Today's the big day for A-level students across Suffolk, as they find out how they have fared in their exams.
Many schools are not having students come in to receive their results because of coronavirus crisis, with young people in some cases set to receive their results online.
Keep up to date with our feed throughout the day to see how pupils in the county have done.
Abbeygate Sixth Form and West Suffolk College
Over 1,800 further education students from West Suffolk College and Abbeygate Sixth Form in Bury St Edmunds have received their A-level or technical and vocational course results today.
Over 1,600 students from West Suffolk College received results from vocational and applied diploma courses – including BTEC courses – with a 91% achievement rate.
210 students received their A-level results at Abbeygate Sixth Form College – which saw a 99.5% overall pass rate, with 71.6% at A* to B and 99.5 % at A* to E.
Dr Nikos Savvas, Chief Executive of Eastern Colleges Group, said:
“This is an incredible achievement and I’d like to congratulate all of our students and staff for all that they have done to support one another to get some impressive, and well deserved, grades. They should be applauded not just for their talents and skills, but also for their resilience dedication.
“What is vital is not just the outcomes that a student achieves, but how they will then use these grades in the future. Our role as a group of colleges is as much about aspiration as it is about achievement – and we all take great pride in the fact that our students will go onto to influence so many areas of business, enterprise and public life in the future.”
County Upper School, Bury St Edmunds
Vicky Neale, overseeing her final set of sixth form results before retiring, said: “We are delighted that we can welcome our students safely today to receive their results in person and to celebrate the success that they and their teachers worked so hard to achieve.
“These students have, of course, studied in the most unusual of circumstances and their resilience, hard work and optimism are to be commended. It is always rewarding to see a group of young people excited about moving onto the next phase of their lives and this is especially the case this year.
"Our students have done extremely well across the ability range and can be proud of the excellent results they have achieved in both their A-level and technical qualifications. Amongst those with straight A* grades are Rose Bainbridge (mathematics, further mathematics, chemistry and physics) and Alfie Roberts (computer science, mathematics and physics). Rose is off to Cambridge and Alfie to Nottingham.
“I thank the staff for all they have done to provide a well-rounded education for all our students as well as our parents for their support. On behalf of their teachers and tutors, I congratulate the students and wish them every success for the next phase of their lives.”
Culford School
At Culford School 48% of pupils were awarded an A*- A, 77% A*- B and 92% A*- C.
None of the school's grades were challenged by the examination boards. Headmaster, Julian Johnson-Munday commented:
''These grades are well deserved and stand as testament to the hard work and talents of our students, who have done exceptionally well to complete their A-level courses so successfully when the last 18 months have been disrupted by the pandemic.''
Stephen Arbuthnot, Head of Sixth Form said: ''The pupils have been so successful this year and it is hugely deserved. The vast majority got into their first choices, with many going to Russell Group Universities and a number going to American universities on prestigious sports scholarships. To achieve all this after such a difficult 18 months is a fitting reward for their resilience, hard work and good spirits.''
Farlingaye High School, Woodbridge
Headteacher Andy Sievewright said: "We are absolutely delighted that so many of the students have done really, really well.
"That's testament to their hard work during what's been a really challenging year and also to the great support they have had from staff as well.
"We are particularly excited to see so many of them celebrating their access to next steps.
"There's a huge range of exciting opportunities for them; we know a lot of them are going to universities and a really wide range of courses they are taking on.
" We are also really pleased to see that a lot of our sixth formers are accessing high level degree apprenticeships and also going into the forces, specialist training and really finding things that are appropriate for them.
"That's a measure of success for us. We are really delighted, it's been a great day."
Pupil Harper Mills said: "I'm pretty happy I got what I wanted.
"I got AAB and I'm going to Knoxville in the US to study history on a tennis scholarship.
"I'm very excited."
Student Albie Willet said: "I got ABB. I'm pretty happy.
"I've an apprenticeship with QinetiQ at the Environmental Test Centre in Shoeburyness."
Framlingham College
Seven pupils received straight A* grades, while a further 11 received a combination of grades A* and A. In BTECs, 16 pupils achieved distinctions.
Principal Louise North said:" In spite of the challenges, uncertainties and doubts that the last two years have thrown up, our pupils and our staff have embraced the opportunity to work in a different way.
"Far from shying away from remote teaching and learning, our pupils have continued to learn, to be curious and to question.
"They have found fresh perspectives and increased motivation to fulfil their potential. And more than anything, they have never lost their belief in themselves.
"There is no stereotypical Framlinghamian, and as such, the destinations of our leavers are many and varied. We know that each of them is moving on to pursue something that they love, that they feel passionately about.
"For example, Niall Pearson Shaul goes to Oxford to study Law, Catherine Chapman to Cardiff to study Criminology and Sociology and Arthur O’Toole goes to Point Blank Music School to study Music Production and DJ Practice.
"Whether Exeter or Bristol, Durham or Birmingham, Leeds or Nottingham Trent, we have supported and guided our leavers as they find their own path and create their own individual story. Our congratulations go to each and every one of them."
Hartismere Sixth Form College
Students at Hartismere Sixth Form achieved 94% A*-C grades.
Headmaster, James McAtear, said, "These results are a testimony to the hard work of all our staff, governors and students and to the support given to them by their families".
Haverhill Community Sixth form
Daisy Hopkins, head of Haverhill Community Sixth Form, said: “I speak on behalf of all the staff at Haverhill Community Sixth Form when I say that we could not be prouder of our students.
“This year all our sixth formers stepped up to tackle the challenges that lay before them with maturity and resilience. Their dedication to their studies and determination to thrive during a period of uncertainty has been nothing short of exceptional.
“They are a credit to our school and the local community and I am excited for the future that lies ahead for each of them as there are many more success stories yet to come.”
Andy Hunter, headteacher of Samuel Ward Academy, where the sixth form is based, said: “This has been an extremely difficult and disrupted year, especially for young people. Despite the enormous uncertainty, our sixth-formers have kept their focus. These great results are a well-earned reward for all the hard work our wonderful students have put in over the last two years.”
Ormiston Sudbury Academy
Students at Ormiston Sudbury Academy are celebrating today after receiving their post-16 results. Thanks to the hard work of both staff and students many Post-16 leavers have achieved the grades needed to accept places at their chosen universities or to start coveted apprenticeships.
Caroline Wilson, principal for Ormiston Sudbury Academy, said: “I am incredibly proud of what our students have achieved during their time at Ormiston Sudbury Academy, and pleased that we have been able to come together today to celebrate their hard work.
"It has been an unusual year for everyone at the Academy, but it has been inspiring to see the determination and resilience of our students rightfully rewarded with these results. I am confident that, on the next stage of their journey, they will enjoy incredible success, and continue to grow from strength to strength.”
St Felix School , Southwold
At St Felix School, 57% of all grades at A Level being awarded at A* to A and 100% students passing.
The school also achieved 100% A* to A grades awarded in English Literature, Latin, Chinese, Music, Physics and PE.
Headmaster, Mr James Harrison, said: “Despite the obstacles and difficulties that this cohort of students had to face during their A Level studies, I am pleased that all of them have secured their first-choice places at university and that they have fared so well academically. This has always been a dedicated and highly able group of students and so their amazing successes this morning comes as no surprise to those that know them well. I could not be prouder and I wish them all success for the future.”
Stowmarket High School
Headmaster Dave Lee Allen said: "Things have gone very well today.
"There have been lots of happy faces .
"All our students have got to where they wanted to go.
"None of our grades have been changed by the exam boards. We feel that the results are a fair reflection of the students abilities."
Stowupland High School
Students at Stowupland High School managed a pass rate of more than 98% with 75% of grades at A*-C.
Emily Keeble, 18, who wants to become a paramedic, said she was pleased with her results.
“I am really happy,” she said. “I’m going off to study paramedic science in September.
“It has been quite a difficult year but the school have done really well to help us carry on with our learning.”
Fred Allsop, 17, from Stowupland, took his maths A-Level a year early – and achieved an A*.
He said: “I thought I was going to get a C, I thought I had botched it, so I was pleasantly surprised by my results.
“I’d like to do some form of engineering in the future.
“I’m thinking of joining the Navy but want to go to Cambridge first.
“I just took my mocks seriously and came out with the grades.”
Peter Whear, the school’s headteacher said: “We are exceptionally proud of our students and their achievements this year.
“They have worked hard to achieve these grades under uniquely challenging circumstances, remaining positive and determined throughout.
“We are also immensely grateful to their parents and carers who supported home learning during the lengthy periods of lockdown.
“Finally, our teachers, and other staff, have done a first-class job under enormous pressure and in a limited period of time to ensure students are all able to progress onto further education and study.
“We wish our students every success for the future and look forward to watching them thrive as they make their next big steps in life.”
The Sixth Form College, Colchester
The Sixth Form College said "a huge number of students" achieved excellent grades which clearly reflect their high levels of skill, hard work and tenacity; a very substantial number of this year’s leavers successfully attained the grades necessary to progress to degree courses, including large numbers progressing to some of the very most competitive courses in the country – successes in this area include an outstanding year for teachers in areas such as Classical Civilisation, with three students now reading classics at Cambridge
Thomas Gainsborough School
The headteacher of Thomas Gainsborough School has paid tribute to the “resilience and commitment” of sixth form students as they picked up their results today.
A total of 79 students collected their results at the Great Cornard secondary school and Helen Yapp, headteacher, was full of praise with how the students had performed over the last two years.
She said: “Thomas Gainsborough School is incredibly proud of the resilience and commitment to learning that our sixth form students have displayed during the last eighteen months.
“The pandemic has, without doubt, impacted on their sixth form experience but their hard work and determination to succeed is evident in their well-deserved results. We wish them all the very best as they progress on the next stage of their journey.”
Among the 91.3% A* to C grades, notable results included Aimee Sharp and James Hawkins who both picked up four A* grades and will now study English literature at UEA and mathematics at Durham respectively.
Thomas Mills High School, Framlingham
Students and staff at Thomas Mills High School are celebrating an outstanding set of results.
Headteacher Philip Hurst said: “I congratulate our students and staff on a first class set of results which truly reflect their hard work and abilities.
"They thoroughly deserve this success.”
“This year group have always been impressive. During the first lockdown, they steamed ahead with their studies.
"In the autumn term, they faced the uncertainty over what examination system the government might adopt and then, when assessments were announced, they worked hard to produce the evidence.”
In total, 46% of the grades awarded at the school were A or A*.
76% were at A* to B level, while 90% of grades were C or above.
Everyone scored at least a grade E.
Mr Hurst said: “The students have also been brilliant outside of the classroom.
"The sixth form have raised the profile of mental health and support, and their leadership has supported the whole school as many of them have trained as mental health first aiders.”
“There has been a real ‘get up and go’ attitude from our young people. They have organised events within school and so many are involved in their communities.
"During the pandemic, Florrie Hulbert and Jude Pottruff made deliveries to hospitals delivering donations from Easter eggs to water bottles.”
“It’s been a privilege to work with such a talented bunch of young people and all the staff at Thomas Mills wish them the very best as they enter the next stage of their successful lives.”
Woodbridge School
Woodbridge School had 67 students taking A-levels this year.
In total 33% of pupils were awarded an A*, 65% A*-A, 87% A*-B and 95% A*-C
The most common grade was A*, followed by A.
Ten pupils scored straight A* grades and 39% of the year group scored straight A grades.
Shona Norman, Head of Woodbridge School, said: “I am delighted by the exceptionally high standards of our Year 13 students and remain incredibly proud of them. These excellent A level results, although gained in unusual and difficult circumstances, remain the result of two years’ hard work and commitment alongside our internal controlled assessments.
"I commend our students for their resilience and positivity throughout this period alongside the dedication of our teachers and the support of our parent body.
"In common with their year group across the UK, our students have been through so much and, although I would have wished for a different experience for these young people, they can move forward confident in the knowledge that they have displayed tenacity and courage in the face of adversity.
"I look forward to hearing from our students as they become Old Woodbridgians and hearing of their future successes.”
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