A-Level results day

Truro School students receive excellent A-Level results despite exam cancellations

In what has certainly been a year like no other, Truro School are pleased to report 17% of A-Levels were graded A*, an increase of 5%, compared to a national increase of 2%. Furthermore, 43% of all A-Level grades achieved the top-level A*/A results, with 70% graded at A*-B.

Andrew Gordon-Brown said on his final A-Level results day as Headmaster of Truro School: “This was not an easy or typical year for our leaving Upper Sixth, but they remained in good spirits throughout difficult times and continued to apply themselves with their customary dedication to their studies, despite not being officially examined.

“Following Ofqual moderation of our centre assessed grades our students have been awarded a set of results which are very much in line with the strong three-year overall school average. Whilst we are naturally delighted with such a high percentage of top grades, it is perhaps unsurprising that this national data exercise has thrown up some anomalies. We await further guidance on the appeals processes and will be pursuing these vigorously where we feel our students have been assigned a grade below that which they deserve. This unusual results day brings into even sharper focus the fine qualities of this group of young adults who leave as well-rounded individuals who have been accepted into a broad range of excellent universities and who are well equipped to lead fulfilling lives.”

In response to this year’s cancellation of public examinations, Truro School was quick to put together an academic enrichment programme that aimed to stretch and prepare students as they advance to the next stages of their education or careers. With enthusiasm and passion for their respective subjects, teaching staff demonstrated some of their expertise that cannot normally be covered under the constraints of the public exam syllabi.

In the (enrichment) programme, Upper Sixth explored deeper learning in a range of contemporary and historical issues that interested them and related to the subjects they studied, and it was an opportunity to enhance skills before university to help them navigate their degrees or the world of work, to impress future employers, and stand out.

Andrew Gordon-Brown concluded: “I share the sadness of this wonderful cohort of students who have not been given the opportunity through final exams to show their high ability, work ethic and great potential. Knowing this group of students as I do I can see more clearly than ever that a great education is so much more than a set of examination grades. They have developed a deep body of knowledge, a passion for learning, enjoyed rich experiences and formed strong relationships during their time at Truro School. None of these things can be devalued by this very sad situation in which we find ourselves.”

Truro School remains on hand to support students throughout this period, with career guidance continuing for a further three years after they have left school. As a school, we are immensely proud of how the students have handled this situation and we wish them all the best of luck in the future.

Students react to their results:

Oliver will be heading off to Newcastle in September to study Civil Engineering.

“At first I was a bit disappointed but my grades are still good and after looking at my phone and seeing my university offer I thought it wasn’t so bad after all. I enjoyed sixth form so much and I’ll miss the whole school atmosphere and knowing all the teachers.”

Tom is taking a gap year and will be spending his time training for the Army Reserves.

“Initially I was a little upset but after hearing about some others I thought mine sounded fine. I loved being in the sixth form centre with everyone together socialising.”

Georgia will be reading French and Arabic at Magdalen, Oxford.

“My favourite memory of sixth form is the Slovenia expedition as part of the Gold DofE award. I’m both incredibly excited and nervous about studying in such an ancient and beautiful place, but I’m also looking forward to tackling this new challenge, including spending my second year studying Arabic in the Middle East.”

After studying Spanish and German A-Levels, Henry will be continuing Spanish and German with beginners’ Russian at University of Exeter.

“I feel quite lucky really. The standardising system felt like a weird way to measure grades but I’m excited about being offered my place, hopefully the course will be in real life and not over zoom. We had a really good year group so I’m leaving sixth form with an all-round good experience.”

Alex will be reading History at University of Exeter.

“It all went really well I’m really happy with my grades. The school’s doing a fantastic job in helping those who were affected by any downgrades. There are so many favourite memories from my time at school but I’d pick out the Christmas party and nativity play dressing up ridiculously. It was really fun.”