A-level students triumph in Islington

Students at Islington’s Sixth Form Consortium (IC6) have shone once again in their A-level results and vocational qualifications – with a record 100 per cent pass rate in A-level English.

This year 70.3 per cent of exam grades were A*-C, and 42.1 per cent of A level entries were graded at A*-B.

More than half of vocational qualifications were at either Distinction (D) or Distinction* (D*) with several students achieving the highest-possible triple D*.

The overall pass rate in A-level and equivalent vocational qualifications in Islington was 96.5 per cent.

The consortium is made up of students from Central Foundation Boys' School, Highbury Fields, St Aloysius College and Highbury Grove schools.

Many students achieved the necessary grades to secure places at their first choice university, with prestigious Russell Group universities such as Warwick, Southampton and Queen Mary University of London among them.

Mayor of Islington Cllr Kat Fletcher and Islington’s Deputy Leader Cllr Janet Burgess met students as they picked up their results at Highbury Grove and Highbury Fields schools this morning.

The Mayor said: “It was a privilege to meet so many young people on such a momentous and emotional day for them.

“Every one of them is bursting with potential and it was a pleasure to hear about the hopes and dreams now within their grasp.

“Their hard work and determination has paid off – I’m so proud and wish them all the best of luck.”

Cllr Richard Watts, leader of Islington Council, said: “The high standard of Islington’s schools means our young people leave on a solid footing, able to achieve whatever they put their mind to.

“The proof is an increasing number of our young people achieving the grades they’ve worked so hard for.

“I wish them all the very best of luck for their next step, whether it’s higher education, training or employment.”

Behind the statistics there were some fantastic individual performances too.
Highbury Grove student Almina Agus is hoping to study history at Cambridge University after getting an A* in politics, A in English literature and B in history.

Almina, the first in her family to go to university, revealed she was so nervous on her way to pick up her results she burst into tears on the bus, hadn’t slept a wink all night or eaten for 24 hours.

With the results in her hand, she reflected: “Picking A-levels was easy; I always wanted to study history and enjoy the research.”

Meanwhile Highbury Fields student Seema Ahmed, 18, was so dedicated she was “up at four in the morning in the Easter holidays perfecting every single paragraph” of her English literature coursework.

The hard work paid off and Seema is heading to Queen Mary University of London to study international relations, with B grades in sociology and English literature, and a C in politics.

She added: “It has been really intense and a lot of sweat and tears. I can honestly say it has been the hardest I have ever worked. I just wanted to do the best I could.”

One of Highbury Fields’ highest achievers was Nazli, who received an A in maths, A* in further maths and an A in physics.

Gladys Berry, headteacher, said: “Nazli has always enjoyed maths and has put a lot of care and attention into where she wants to go, and has opted for Warwick. She’s very sweet-natured and hard-working, committed and humble.”

Back at Highbury Grove, several students achieved the top triple-Distinction* grades in their vocational qualifications.

Rimants Reiniks is heading to the University of East London to study architectural design technology after getting the grades in ICT. The same result for Deniz Boyraz and Enes Altin means they are both headed to Brunel University to read computer science.


FURTHER CASE STUDIES

Maria Krasteva 

Maria came to the UK with her parents from the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv in 2010.

Within a year of starting at Highbury Grove she was in the top sets for all subjects and today found out she is heading to the University of York.

She will read philosophy and politics there after achieving an A grade in politics, a B in philosophy and ethics, and a C in English Literature.

“I called all my grandparents this morning,” she said. “We have this tradition when someone achieves something – the family all gets together and invite friends over and they eat dinner together to celebrate. They have probably told the whole city by now!”

Casseem Campbell

Casseem is another bright spark who is considering his options to study economics and philosophy, after achieving an A* in economics and business, A in philosophy and ethics, and a C in English literature and language at Highbury Grove.

He has just been signed to a modelling agency but is keeping his feet firmly on the ground in case it doesn’t work out.

“I’m really proud of myself; it has been two years of hard stress and a lot of ups and downs,” he said.

“I think the best way to get good grades is to learn from your mistakes. You have to have a lot of self-confidence, and developing yourself as a person is important to get the grades.”

Casseem is a young leader at the Renaissance Foundation, which has seen him represent the organisation at Wimbledon tennis and Formula 1 race events and attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. An Amos Bursary winner, he has also undertaken internships at Linklaters and Barclays.