Students from City of London Academy (Southwark) secure top university places despite COVID-19

Many students are today celebrating excellent #ALevelResults from @CityofLondon Academy (Southwark).

Amelia Sandie secured a basketball scholarship at Nicholls State University in Louisiana, USA after achieving A* in Physical Education, an A in Sociology and a B in English Literature.

The 18-year-old has been a leading player in the girls Under 18 elite Basketball Academy who were crowned joint national champions this year, and is one of a number of students flying to the USA to study on a basketball scholarship.

Head Girl, Mehad Ali, excelled with an A* in Biology, an A in Chemistry and an A in English Literature. She will go on to study Medicine at University College London, fulfilling her lifelong ambition to be a doctor.

Cecille Quansah and Louisa Berdjane will join Mehad as a trainee doctors, after both secured an A* and two A’s. The 18-year-old’s will take up their studies at King’s College London.

Ravi Hickman-Singh, who has been an integral part of the boys senior basketball team at the academy, achieved A* in Maths, A in Physics, A in Economics and an A in Further Maths at AS Level. He will be reading Maths at Newcastle University on a basketball scholarship.

Arjanit Shala, who will be going off to study at Economics at Queen Mary University of London, got an A in Economics, an A in Physics, an A* in and an A in Further Maths at AS Level.

Molly Harvey, 18, will be studying Maths at Warwick University following an A in Geography, and two A*s in Maths and Further Maths,.

Mike Baxter, Principal at City of London Academy (Southwark), said:

“Today marks a proud moment at the school and the culmination of many years of hard work by the staff and students.

“Like all schools in the country the past few months have been extremely challenging, but thanks to our dedicated teachers and our tenacious students we have managed to weather a very difficult storm.

“This year’s results day is very different, however it acts as an opportunity to reflect on the hard work that teachers and pupils have put in over the past two years. We wish each and every one of our students every success for the future.”

The school is managed as part of the City of London Academies Trust, which runs the City of London Corporation’s sole sponsored academies.

Tijs Broeke, Chair of the City of London Academies Trust, said:

“The past few months have been an extremely testing time at our academy schools, but through resilience and dedication the pupils have made the best of an unprecedented situation.

“For our students today is a very different results day, however it is a huge milestone in their lives and we wish each and every pupil the very best of luck for their future.”

The City of London Corporation sponsors or co-sponsors 10 academies across Hackney, Newham, Islington and Southwark. In 2017 and 2018, Sutton Trust named the City Corporation as the UK’s best academy sponsor for empowering pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to perform above the national average, and the leading academy sponsor for Progress 8 and Attainment 8, which track pupil progress and achievement.