More than 60% of all A level grades at A*/A for Yarm School students

Yarm School is celebrating its students’ strongest set of A Level public examination results. 62% of all A Level grades were A* or A, with a remarkable 29% reaching the top A* grade. The vast majority of Yarm students are heading off to their first choice university in the most competitive year for university admissions.

Despite the disruption caused by Covid over the course of their A Level studies, 45% of pupils at Yarm achieved straight A* and A grades with a remarkable 18% getting 3 or more A* grades.

Budding Scientists, Rebecca Keetley and Charlotte Rutter, achieved a full house of A* grades whilst also competing in high level sport. Rebecca currently holds club records at Middlesbrough Amateur Swimming Club whilst securing her place at the University of Cambridge to read Natural Sciences. Charlotte has juggled her studies with competition at elite level in athletics, recently finishing in the top 10 for the heptathlon and sprint hurdles in the English Schools’ Championships. Charlotte heads to Newcastle to study Chemical Engineering.

Durham County Academy cricketer, Abhinav Ramisetty achieved 3 A*s and 1 A to secure his place to read Economics at the University of Cambridge.

All students studying Art at Yarm achieved the impressive feat of an A* or A grade. Artist, Mia Mack, is off to Loughborough University to study Fine Art after achieving 3 A* grades. Last year, Mia won the prestigious Sworders Art Prize for young talent aged 16 – 18 as well as coming second in the 2021 New College of the Humanities essay competition for her essay on Art History.

Seventeen pupils are celebrating 3 A* grades or more, including: Noah Bickenson, Natasha Davis, Isabelle Fielding, Hasmeet Gill, Kieran Gill, Matthew Heathcote, Rebecca Keetley, Freya Lefevre, Mia Mack, Shilpi Nanda, Abhinav Ramisetty, William Riley, Charlotte Rutter, Michael Shipman, Ananya Singh, Ben Thompson and Jai Trivedi.

Humanities remain a popular choice at Yarm and this year, a third of students taking Geography or Theology and Philosophy achieved an A* grade. In History, 28% of students achieved an A* whilst 67% achieved an A* or A. Mathematics and Economics also had many students achieving the top grades, 52% of students taking Mathematics were graded A* whilst 69% of students who took Economics A Level were awarded an A* or A grade.

Dr Huw Williams, Headmaster at Yarm, said: “I am absolutely delighted that despite all the challenges this remarkable cohort of students had to face, they have secured such outstanding results.

I am incredibly proud of our students who all worked tirelessly during long periods of remote learning, remaining focussed and committed to their studies and looking out for each other throughout. They were magnificently supported by their passionate and committed teachers. This personal and collective endeavour is evident in these ‘best ever’ public examination results.

After the restrictions imposed during their Lower Sixth year, this year’s students have also made the most of opportunities outside the classroom since restrictions were lifted, demonstrating to our younger pupils the benefits of being fully engaged in the wider life of school from drama and music to sport and outdoor education, and more. I am delighted with the diversity of subjects our students are moving on to study, and the wide range of destinations, with most students moving to universities right across the UK and as far afield as the US. Others are starting apprenticeships including one with PwC, joining the armed forces and one student is starting a career in the Merchant Navy. I wish all our students the best for their future endeavours.