Wirral students celebrate their A-level results

Aug 20 2008 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

A levels

HARD-WORKING teenagers across Wirral celebrated record-breaking A-level results last week.

This year 1,456 students in the borough took the exams, gaining an average 800 points each - an increase of 16.8 points from last year.

And a 100% pass rate at Neston High School helped students in Cheshire to an average points score of 715, a rise from 676 in 2007.

Students at Weatherhead High School in Wallasey achieved a 99% pass rate, with 71% of grades at Birkenhead School, Oxton, at A or B.

There was a 100% pass rate at Wirral Grammar for Girls, with eight girls achieving an impressive five A grades each.

At Upton Hall School student Olivia Hasketh, 17, gained five As including religious studies, which was among the five best marks in the country.

Bebington High Sports College recorded its best ever results with a 91.4% pass rate.

And at Birkenhead Sixth Form College 28 subjects had 100% pass rates, while Jenny Davies and Sarah Morris achieved four A grades.

John Clark, headteacher at Birkenhead School, urged students to be proud of their achivements and ignore accusations that A-levels are becoming easier.

He said: “I know the two years of hard work which go into A-levels so I get very angry at this time of year when, just as you are about to receive your results, the headline-grabbers tell you that A levels are so much easier than in the good old days.

“It’s true they aren’t like the exams I sat; in fact, some aspects of them are probably harder!”

Howard Cooper, director of Wirral Council’s children and young people’s department, said: “Whatever the results, behind the figures lie months of hard work and many individual success stories. We wish young people the very best for the future as they move on to further education, training or employment.”

FOR more A-level results from Wirral's schools, see http://www.wirralnews.co.uk/wirral-news/local-wirral-news/2008/08/14/updated-wirral-students-celebrating-a-level-results-80491-21533011/