Hackney sixth-formers celebrate results as three head to Oxbridge

Hackney sixth-formers collected their A-level, T-level and BTEC results this morning, with three Mossbourne students heading for Oxford and Cambridge and several of the borough’s sixth forms reporting their best grades to date

Hackney Council said provisional figures gathered on the day suggested students had again done well in both A-levels and vocational qualifications, with many schools reporting grades above the England average. Verified national comparisons will not be published until later in the summer.

Brownies

At The Excelsior Academy in Shacklewell, Calum spent the day before results baking rather than worrying, and arrived with a tray of brownies for his friends. He is going on to study politics, his favourite subject, and wanted to thank his politics teacher in particular.

“Even if I didn’t get exactly the grade he hoped I was going to get, he’s not disappointed in me, he’s still proud of me,” he said.

Not everyone was heading straight to university. Kulthum has decided on a gap year and hopes to find work, possibly in a nursery.

“I am happy. I now have more confidence taking a gap year during which I definitely want to find work, maybe in a nursery, do something valuable, something that gives me more experience,” she said.

Shahfah Begum, deputy headteacher at the academy, said it had been “wonderful” to see students coming in to collect their grades. “This is just a stepping stone for them and for their careers, but it’s nice to see them happy with their outcomes and where they are going to go next,” she said.

Midwifery

Two friends at All Saints Catholic High School in Stamford Hill, Trinnaye and Sherlomi, both got the grades they needed to train as midwives. Sherlomi is off to the University of Nottingham.

“My emotions are all over the place. I am excited, I’m happy, my hard work paid off,” Trinnaye said.

Sherlomi said she had known early on what she wanted to do. “I always knew I wanted to take care of others, and for me this just makes sense,” she said.

Also at All Saints, Laila is to study children’s nursing at King’s College London, where she plans to join a book club and the African Caribbean Society, and is hoping for placements abroad.

Oxbridge

The borough’s most striking individual results came at Mossbourne Sixth Form Hackney, where three students have Oxbridge places. Ishaana Cannell, who achieved three A*s, will study medicine at Oxford; Shania Chin, also with three A*s, will read history at Cambridge; and Felix Dally, with A*A*A, will study veterinary medicine at Cambridge – the first Mossbourne student to do so, according to the school.

Obinna Okoro, with three A*s, is bound for computer science at the University of Warwick, while Kaydon Addai has taken a degree apprenticeship in business administration at Rokos Capital Management, run with the University of Exeter. Two former head students also collected results: Finlay Groarke (A*A*A) goes to Edinburgh to read philosophy and economics, and Zahra Rayegani (A*BB) to Bristol for sociology.

The sixth form, part of the Mossbourne Federation, said a quarter of all A-levels taken were awarded an A*, with 57 per cent at A* or A and 83 per cent at B or above.

Shoreditch

At City of London Academy Shoreditch Park, the trust said its Hackney Collegiate Sixth Form had recorded its best results yet, including several sets of straight A*s. Among them were Sofia and Zofia, who studied geography together and are now heading to opposite ends of the country, in Bristol and Durham.

“I’m excited to leave London and explore somewhere new. I don’t know where studying Geography will take me next, I don’t have a plan, but I’m happy with that and that I got the grades to get my place at uni,” Zofia said.

At The City Academy, Hackney in Homerton, the trust reported a record number of A* and A grades alongside BTEC results it said put the school in the top 10 per cent nationally for progress. Elsa, who achieved A*AA, is going to the University of Sheffield to study biochemistry, having spent the year competing internationally in BMX; she became European junior champion this summer.

“In both my studies and my sporting career, I draw on my mum’s advice to just keep turning those pedals,” she said.

City of London Academies Trust, sponsored by the City of London Corporation, said half of all grades across its schools were A* or A and that its sixth forms ranked in the top 25 per cent nationally for progress. Mark Emmerson, its chief executive, thanked staff “whose hard work makes days like these so rewarding”.

Cardinal Pole

Cardinal Pole Catholic School in Homerton said 83 per cent of its students secured at least a grade C and nearly half a B or above, with progress in chemistry, history, maths, further maths and philosophy in the top 25 per cent of schools nationally. Every student taking maths got at least a C.

On its vocational courses, 96 per cent of students achieved at least MMM and nearly half the top grades of DDD (Distinction) or above. Sarah achieved D*D*D* in health and social care, and Viktoria A*AB in maths, further maths and physics.

Adam Hall, executive headteacher, said the results were “the culmination of years of commitment, perseverance and ambition”.

All figures released by schools on results day are provisional and have not been independently verified.

Cllr Soraya Adejare, cabinet member for children, young people and early intervention, and Cllr Laura-Louise Fairley, deputy cabinet member for SEND support, said in a joint statement that a student’s “long-term future is defined by your potential, your passions, and who you are as a person”, whether the next step was further study, training, an apprenticeship or work.

Students still deciding can find advice on the Hackney Education website or through Young Hackney.