Alnwick Sixth Form students celebrate strongest A-Level progress in five years

The Alnwick school's value-added score, which measures how much students achieve relative to their prior attainment, rose for the third year running and reached its highest level since 2021.

The 130-strong cohort performed strongly across the board. More than four in ten grades were awarded at A* to B, and 98 per cent of all A level entries were passed.

Chemistry students achieved A or A* in two thirds of entries, with every student reaching at least a B. Physics recorded almost half its grades at A or A*.

The most striking movement came in applied and vocational courses.

The number of students taking applied general qualifications rose from 14 to 46, and their progress score climbed to +0.56, one of the highest in the school.

Students on the Health and Social Care Diploma, the Childcare Certificate and the Cambridge Technical courses in Sport and IT all achieved well above expectation.

Assistant Headteacher for Post 16, Martin Allenby, paid tribute to the year group.

"What stands out about this cohort is how many different routes they have taken and how well they have done on all of them,” he said.

"Whether a student was aiming at a competitive university course, a degree apprenticeship or straight into work, the ambition was the same and so was the effort behind it.

"They have been a pleasure to teach and we will miss them."

For most students, these results mean they will now progress to their first-choice universities. Others are taking up places on higher-level apprenticeships or moving directly into employment.

Headteacher James Wilson added: "Progress is the measure I care about most, because it tells you what a school actually added rather than what walked through the door.

"This year group made more of their two years here than any cohort in five years, and they did it across every route we offer.

"That is not luck. It is subject experts who know their students, push them and stay with them when it gets hard.

"The class of 2026 have been resilient, decent and determined, and those are the qualities that will carry them furthest, whatever they do next."