AFTER what can only be described as a challenging and unusual Sixth Form experience Year 13 students at Benton Park in Rawdon have finally been able to celebrate their A Level results, marking the end of seven years of hard work and determination.

Over the course of the last 18 months these students have endured a significant amount of disruption to their education and have had to overcome many challenges along the way. A significant amount of their learning has been delivered remotely which has required resilience, hard work and self-motivation on their part and for this alone they are to be congratulated.

Following cancellation of the exams by the government in January, this year’s results have been awarded using a Teacher Assessed Grades process. This involved rigorous processes outlined by the exam boards and required students to have produced a range of evidence which could be assessed by teachers. The grades were then quality assured within schools and came under scrutiny by the exam boards directly. The grades awarded are a valid testimony to our students hard work and they deserve huge congratulations for their achievements.

Celebrating success today with a raft of A*, A or Distinction* grades across the board were the following students:

Hoos, Dan; Bakes, Jason; Carroll, Joey; Cooper, Ewan; Brown, Sam

Massey-Innes, Kacie; Meehan, Cael; Pilling, Joe; Ryley, Alyshia; Short, Melanie; Wardell, Marcus; Bostan, Haroon; Daywood, Rosie

Duffy, Lauren; Hainsworth, Eloise; Lee, Maxwell; Rhodes, Lucy; Squires, Isabella; Edmundson, Joel; Flint, Alice; Hamilton Ratcliffe, Charlotte; Holmes, Will; Kitwood, Abigail; Ryley, Bevan; Taylor-Rowe, Charlie.

Students have secured some impressive first choice destinations across a wide range of Universities up and down the country. Amongst these are Dan Hoos and Eloise Hainsworth who have both been accepted at Oxford University, Dan to study Economics and Management and Eloise to study Spanish and Arabic. In addition to the university places secured, our students have also accessed a degree level apprenticeship through Microsoft, a place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire to study Jazz and enrolment in the RAF.

Headteacher Delia Martin said: “After the last 18 months it is amazing to share with our students the results of all their hard work, determination and resilience and it is an absolute pleasure to see them securing an impressive range of first choice destinations. The wide and varied range of subjects and destinations really does highlight all the exceptional talent we have across our school. We are particularly proud of this cohort of students as they have faced the most difficult and unusual of times showing real strength of character and a positive, “can do” attitude requiring self-motivation and determination to succeed, all attributes which will stand them in good stead for their future success.

"I would also like to pay tribute to the hard work and professional integrity of our staff who have worked tirelessly with our students to ensure they obtain the outcomes they have earned and deserve. We were asked to implement the Teachers Assessed Grade process which teachers and leaders fully embraced ensuring that the outcomes they awarded were fair, transparent and fully justified.

"On behalf of school I would like to wish all our students the very best of luck for their future and thank them for being such an amazing part of the school over the years.”