Huish students are deservedly celebrating excellent A Level and Level 3 Vocational results today, as a consequence of the incredible hard work and dedication they put in during one of the toughest and most disrupted years in our national educational history.

At A Level the Class of 2021 achieved an A*-B pass rate of 65%, and an A*-C pass rate of 85%. The overall A Level pass rate is an outstanding 99.8%. Of the students that took Vocational Extended Diplomas, 51% of grades achieved were the very highest Distinction or Distinction* grade.

The Class of 2021 have had to navigate huge uncertainty about what form their assessments would take this year and have done so with tremendous resilience and grit. Rather than a snapshot, grades this year are a reflection of individual performance over time, taking into account a wide range of work to arrive at a robust holistic judgement.

An incredible 128 students achieved three or more A*/A grades in their A Levels. Huish top performers did extremely well across a very wide range of courses, with 25 students gaining straight A* grades in their A Levels. In addition, 24 students gained the very top outcome of triple Distinction* in their Vocational qualifications and on mixed programmes, a further two students achieved two A* and a D* grade. Huish students have more than earned today’s results through persistent hard work and commitment, showing that they are a very talented group of young people with exciting and bright futures ahead of them.

Today we not only celebrate fantastic results but also the vast and interesting range of destinations our students progress onto, from Architecture at Cardiff to Medicine at Birmingham and Graphic Design at University of the Arts London (Central Saint Martins) to a Trainee Consultant Apprenticeship with global firm Ernst & Young.

Five of the highest achieving students were:

  • Emily Evans, with grades A*, A*, A*, A*, A, a former Huish Episcopi pupil who studied History, Mathematics, Physical Education, EPQ and Chemistry at Huish and is going on to study Law at University College London
  • Adrian Adamiec, with grades A*,A*, A*, A*, a former Court Fields School pupil who studied Chemistry, Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics at Huish and is going on to study Mathematics at the University of Exeter
  • Daniella Tregus, with grades A*,A*, A* A*, a former Heathfield Community School pupil who studied Biology, Environmental Science, Geography and EPQ at Huish and is going on to study Zoology with a professional placement at the University of Exeter
  • Andrew Power, with grades A*, A*, A*, A*, a former Court Fields School pupil who studied Law, Physical Education, Spanish and EPQ at Huish and is going on to study Sports Science, Coaching and Physical Education at Loughborough University
  • Julia Jeziorny, a former Heathfield Community School pupil who studied English Literature, History, Law and EPQ at Huish and is going on to study Law at the University of Bristol.

In an extremely competitive year for Medicine and Veterinary Science courses, eight students have defied the odds and successfully secured their places at University to pursue their dream careers. With acceptance rates cut this year due to oversubscription in the previous year, Huish students achieved some of the highest grades to gain their places to study Medicine or Veterinary Science at a range of top Universities including Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Plymouth, Exeter and Liverpool.

Roo Harrington Barwick, from Chard, is heading to the University of Oxford to study Human Science after achieving A*A*D*A in Sociology, Music Production, EPQ and Psychology. Originally interested in Humanities, Roo Harrington Barwick decided to study BTEC Music Production, alongside A Levels in Psychology and Sociology when he joined Huish due to his strong interest in music both in and outside of school. The unique offering at Huish allows students to create a mixed Study Programme, incorporating both A Level and Vocational courses, with each course type providing a different learning style and skill set. Roo commented “Without a doubt I would recommend Vocational Music. It’s perfect for providing and honing valuable alternative skills for life that universities also love to see. It can equip you for a future in any route – whether you take the subject further or, like me, you use such transferable skills to go down a completely different road. It definitely does not close any doors, and in my case, it opened more that I could only dream of”.

Staff at Huish have worked tirelessly and with enormous professionalism and integrity to ensure that student results are robust and securely evidence based. Teacher Assessed Grades have been based on a range of student work, such as controlled assessments, mock exams and coursework. All grades awarded have been thoroughly checked and verified to ensure the consistency and integrity of results, including sampling by the exam boards as part of their national quality assurance procedures.

Emma Fielding, Principal of the College said: “I cannot express how proud I am of our students this year. They have worked so very hard to achieve these outcomes and should be celebrating what are incredible achievements in hugely challenging and uncertain circumstances. I would also like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to our dedicated staff, who have continued to provide high quality teaching and supported Huish students with such care, passion and professionalism”.