August may be the school holidays but it is also the month when the results of all the UK GCSE and A level examinations come through.
There was great excitement among students, parents and teachers at the International School of the Algarve in Lagoa when the first results arrived on August 13 and 16.
There was a 98.7% pass rate at A level, slightly above the UK average. The crucial thing for each individual student, however, is whether or not they have reached the required grade points total set by the University of their choice. This was in fact the case for all the Year 13 students hoping to go on to higher education this year.
Luo Chen, from Praia da Rocha, had an A* and an A amongst her four A levels and this guaranteed that she can take up her place to read Financial Mathematics at Leeds University. Tom Drenth, from Lagoa, had two A grades amongst his four subjects and will shortly be travelling to Amsterdam to begin his Architecture degree. Niclas Butz, from Porches, will be starting at Glion University, Switzerland.
Results for Cambridge University GCSEs are published earlier than those for the other UK examinations boards and Headmaster John Butterworth was delighted with them.
He said: “Our students have really excelled themselves to produce the school’s best ever GCSE results by some way. The overall pass rate is 100% but still more impressive is that they achieved 93% of passes with top grades, that is A* to C.
“Furthermore 48% of all grades were A* and A. These figures are way ahead of UK averages and a great testimony to the hard work of all our senior students and their teachers.”
Three 16 year olds stood out by achieving remarkable sets of grades. Johan Crook, from Lagoa, and Charles Cooper, from Lagos, both gained A* grades in all subjects whilst Claudia van den Berg, from Porches, was awarded six A*s and 1 A.
The school is confident this pattern of success will be repeated when the next results are released on August 23.
