University beckons for high-flying students

Students at a Newcastle school had cause to celebrate when they received their A Level and BTEC qualification results, with over a third attaining the top A* or A grades.

Among the Class of 2024 at St Mary’s Catholic School, 35 per cent achieved A* or A, 62 per cent A* to B, and 86 per cent A* to C, with an impressive 23 students receiving three or more A* or A grades across various subjects.

“There were excellent performances across all subjects this year,” said James Turnbull, Sixth Form Assistant Headteacher at the school, part of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust. 

“Students have been highly successful in gaining university places, including at Oxford, Durham, and many other high-achieving and Russell Group universities, as well as moving on to employment and higher-level apprenticeships.”

Among those celebrating top grades was Elspeth Frith, whose A*s in English Literature and English Language and A in Religious Studies have secured her place at the University of Edinburgh to study Linguistics and Social Anthropology.

“I was very surprised and did far better than I’d expected,” she said. “I thought I’d get Bs.

“I’ve loved it at St Mary’s. I’ve had an amazing time there and am very sad it’s ending. The teachers have been amazing and have made the time there really fun.”

Also off to Edinburgh is Sam Foster, who attained A*s in Geography, Physics and Maths to study Geography at the university.

“I thought I’d do well, but maybe not quite as well as I did,” he said. “St Mary’s has been really enjoyable. The teaching has been really good – especially in science subjects.”

Ruby Pugmire’s impressive grades will enable her to train to be a doctor. With A*s in English Language and Biology and an A in Chemistry, she will now study Medicine at  Nottingham University.

“I needed three As, so I was pleased to have done better than that,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time at St Mary’s and thought the teachers were really supportive. Even outside of lesson time, you could always go to them if you had a question.”

Harry Rickeard is heading to Royal Holloway in London to study Computer Science, having been awarded an A* in Maths, As in Physics and Computer Science, and a B in Further Maths.

“I’ve always liked school,” he said. “It’s been fantastic. I just want to stress how incredible the teachers are. Every teacher is entirely willing to devote time to helping you improve.”

“We are very proud of our wonderful students for their exceptional Academic and Vocational A Level results,” added Headteacher Emma Patterson. “The students have demonstrated tremendous commitment, dedication, determination, and hard work throughout their studies and fully deserve these outstanding results.

“Our Academic A Level and Vocational A Level results continue to be significantly above national standards.”

“The students have worked very hard over the course of their time at St Mary’s, with a driven approach, and have been richly rewarded for their efforts,” she continued.

“We could not be prouder of our students, and we are thrilled to see them progress to a wide range of excellent universities and apprenticeships for the next stage of their education or training.

“Many thanks must also go to our superb teaching and support staff team for helping our students so well, and embedding such high-quality teaching and learning at St Mary’s.”

The exceptional exam results round off another highly successful academic year at St Mary’s, which was confirmed as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in September 2023, as well as being judged ‘Outstanding’ by the Catholic Schools Inspection Team in January this year.

During 2023/24, the school has also featured in The Times Top 250 Schools in the Country, and The Daily Mail’s Top 100 State Schools in the UK.