Pioneering pupils celebrate UCL Academy’s first A-level results
UCL Academy pupils Amardeep Chawala, Brahim Mansour and Mayya Vorona celebrate getting their A-level results - Credit: Archant
Camden’s only academy school has rocketed up the league tables after its students set an “outstanding” precedent for future years in its first ever set of A-level results.
In a historic day for UCL Academy, in Adelaide Road, Swiss Cottage, the school exceeded the national average for A* to C grades last week.
Top performer Brahim Mansour is the first pupil to win a place at the school’s sponsor, University College London (UCL), in Bloomsbury, after achieving three A*s. Brahim hopes to one day find a cure for cancer, and will take the first step towards his goal with a chemistry masters.
Principal Geraldine Davies said: “We are calling these students ‘pioneers’. We have got children into medicine, into Cambridge, into UCL, and into a whole host of top universities on challenging courses.
“I’m just very, very proud of them and proud of the way the staff have overcome the challenges.”
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Character
About 80 per cent of students in Year 13, known as Level 3 at UCL Academy, achieved A* to C grades, in comparison with the national average of 76.5 per cent. Students shined brightest in maths and the sciences, with 94pc getting A* to C grades in maths and more than 80 per cent achieving top marks in biology and chemistry.
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The results have shone a positive light on the academy following a disappointing first set of AS-levels last year, in addition to a critical first Ofsted inspection report published in June.
The school opened to great fanfare in September 2012 but was graded as “requires improvement” – one up from the lowest Ofsted rating – in June and was told to improve the quality of its teaching, the progress made by pupils and the way the academy is managed.
Mrs Davies said: “There’s no point ignoring that last year was difficult for everybody but they have shown character and they have overcome those difficulties. They have done so well.
“If the students who have had a turbulent start can achieve all this, then my expectations are for even better results next year.”
Alice Lucas, assistant principal, added: “Staff, students and families are deservedly celebrating with an outstanding set of results this summer. We are extremely proud of each and every student and the hard work and commitment they have shown to their studies.”
