Students at Saint Benedict CVA in Derby are celebrating after receiving their A Level results this year.

There was a significant rise on the last set of externally assessed results in 2019, prior to the Covid pandemic.

Fifty per cent of all grades are A*-B, compared with 40.1% in 2019 and nearly 80% of all grades are A*-C.

Two of the students with the highest grades were Godwin Jenner, 18, who achieved A*s in Maths, Physics and Chemistry and Georgi Georgiev, who achieved A*s in History, English Literature and Sociology.

Georgi, 18, came to the UK from Bulgaria around 10 years ago and could barely speak any English.

He said: “I am quite shocked by my results. I am going to study Sociology at Loughborough. When I told my mum my results she said I should have applied to Cambridge.”

Godwin is going on to study Aerospace Engineering at the University of Sheffield.

He said: “Online learning for part of Year 12 was tough as it was harder to ask for help. When we came back into school it was great and the teachers were really supportive.”

(Godwin is on the right, pictured with Elliot Chua)

Anastazja Zaleska, 18, achieved an A in Sociology, an A in Polish, a B in Psychology and a D in Biology. She will be studying Primary Education at the University of Plymouth.

She said: “I was stressed, last night I was crying dry tears. When I knew I had got into Plymouth it felt amazing. My grades are better than I was predicted, I honestly thought I’d failed Biology so I was really surprised with that grade. I am really looking forward to going to Plymouth.”

Marek Bakota, 18, achieved an A* in Music, an A in Maths and a B in Psychology. He is going on to the University of Manchester to study Music.

He said: “I’m just happy. I kept seeing news articles about the results saying that grades would be lower so now I’m relieved.”

Andy Xu, 18, achieved an A* in Engineering, an A in Maths and a B in Physics. He will be going on to the University of Sheffield to study Aerospace Engineering.

He said: “I really had to pull it out of the bag. It was hard as we were learning at home for part of Year 12 but when we came back the teachers were really supportive.”

Amy Short, 18, achieved an A in Maths, an A in Spanish and a B in Physics. She has secured a four-year apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce in Derby.

She said: “I am so excited. The application process for Rolls-Royce was tough. There was an online assessment which took hours then a five-hour interview which included a one-to-one and team building exercises. I didn’t have a back up, this was my only choice. I didn’t want to go to university.

Another student taking on an apprenticeship is Finlay Riggott, 18. He achieved a Distinction * in Business, an A in Maths and an A in Geography. He will be going on to an apprenticeship at Cosy Direct in Derby.

He said: “I got better grades then I needed. I feel relieved now.”

Elliot Chua, 18, achieved an A* in Maths, an A in Chemistry and an A in Biology. He is taking a gap year and after that he is planning on applying to universities to study Medicine.

Nikola Sobczak, 18, achieved a B in English, an A* in Psychology and a Distinction * in Media. She is going on to study Psychology at the University of Nottingham.

She said: “I’m really surprised and happy. I knew I had got into Nottingham before I got my grades as we could log on and find out. There was a countdown online before I found out which was a bit nerve-wracking.”

Head Boy Donal Hay, 18, achieved an A in English Literature/Language, a Distinction in Media and a B in Religious Studies. He is going on to study Journalism at Manchester Metropolitan University.

He said: “I needed B,B,C so I’m really happy with my grades. When I told my mum she cried her eyes out. I’ve always been interested in Journalism and the course is multi-media so it’s a bit of everything. Manchester is a good city.”

Rose Babu, 18, achieved an A in Sociology, an A in Biology and a B in Chemistry. She is going on to study a Masters in Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham.

She said: “I woke up between 6 and 6.30am and couldn’t log on until 8am to find out if I had got into university. When I found out I had got into Nottingham I cried, I really wanted to go there. It was hard because we spent part of Year 12 learning online and I didn’t like that. I think it’s much better to actually do the exams, we didn’t do our GCSE exams because of Covid.”

Kevin Gritton, Headteacher, congratulated all of the students and said he was thrilled with the results.

He said: “We are delighted with A Level results at Saint Benedict this year where we have seen a significant rise on the last set of externally assessed results in 2019.

“50% of all grades are A*-B, compared with 40.1% in 2019 and nearly 80% of all grades are A*-C.

“Our vocational subjects also performed strongly, in addition to the A Level subjects. For example, in Level 3 PE, 82% of grades were Distinction Star or Distinction, in Media 80% were at these top grades and in Applied Business, 75% were at Distinction Star and Distinction.

“Our average point score per A Level entry was 34.97, up from 31.12 in 2019, when the school achieved the highest value added score across the city, county and Diocese.

“Our average Level 3 Applied entry score was 30.83, up from 26.21 in 2019, with the average applied grade in 2022 being a Distinction across 70 qualifications.

“Some particular success stories included Georgi Georgiev and Godwin Jenner, who both achieved thee A* grades at A Level.

“The vast majority of our students have achieved their first choices at University and we are supporting those who are currently exploring their options through the clearing process.

“We are very proud of all of our students who have managed a very turbulent few years with great maturity and resilience and we wish them all the very best for the future.”