Exeter College Bucks the National Trend with Best Ever A Level Results

Exeter College students logged on this morning to find out their AS/A Level results. They have worked incredibly hard, and today the wait is over. The class of 2022 has achieved the best results in Exeter College’s history. The record-breaking results mean that the College have bucked the national trend, continuing their trajectory of year-on-year improvement in results.    

In a year when students had no previous experience of externally set and marked exams, they have excelled. An incredible 69% of Exeter College learners achieved high grades at A Level (A*-B),way ahead of the national average which fell to 62%. The College’s overall A Level pass rate of 99.3% was significantly ahead of national average (98.4%), continuing the legacy of outstanding results at Exeter College. 

These results demonstrate how well Exeter College studentswere supported to embrace the various ways of continuing learning throughout the disruption of the pandemic. The results also endorse the College’s approach ofteaching students face-to-face whenever possible.This student success is testament to their hard work and thestaff at Exeter College going the extra mile to support learners during an unprecedented time.  

A record number of students achieved an A or A* grade across all their subjects, with a staggering 27 students achieving A* grades in every subject they took. In total, nearly 200 students achieved straight A or A* grades across A Level and AS Level. 

John Laramy CBE, Exeter College’s Principal and CEO said:

“In a normal year, these would be brilliant A Level results, but in a year when students have taken exams for the first time and had to navigate lockdowns and periods of isolation these are simply stunning results. I would like to congratulate all our students, who have shown why we are an outstanding college. I would also like to thank all College staff, these results show that we do have exceptional staff, who dealt with the challenges of the last few years with care, talent and tenacity. 

“At every stage our staff have tried to ensure that students stayed safe, well and engaged – these results show how effectively the College achieved this feat – so to our staff and our students I simply want to say thank you and well done.”

Exeter College’s Vice Principal, Jade Otty said:

“I am delighted for our learners and want to thank our incredible teachers and support staff for all they do to ensure that learners at Exeter College continue to flourish. The skill and dedication our staff have put in to ensuring our learners could take their first-ever national exams with confidence is phenomenal. We are so fortunate at the College to have such brilliant subject-expert teachers.”  

Billie Stokes, Assistant Principal with responsibility for academic programmes at the College, said:

“We are exceptionally proud of our A-Level learners. For all of them these were the first national exams they had ever sat, so it is extraordinary that they have become a record-breaking cohort for the College. The resilience they have shown is amazing and will stand them in great stead for whatever they are moving onto.” 

There were stand-out performances in every curriculum area. For example, in A Level Law a quarter of the students achieved the very highest grade of an A* and in total half of the cohort got an A or an A*. Maths continued their legacy of excellent results, with over 40% of students achieving an A or A*.

A Level student, Erin Fraser-Smith, collected her A Level results today for Maths, Physics and Chemistry. She said she loved the independence and support she received from the College. She achieved a triple A* and is now progressing to the University of Oxford to study Medicine. She said:

“I’ve had an offer for deferred entry to Oxford University. So, I’m having a gap year then going to Oxford to study Medicine and then a career as a doctor. Exeter College has put me in a good place for that. I’m very grateful to them to be honest.”

In the Arts, Graphic Design and Fine Art cohorts both achieved 23% A* grades, with nearly 80% of students achieving high grades.

Business Studies achieved excellent results, with 78% achieving high grades. Economics, more usually offered in selective and independent schools, also achieved 78% high grades with nearly 40% of these achieving A/A*. 

In Philosophy, statistically one of the most challenging A Levels, 43% of students achieved an A or an A* grade. In Music, also a very demanding A Level, 50% achieved an A or an A*.

The two largest A-Level cohorts at the College, Psychology and Biology, achieved truly excellent results. Over three quarters of students in Psychology achieved high grades, with 44% securing an A or A*. In Biology 69% achieved high grades, with 44% achieving an A or an A*.

In A Level Physical Education, 20% of learners secured an A*, with 73% in total achieving high grades. In addition, one of the College’s students, Lily Brooke-Tomlinson, achieved the outstanding accolade of being the top-performing student in the country in that subject, which includes selective schools, private schools and all other schools and colleges.

Lily achieved A*, A*, A in her A Levels in Physical Education, Biology and Maths and now plans to attend Loughborough University to study Sport and Exercise Science. She said:

“I’m really shocked but really proud that all my hard work has paid off and I’m excited for university and what I can do next. The College has supported us so well in everything from the staff to the LRCs. I was also in the net ball team and we became the first team to win a treble including the national championships, so it’s been an amazing year.”

These impressive results follow equally outstanding results from International Baccalaureate students, released earlier in July.

Exeter College and the College Governors would like to thank and congratulate the class of 2022 and thank staff, parents and partners for making this a year to celebrate.