Students at a Bucks school have bucked the national trend, recording a 'remarkable' surge in top A-Level grades.

While A-Level results day is always a time of uncertainty and excitement, the class of 2023 has also had to contend with being the first cohort since 2019 to be marked by pre-pandemic standards.

The proportion of top A-Level grades across the UK is down from last year but has remained above pre-pandemic levels, prompting Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to cite it as proof that it was the right choice to reinstate the former grading system.

Year 13 students at schools including Beaconsfield High have managed to buck national trends, however, by recording an increase in the number of top grades achieved from 2022, when post-pandemic allowances were still in place. 

The results at Beaconsfield High showed a surge of 12 per cent in the achievement of A* and A grades among students and a 13 per cent rise in grades between A* and B.

83 per cent of the students who received their results this morning (August 17) were admitted to their first-choice university or pathway, including the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. 

Headteacher Tina Bond said: “Our students are ambitious, resilient, and determined and this has resulted in them achieving their goals and having a great day today.

"It is important to remember that this group of young people sat public exams for the first time in their academic careers this summer, having not had the opportunity as GCSE students. To do this and succeed at the level they have, is remarkable! We are incredibly proud of them.”