Bablake's Record-Breaking Class of 2007 Continues To Impress At A Level

The Class of 2007, a record-breaking GCSE cohort, has impressed at A Level with a 100% pass rate: 79.8% of all grades received were at A*, A or B, with 51.1% at A* or A, and over a third of the year group achieved 3 or more A*/A grades- all the more impressive when recalling it is the first group of pupils not to sit A2 January modules. We obviously await news of remarks in a number of subjects, so would expect these percentages to be even more notable by the end of the month.

School captain Jess Betts has led by example with 2A*s and 2As at A Level to add to her 10A*s at GCSE, while her fellow school captain Robert Faulkner has 1A* and 2As. These excellent results have been achieved whilst also holding the responsibility of leading the school and being involved in much co-curricular activity.

From the impressive 41 pupils who have gained 3 or more A*/As, 13 of these achieved 4A*/As. Matt Clements, Kate French, Aaran Patel, Harry Smith, Jenny Tasker and Elaine Zhang are to be congratulated on A*s in all of their A2 subjects.

Matt Clements, Kathryn Jones and Kate Ross have been able to accept Oxbridge places, but on a day of so many positive stories, Kate French, despite achieving a fantastic 4A*s, was unfortunately not accepted by her Cambridge college; instead she will head to Durham to study Mathematics. 

With Elaine Zhang, Harry Gao and Joyce Du leading the way, the third set of pupils from mainland China to join our 6th Form have gained 18As with 9 at A* between the 5 of them. This is, once again, a super performance as they began with limited knowledge of spoken or written English. 

As well as coping with the pressure of achieving university offers that are higher than they have ever been, our pupils have again not only excelled in the classroom but also in sport, drama, music, charitable work (with over 20k raised over the year once more) and much else. This all-round excellence will impress future employers. Hope Hughes, Sepi Latifi, Kian Patel, Matt Payne and Harry Smith, all involved with instigating a Bablake Macmillan charity group, have shared 8As and 6A*s.

Headmaster, Mr John Watson, commented: ‘Our students have again won some outstanding accolades by dint of dedication and hard work. They have made the most of their opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, building on the encouragement and support of their teachers. They have set a tremendous example as generous leaders within our school community, and can look forward with confidence to the next stage of their journey.'

Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Alison Tumber, added: ‘I am so proud that Bablake’s U6th has once again achieved a 100% pass rate and expect a very high percentage will head to their first or second choice university. The year group has worked tirelessly supporting itself through difficult times and deserves its success.’

Mrs Tumber was too humble to mention that her son James gained 4 As, including an A* in Electronics achieved with the guidance of Head of Physics, Mr Trevor Hyde, and much self-study.

Mr Mark Woodward, Head of Careers, praised the versatility of our pupils, saying: ‘Despite increasing competition to reach the best university courses, every year our pupils not only achieve those high grades but also impress in so many other ways. I am delighted many of those writing for The Wheatleyan and Stretch magazines have achieved such high grades as well as being first-class national award-winning journalists. Many of our sports leaders have also seen success in and out of the classroom: as well as cricket captain Matt Clements gaining 3A*s, netball captain Jenny Tasker received 3A*s and rugby captain Huw Edwards 3As.

The worst part of the day is always Clearing. For some the agony is brief, for others it lasts all morning, but it is awful for those who are still awaiting decisions at the end of the day. What always impresses me though is the tenacity of our pupils and their positivity in adversity. Instead of giving up, again this year a few emailed, Skyped or spoke to admissions tutors direct and made such convincing cases that they received places. Bablake pupils wonderfully never give up on their dreams!’

The future for all our students in the Class of 2007 is very bright and we look forward to hearing of their future impressive success. Graduation Evening in December will not arrive too soon as we await news of their adventures beyond Bablake!