Brentwood students celebrate excellent results across three different academic pathways

Brentwood School’s Sixth Form students – academically accomplished, grounded in strong values, and enriched by diverse achievements beyond the classroom – today step confidently into their futures clutching excellent results in A Level, BTEC and the IB Diploma.

Exam results are an important milestone as the School’s outgoing Upper Sixth take the next steps in their journey of learning, leadership, and service, and the Class of 25 are all set to make their mark in the world in fields that range from law and the creative arts to medicine and aviation. An impressive 82% of A Level results were graded A* – B, the school’s best since the last major reform of A Levels a decade ago.

The 133-strong A Level cohort celebrated a 100% pass rate, with 43% graded at A*-A.

Stellar BTEC results saw 11 students achieve the equivalent of A*A*A* at A Level;  10 the equivalent of A*A*A, and a further 8 the equivalent of A*AA, and all 37 BTEC students secured their first-choice destination at universities (including UCL, Bristol, Exeter, Nottingham, Bath, York and Liverpool), highly sought-after degree apprenticeships or employment.

Brentwood is one of the few independent schools in the country to offer three Sixth Form pathways – the International Baccalaureate Diploma, the BTEC Extended Diploma (in Business and Sport), and A Levels – and when combined, an impressive 57% of results were the equivalent of A*or A and 87% A*, A or B.

July’s outstanding IB Diploma results returned an average of 38 points and saw three students (Achinta K, Sofia S, and Laura A) achieve the 45-point maximum, meaning Brentwood remains one of the top IB Schools in the UK. The world average IB points total was 30.6.

As befits a school with an international outlook, the new cohort of ‘Old Brentwoods’ includes a number who will be heading overseas for their next chapter. America-bound are Luke F (A*AB), off on an academic scholarship to Binghamton University in New York; and Edward L (AAB and A* EPQ), who has secured a golf scholarship at Tusculum University in Tennessee, majoring in Business Management.

In addition, 9 students are heading off to study Law, including Elsie P, who achieved 44 points in the IB Diploma and will be heading off to Cambridge; 6 are future doctors, dentists, or veterinarians; 7 more will take their first steps towards becoming healthcare professionals (ranging from Pharmacology to Biomedical Science) and 3 students – Max K, Sahil N  and Harry R – will be navigating the skies as they train as pilots!

Fletcher M (A*A*A*, A*EPQ) will be joining his twin brother Connor (A*AB, A in EPQ) at the University of Nottingham, and while Connor studies Aerospace Engineering, Fletcher will spend the next 5 years qualifying as a veterinary surgeon.

“Brentwood has so much variety, our highlights span from trips abroad to House events to sport.”

Fletcher also thanked his teachers for giving him that ‘extra push’ to achieve top marks.

At Brentwood, we believe in the maxim that the busiest people are usually the most successful and this year’s results provide further supporting evidence: Top scorer Adrian S, who was awarded A*A*A*A* and A* in his EPQ, is off to read Medicine at Queen Mary University of London. Adrian, a virtuoso pianist, recently performed the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto in the Prom Concert accompanied by the School’s Symphony Orchestra.

Outgoing Head of School, Joseph P, (A*A*A*A and A* EPQ), who played for the Independent Schools Football Association (ISFA) England team for two years and was offered several US football scholarships, has decided on a future in Accounting & Finance at the London School of Economics.

Picking up his manila envelope, Joseph said he felt quite nostalgic, having spent the last couple of days reminiscing about school days ‘full of highs’ and all the good things that he had experienced at Brentwood, from sports to wearing the celebrated Head of School blue gown.

Cycling prodigy Harry T, the World U20 record holder for number of miles cycled in a 24 hour period (achieving 333.6 miles (537km) at the World Time Trial Championships in California) is off to the University of Nottingham (with 3 A*s and A* EPQ) to study Aerospace Engineering. Harry, who had scaled back his training in recent months to focus on exam preparation, has just completed his latest two-wheeled challenge – riding alongside (or perhaps in front of and behind…) his dad in the London-Edinburgh-London event, Britain’s greatest cycle challenge; a 1,530-kilometre (950-mile) self-supported ride across the United Kingdom, which was curtailed to ‘only’ 1,000 kilometres due to Storm Floris. Harry, who will no doubt be an integral part of Nottingham’s cycling team, joined his family for an early A Levels celebration last night as they chose to ‘celebrate the work he had put in rather than the results.’

Performing Arts stalwarts Charlotte D and Lizzie D not only shared the lead role of Elle in this year’s Winter Musical Legally Blonde, but also shared the same excellent results – A*A*A and A* EPQ. In the spirit of diversity, that’s where the similarity ends as Charlotte heads to the University of Nottingham to read Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence, while Lizzie will be travelling a little further north to read English Literature at Durham University.

Like several of her contemporaries, Charlotte, who aims to work in Artificial Intelligence, was straight off to rehearsals for the Music Department’s upcoming tour of Belgium. Lizzie’s dad Mark, who is also an Old Brentwood, said:

“She’s my proudest achievement. Lizzie’s made the most of every opportunity and proves that you can have it both- academic & co- curricular.”

Exemplifying the School’s Values, Lizzie was awarded this year’s prestigious Lesley Hall Prize for Virtue Learning and Manners.

Fellow Performing Arts alumni Bessie T, daughter of actress Lucy Benjamin, will continue her musical studies at the University of Edinburgh. Bessie, who was joined by her parents and sister, was ‘very happy’ with her results (A*BB and A EPQ) and said she was excited to embark on her next adventure, ‘taking everything from Brentwood away with her’. Looking ahead to a career in the performing arts, she joked, “I am my mother’s daughter,” adding, “I feel I am just an advert for the Performing Arts Department, I would not be where I am at all without their nurture.’

Following the trend towards employment and degree apprenticeships are Emma B, (A*A*B and A* EPQ) with a bespoke degree apprenticeship at BrightStar, and Eloise S-B (A*AB and EPQ A) with a degree apprenticeship with Essex Police.

Sophia M (A*A*A & A* EPQ), who will be embarking on a 2D Digital Animation course at the University of Hertfordshire, said she had loved getting involved with the vast range of co-curricular activities, such as the music programme, which were so different from her academic studies.

Brume O said it had been an intense two years, but he was so grateful for his A*A*AB, which will see him off to read Mechanical Engineering.

“My results wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing support of the Maths Department,”

he added.

BTEC Business student Louis T, who was awarded the Bean Prize for Virtue, Learning Manners at this year’s Speech Day, and achieved the equivalent of A*A*A* at A Level, said: “I am just so proud of all of my mates and can’t wait to celebrate together”.

Director of Sixth Form, Mr Tim Sellers, said: “It is fantastic to see the achievements of all our outgoing Upper Sixth Students as they look to their future ‘Beyond Brentwood’. It is always so exciting to see the range of pathways our students take, such as entering universities in the UK and across the world, or taking up apprenticeships and employment roles. We are so proud of all they have achieved through their time in the Sixth Form and the way in which they have strived to achieve their very best academically as well as be central to the vast array of sporting, co-curricular, and performing arts opportunities in school. It has been a pleasure to see them thrive during their time in the Sixth Form and we all look forward to hearing of all their future successes and achievements!

Headmaster Michael Bond said of the departing Upper Sixth cohort: “We are very proud of our outgoing Upper Sixth students for their academic achievements across all three of our Sixth Form pathways, and grateful for the hard work of their teachers and support of their parents in helping them achieve these grades. Much more than this, however, we are proud of the young adults they have become, whether they have been with us for 2, 5, 7, or (in the case of 15 students) 15 years. At a time when there is so much pessimism in the news and on social media, they have reminded us that there is good reason to be optimistic about the future in the shape of excellent young people like those who are leaving us this summer. Within the year group, there have been enthusiastic Bursary Ambassadors; supportive Peer Mentors and Mental Health First Aiders; hugely talented musicians, dancers, actors, sportsmen/women; and many who have contributed in ways too numerous to list. They are an excellent group of young people who have contributed greatly to our community, and we wish them well as they take their energy, talent, and (above all) values with them into a wide range of courses, careers, and lives.’’