Results Day: Students celebrate A level success at Haberdashers' Monmouth Schools

Students at Haberdashers' Monmouth Schools are celebrating their A level results, and a bumper crop of top grades. 

More than a quarter of all grades awarded were the top grade, A*, while 55.6% of grades were A* or A – well above the UK national average of 36.4%.

To illustrate the success of the Monmouth cohort further, more than three quarters (76.7%) of all grades were A*, A or B. 

Four students fulfilled their offers to study at the University of Oxford. 

Zeb Bell, a Deputy Head Boy at Monmouth School for Boys, will be reading Physics at Lincoln College, Oxford, after achieving an outstanding four A*s. 

Zeb, who lives in Crickhowell, previously had a 3,000-word article published online by the Young Scientists Journal and scooped a prestigious gold award in the British Physics Olympiad Senior Physics Challenge. 

Elinor Brenan, from Pontypool, achieved three A*s and a B and will be studying Japanese at Hertford College, Oxford. 

Cinderford's Freya Thomas, Head Girl at Monmouth School for Girls, will be heading to St John's College, Oxford, to read History of Art after recording two A*s and an A. Freya has been a pupil at Haberdashers' Monmouth Schools since nursery. 

And talented musician Eden Greaves, a former pupil at Osbaston School, achieved two A*s and an A and will be reading German and Russian at Somerville College, Oxford. 

There were many other outstanding individual performances. 

Emma Chan achieved a remarkable five A*s and will be heading to Durham University to read Physics. 

In addition to Zeb Bell, five other students recorded four A*s. Benjamin Robinson, from Abergavenny, will now study Medicine at the University of Exeter; Claire Tang, who also achieved an A in EPQ, will read Medical Sciences at Exeter. Jonathan Crane, from Caldicot, will also be heading to Exeter to study Natural Sciences; Carys Williams, from Usk, will read Mathematics at the University of St Andrews, while Harry Paterson, from Chepstow, is to study Finance at the London School of Economics. 

Lillian Zhou, who achieved three A*s, two As and an A in EPQ, was a top performing student and secured her place to read Economics at University College London. 

Jodie Tang, from Monmouth, recorded an impressive three A*s and two As to study Biochemistry at the University of Bristol.

Lydney's Isobella Laws achieved two A*s and an A and will be reading Medicine at Imperial College London.

"I am really looking forward to studying at Imperial – it's a fantastic course and I might eventually go into paediatrics or surgery," said Isobella. "I can't wait to get started."

Teddy Swartz, from Monmouth, will be heading to the University of Virginia, USA, after recording three A*s and an A.

Examination boards had been instructed to achieve grade outcomes which were roughly halfway between the grading in 2019 and the higher grades achieved under the teacher-assessed system in 2021. 

This year's A level results at Haberdashers' Monmouth Schools are much closer to the 2021 grades than the 2019 grades, highlighting that the students performed strongly against the UK cohort. 

Headmaster at Monmouth School for Boys, Mr Simon Dorman, and Headmistress at Monmouth School for Girls, Mrs Jessica Miles, were delighted with the achievements of the students.

They said: "We could not be more proud of the achievements of our outgoing Year 13 students. 

"They are our first-ever year group to take their A levels without having sat their GCSEs. 

"They also had to contend with all the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic throughout the last two years." 

Mr Dorman and Mrs Miles added: "In spite of the challenges they faced, our students have shown great determination and passion for their subjects and made the best possible use of all the support given to them by our brilliant teaching staff. 

"Our boys and girls work extremely hard at Monmouth in their academic studies and achieve impressive results alongside being so heavily involved in many activities at our schools. 

"Our Year 13 leavers are an outstanding group of young men and women. They can look forward to taking their next steps with great confidence and will make a positive impact in society."