A-level achievement at the very highest level

Pupils and staff at Queen Elizabeth’s School celebrated another vintage year for A-levels, with outstandingly high grades achieved and almost all leavers expected to take up places at leading universities.

In 2012, the school recorded its best-ever results as the proportion of A*-B grades topped 98% for the first time. This year, the total was almost unchanged, at 98.3%, while almost four in every ten A-levels taken (39%) were awarded the highest A* grade – again, a similar figure to 2012.

Just over three-quarters of the year group took A-level Mathematics, and of these 110 boys, no fewer than 60 (55%) were awarded an A*.

Twenty-nine boys have offers of places at Oxford or Cambridge.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I am extremely proud of our Year 13:  last year’s record results left them with a very tough act to follow, yet they have matched the 2012 figures, achieving truly remarkable grades across the board.”

“Moreover, our pupils exemplify QE’s commitment to a holistic education: they not only achieve well in examinations, but are also articulate, well adjusted young men with wide interests beyond their curriculum subjects and a commitment to contribute to society. We unashamedly place a high degree of emphasis on traditional qualities valued by employers, such as numeracy, literacy, punctuality and personal appearance, while our Sixth Form voluntary service programme ensures that all QE leavers have some experience of the wider world.”

“We take academic endeavour seriously, but we also want our boys to be happy! I am therefore pleased that so many of our leavers tell me that they look back on their time here with pleasure, having had fun both in the classroom and through participation in enjoyable extra-curricular activities.”

The Oxbridge offers are for courses ranging from Medicine (six pupils) and Economics (four) to Fine Art, Computer Science and Asian & Middle Eastern Studies. QE boys are particularly successful in gaining places on highly competitive Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science courses: 31 of the leavers are expected to start courses in these subjects at various leading universities.

“In 2012, the proportion of our boys going on to Russell Group universities was 95% – bucking a national trend of decline among state schools – and we expect it to remain very high in 2013,” Mr Enright added.

Other notable statistics among this year’s results were that: 87% of A-levels taken at QE were awarded A* or A grades, and 100% of boys taking Art, French or Further Mathematics gained A* or A grades in these subjects.

Still top of the class: Boys' school celebrates best results yet again – The Daily Telegraph, Friday 16 August 2013

Top State School – The Daily Telegraph, Friday 16 August 2013

Top Boys' School – The Times, Friday 16 August 2013

Headteacher 'proud' of record-equalling A-levels at Queen Elizabeth's Boys' School in High Barnet – The Barnet & Potters Bar Times, Thursday 15 August 2013