After an unprecedentedly difficult exam year, many Catholic schools are celebrating results as some students prepare to move on to the universities of their choice.
St Columba’s College in St Alban's, an independent Catholic day school for pupils aged 4—18 under the care of The Brothers of the Sacred Heart, is among the schools where most pupils have obtained the A-levels they needed.
Headmaster David Buxton said: “In an exam year like no other, I congratulate our students on the resilience that they have shown amid all the exam confusion and chaos. As always, what matters most is that students are able to progress on to their universities. I’m delighted and relieved that for the vast majority of our students that this has been the case.”
Our outgoing head boy, Gus McMahon, will study Classics at the University of Oxford, having achieved A* grades in French, History and Latin and an A* in the Extended Project.
Gus McMahon
Davide Moruzzi will move on to Kings College London to study Religion, Politics and Society after achieving all A* grades in History, Politics and RE as well as a further A* in the Extended Project.
Andrew Cottingham will study Maths at the University of Warwick after achieving all A* grades in Economics, Maths and Further Maths and an A in the Extended Project.
Sean Smith also achieved straight A* grades in Economics, Maths and Further Maths and is going on to study Maths at the University of Warwick.
Patrick Cooper will study Business Management at Kings College London after achieving A* grades in Business and Geography and an A in Economics.
. We strive for academic excellence whilst realising that it is well-rounded education that best prepares our young people for the world and workplace of tomorrow.
St Columba’s, nurtures the key Columban qualities of “courage, courtesy and compassion” is known for its strong community values. The college works in close partnership with parents and embraces an ethose of compassionate service borne out in the College motto of Cor ad Cor Loquitur – Heart Speaks to Heart.
At Christ the King Sixth Forms, a group of three state schools in south London, pupils and teachers celebrated another year of excellent examination success where students overcame adversity and taking part in distance learning during Covid-19 to progress to universities across the country or into apprenticeship or employment opportunities.
Successes included one student, Temitope Idowu, who blogged for The Tablet about life in lockdown and who has achieved her ambition to go to Cambridge.
Executive Principal Shireen Razey said “We are so proud of our students who have completed their studies during unprecedented times. It was delightful to see our students on site and to have the CTK community together again. CTK students have shown resilience, enthusiasm and dedication throughout and we wish each of our students every future success.”
Temitope got AAA and is going to the University of Cambridge to study English Literature.
Temi said: “When I started CTK, applying to Oxford or Cambridge was something that I had thought about but I just didn’t feel like it was within my reach. On enrolment day, I was told straight away that because of my GCSE results, applying to Oxbridge was something I could look at. I brushed it aside. It didn’t feel achievable.
“The moment that changed everything was when I attended an alumni evening for Scholarship Graduate Programme students. It gave me the amazing opportunity to speak to past CTK students who had progressed to Oxford and Cambridge. That was the moment I realised it was something I really wanted to do and something I could achieve if I wanted to. It changed my whole mindset. I really don’t think I could have got to where I am now if it wasn’t for all the role models CTK introduced me to, all the external speaker events where I saw Nigerian young people succeeding, this really inspired me to do my best and to achieve the highest I could.”
Temi was one of three students to receive a CTK Metric Capital University Scholarship worth £15,000 each. Temi said: “Since I found out that I received an offer from Cambridge I had been looking for a scholarship because I don’t necessarily come from a family with a lot of money and didn’t want to put too much strain on my mum. To apply, I had to write no more than 500 words on why I felt I deserved the scholarship and any obstacles that I overcame. This got me thinking about something that held me back for a very long time. I opened up more and really dug into all the health issues that I experienced growing up and how it made me really limit the way I saw myself. My health issues were what led to me discovering a love of reading, and also made me realise that I could write my own stories. When I was younger, I suffered from health problems and I was bullied at primary school which affected my body image all the way to high school.
“And then I read an online novel called ‘Becoming Beautiful’ written by a teenage girl. This book honestly changed my life. It made me realise how amazing a book can be. When I read this book, I had never felt so understood. That’s why I’m so interested in all the words we use, especially what is going on right now – how damaging words can be – and how much of an impact words can have over others. All of this inspired me to want to study English Literature at University!
“I am also very grateful because I have an amazing mum and two older sisters who are inspirational to me. My mum pulled me up through every situation and continues to be the most inspirational figure in my life. She moved here from Nigeria with my dad to give me and my older sisters a better life. No matter what happened to her – what she went through, she always faces things with a kind smile. I try to take on her approach as best I can and that has inspired me and kept me going”.
CTK students were able to secure places at top universities, Brian was delighted to get D*DD in Health & Social Care and is going to study Pharmacy at East Anglia University.
Joseph got A, A, B and is going to Newcastle University to study Combined Honours in Geography, Media and Communications.
Marceli was really pleased to gain grades A, A, B and will go on to study Business and Law and Queen Mary’s University.
Olivia was delighted to achieve grades A, A, B and is going to the London School of Economics to study Sociology.
Ratcliffe College, the Catholic independent boarding school in Leicestershire, announced strong results after what the school described as an “anxious wait”.
Despite the heartache of the cancelled examinations due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Government’s U-turn on the eve of their results being published, the overwhelming majority of students have successfully achieved places on coveted courses at top-ranking universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.
Headmaster Jonathan Reddin said: “Given the extremely challenging circumstances created by the pandemic and the massive disappointment of not being able to sit their examinations after working so diligently, I am both pleased and relieved that so many of our wonderful Year 13 students have been able to accept places at their first choice university.
“This is testament to their resilience, hard work and dedication prior to lockdown and the professionalism of their teachers in the awarding of Centre Assessed Grades. For those students who are disappointed with their grades, the school will continue to work with them, where appropriate, towards a successful appeal, so that they are not disadvantaged in the future by circumstances beyond their control.
Many students achieved exclusively A and A* grades.
Hebe Jackson, the first Sir Thomas White Scholar to gain a place at Oxbridge, will read Modern and Medieval Languages at King's College, Cambridge.
Jacob Dawe proceeds to The Queen's College, Oxford to read Physics.
Mia Baker, Ben Cook, Tom Neuberg and Jade England have places to study Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.
Samuel Offer achieved 3 A*s and is taking a gap year ahead of applying to study Medicine next year. Linguist, Eduardo Robinson, achieved 3 A*s to study Law and German at Bristol University, while music scholar Richard Pullan also achieved the very highest grades in all subjects and takes up his place at Edinburgh University to study Mathematics and Music.
Head Girl Eve Millward also achieved the highest grades in all subjects and will be studying English Literature at King’s College London.
Ms Baker said: “I wish to pay tribute to this cohort, who have distinguished themselves throughout their time at Ratcliffe, giving generously of themselves to support the ethos and Mission of the School.
“They have excelled across a wide range of co-curricular activities and initiated some invaluable charitable activities. Their desire to make a positive difference to other people’s lives in the local community continued during lockdown; in volunteering to deliver food parcels, producing large quantities of PPE for hospitals and care homes, supporting the Coronavirus testing process, as well as supporting others’ emotional well-being by keeping in touch with the elderly and those housebound.
“It is our hope that the class of 2020 will not be defined by the impact of Coronavirus but, instead, by the values they have embraced at Ratcliffe College. We wish them the very best as they move forward, with confidence, to higher education and successful careers in the future. Thank you, Year 13, for being such superb role models for Ratcliffe College students, and please continue to make a difference in all that you do in the future.”
If you are a Catholic school and would like your students' results included here, or would like to speak out about your concerns in the current situation, please email us.
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