davies joins a naval engineering apprenticeship, whilst Coleford’s Frankie Brown will take a place to read a BA (Hons) in Production Arts (Stange and Screen) at the famous Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.  

Harvey Thomas, from Monmouth, will take up a Land-based Technician Apprenticeship with Chandlers, Bristol, while Katie Bullock, from Ross-on-Wye, will head to Cheltenham General Hospital for a Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship with the NHS. 

‘Grounded’ students leave Habs with more than just good results.   

Headmaster at Monmouth School for Boys, Mr Simon Dorman, and Acting Head at Monmouth School for Girls, Mrs Rachel Rees, were delighted with the achievements of the students.  “We are so pleased for our students, who have worked their socks off to get their grades,” they said.   

“It is such a pleasure to see all the hard work of our young men and women, and the brilliant teachers who have supported them every step of the way. They can now celebrate whilst planning for the next exciting steps in their educational journey, whatever that may be. 

“Of course, the A level grades which our students leave with only represent a fraction of their achievements at school and they have done so much as sportsmen and women, musicians, performers and in a host of extra-curricular endeavours.” 

“Our Year 13 leavers are humble and grounded young people who are great ambassadors for Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools.  We are looking forward to following their progress.” 

The Director of Sixth Form Studies at MCS, Mrs Caroline Guest, said how delighted she was with the work of the students and their determination to succeed.

“Our students leave with the knowledge, skills and experiences to reach their full potential in their next pathway and in life. We are very proud of our students and their achievements. We are a fully comprehensive school and do our very best to support all students succeed. Our students are enormously talented and able in so many fields of study and skill. To be able to work alongside each individual and watch them grow in confidence and ambition is such a rewarding experience for our staff”.

The overwhelming majority of students have secured their first-choice pathway, be that a university place, apprenticeship or other exciting next step in their lives. Students have been accepted onto highly competitive courses such as Aerospace Engineering, Medicine and Architecture. Students have also secured places on higher level apprenticeships, including the Ministry of Defence, a wide range of Russell Group University courses and degrees in Law and Film making.

The Headteacher at MCS, Mr Hutchison, praised the work of students, families and staff in achieving these outstanding results:

“These results are a wonderful achievement for a hugely impressive cohort of students. We have been so impressed with how they have applied themselves to their studies. They all now have the exciting next stages of their lives to look forward to, whether that is the university course of their choice, an apprenticeship, a technical qualification, employment or other adventures. We are delighted to see the results of our highly aspirational and comprehensive ethos. A particular thanks also to all of our staff here at MCS as well as parents and carers for their support of the students and the school.”

If you are interested in joining the Sixth Form at MCS and becoming part of a large, vibrant and successful Sixth Form, please contact Mrs K Jones at Monmouth Comprehensive School 01600 775184/email [email protected]