Photo: comedy_nose @ flickr

Sixth-formers across South and East London have received their A and AS Level results – grades which will determine whether they can take up a place at their university of choice.

Competition has been particularly fierce this year, with the introduction of the new ‘A*’ grade, designed to reward candidates at the top end of the marking scale.

Nationally, pass rates have risen for the 28th successive year, and the number of students achieving As has also increased slightly. In its first year of use, 8.1% of papers overall were given the new A* grade.

At Croydon High School, candidates achieved an impressive 100% pass rate, with 84% of papers taken awarded the A*, A or B grades. Three of the school’s students, Natalie Kulenicz, Louise Bond and Priyanka Patel, achieved 3 A* grades each.

Headteacher Debbie Leonard congratulated her pupils, noting: “99% of our girls have automatically secured their places at their first choice university.”

At Riddlesdown Collegiate, also in Croydon, 6 students achieved the new top grade. Principal Gordon Smith praised the ‘excellent’ results and said staff and students had performed ‘magnificently.’

Lewisham’s Christ the King Sixth Form College reported a 98.2% pass rate for its A Level students, of which papers 35.4% received A*-B grades. The college’s BTEC National students also managed a 100% pass rate.

Principal Jane Overbury described herself as ‘very proud’ of the ‘hard work and dedication’ of her students.

Tower Hamlets College achieved a 94% pass rate, including eight students who achieved the A* grade.

In Hackney, Stoke Newington School and Sixth Form also had a 94% pass rate, while Our Lady’s Convent High School in Stamford Hill reached 99% – with 83% of papers graded C or above.

BSix Sixth Form College in Lower Clapton has also been celebrating after 19-year-old Allum Bokhari became its first student to get into Oxford University.

Meanwhile, Shoreditch-based Hackney Community College showed a distinct improvement in its A Level pass rate, achieving 97% – an eight percent increase on last year. To celebrate its students’ results, the college posted some short videos on its Youtube account.

Deputy Principal Lois Fowler said: “Our students have worked incredibly hard and have achieved impressive results. At Hackney Community College, we’re dedicated to sustaining the steady improvement that we’ve worked for in recent years.”