Jo MacKenzie, Headmistress, Bedford Girls’ School, explains why her school offers the IB alongside A Levels

​St Swithun’s School upper sixth form student Hongzhou Luan has gained the top grade in seven A level subjects this summer. She goes on to read engineering science at Trinity College, Oxford with a prestigious Jardine Scholarship.

King’s Rochester has a strong reputation for maximising the potential of pupils and this year was no exception as students achieved excellent A level results.

The phrase ‘quite exceptional’ hardly seems to do justice to what has been a record-breaking year for Churcher’s College but it seems to work well for a group of quietly capable and delightfully charming young men and women who have achieved so much over their time here.

The reformed A levels continued to emphasise increased stretch and challenge; and we are delighted that Merchiston has once again delivered excellence in this new context, going way beyond the national average across the board.

Recognised as the top school in Berkshire and in the top 40 nationally by Government’s new league tables for Sixth Form progress, Leighton Park staff and students already had cause to celebrate the success of their Sixth Form education. Even so, it was a delight to see so many smiling faces on the Park today as excited students grabbed their brollies and braved the downpours to collect their A level results.