Moment of truth for A-Level teens - SLIDESHOW

Tense months of waiting were over as students ripped open those all-important envelopes to find out their exam results and destination for September.

Centre director Gordon Whittlestone and Portland and Valley principals Elaine Hamilton and Rob Tarn were there to celebrate and congratulate the students on their efforts.

Gordon said he was delighted with this year’s results and praised the students and staff for their sterling efforts throughout the year.

“The students have done fantastically well and they are the best set of results we have ever had,” he said.

“It’s great to see them take the next step and realise all the hard work that everyone has done.”

Outstanding individual achievements were recorded by seven students who achieved at least three A grades.

Joe Mambwe and Grace Pengelly are the first students from the Post 16 Centre to gain entry to Cambridge with A*A*A*A and A*AAAA grades to study Engineering and Politics respectively.

Grace, 18, said she was absolutely thrilled with her results and proud to have studied at Worksop’s Post 16 Centre.

“I am really happy - it has been a lot of hard work and sleepless nights but it has all paid off,” she said.

“It’s getting increasingly tougher to get into Cambridge and I am so happy for this school - it’s a brillant 6th form. Hopefully this will give people the confidence to show it is possible.”

Conor Pollard is also the first Post 16 Centre student to start a Medicine Degree and is bound for Southampton with his sweep of straight A grades.

“I’m still in shock. This has been the best two years I’ve had here in education. I’m proud to be the first to study Medicine and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

Matthew McKinnell with A*AAB grades and Francesca Woodhall (A*AA) are bound for Newcastle and East Anglia to study Law and Pharmacy respectively.

Said Matthew: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet to be honest. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my teachers, including my tutor Anna Oldroyd.”

Added Francesca: “I’m really excited and so pleased with my results. But there’s a lot of people who have worked just as hard and they deserve just as much credit as we do.”

Other notable successes, also bound for prestigious Russell Group Universities, include Sophie Andrews, who with A*AA grades is taking up a place in Leeds to study Management and Kiera Solaiman will study English at Manchester as a result of straight A grades.

Sarah Worley is the Centre’s first student to successfully apply for a place at Liverpool University to study Veterinary Science.

The Centre’s first year students also recorded some excellent AS level results. Top of the year was Jacob Fogg, with Andrew Gladman, Carl Johnson, Beth Radford, Matthew Seaton, Elenor Spittlehouse and Heather Wood also achieving top grades.

Mr Whittlestone said the success of Worksop’s Post 16 Centre is not only reflected by its examination results but also by its increased recruitment figures.

“In the four years since the Post 16 Centre opened there has been a 50 per cent increase in student numbers from 279 in September 2007 to an expected cohort of 420 this year,” he said.

“The centre’s A Level results continue their year on year increase, having this year reached an impressive overall pass rate of 97 per cent, with 19 of the subjects on offer achieving 100 per cent pass rates.”

But he said there lay many challenges ahead - even for students who had gained good grades. “A record number of 139 students from the Centre’s 160 strong A level cohort have applied to university this year. With these results it is expected that the vast majority will be successful,” he said.

“But this is the toughest year yet for students to get into university before the fees rise next year, and even students who have got top grades will have to go through clearing.”