Students and staff at Dame Allan’s Schools in Newcastle are celebrating another excellent batch of A Level examination results.
It was particularly good news for the Head Boy and Head Girl, who both achieved a clean sweep of A* grades – Head Boy Geordie Cheetham in History, French and Maths and Head Girl Virginia Barbour in History, Politics and Theatre Studies.
This fantastic result sees both of them able to accept offers into Cambridge to study History and Politics from September.
Geordie said: “Today is not how I imagined it would be, it’s definitely a bit strange, but it’s been a weird year. I’ve always been interested in history and Cambridge obviously has such a great reputation, so I’m thrilled that my grades mean I’m off to St John’s College in the autumn.”
Virginia was similarly joyful, but shocked at her results: “I don’t know how to feel about it all to be honest; I’m really pleased, but shocked as well – with all the uncertainty of the past few months, I thought I’d have to resit! Everyone laughed at the idea of the Head Boy and Head Girl going to Cambridge and I don’t think anyone really expected me to even apply for Cambridge, so it’s nice to prove everyone wrong. Now I just have to power through the pretty huge reading list…”
They’re joined by classmate Sam Meston, who achieved A* grades in German and Philosophy and an A grade in Biology. His results mean he is also heading to Cambridge in September to begin a Chinese Studies course.
Sam said: “I was so nervous for today. With the unpredictability of no exams, there has been a real sense of limbo over the past few months. It got to the point where I just wanted to know either way for a sense of certainty, but I’m thrilled with the results. I’ve always been interested in other cultures, but it has become a bit of an obsession over the last couple of years so I’m looking forward to uni in September.”
Dr Hind, Principal at Dame Allan’s Schools said: “In what has been a particularly challenging year for the students, we are delighted to be celebrating the success of our students once again.
“Whilst we are delighted for students like Geordie, Virginia and Sam, who have achieved excellent results, we are equally pleased for each and every student whose individual effort and resilience has brought them their own best possible results.
“The ethos of Dame Allan’s Schools is to educate the whole child and tailor learning to the individual needs of each student. We support our students in being the very best they can be – no matter the circumstances in which they find themselves. Today’s results are testament to the success of this approach.
“I wish all the students every success in the future.”