A Level joy as Manchester remains above national average

Manchester’s A Level pass rates have stayed above the national average as results announced today, Thursday 18 August, underlined continuing progress.

The proportion of A* and A grades achieved is higher than the national average at 31.4 per cent - 4.1 per above the national figure of 27 per cent, and up two per cent on last year's Manchester total of 29 per cent.

The overall pass rate (A* to E) remained at 99 per cent, which is 1.1 per cent higher than the national figure of 98 per cent.

Councillor Afzal Khan, Executive Member for Children's Services at Manchester City Council, said: "This year's A Level results show that Manchester schools continue to make strong progress.

"The results are a credit to the city and a testament to the hard work of pupils and teachers alike and show the real face of Manchester's hard working young people, many of whom have combined their studies with making a positive contribution to their communities."

At Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury, almost 80 per cent of all grades achieved were A* to C, with 25 per cent of grades A* to A. Seventeen students achieved at least three A/A* grades with three students going to Cambridge: Isabelle Bowen, Grace McKelvey and Nicola Wood, the latter achieving a clean sweep of four A*s.

Other success stories include Umair Gondal, originally from Pakistan, who attained three As in Maths, Physics and Chemistry despite English being his third language and Steven Jackson, who combined achieving an A and two Bs with setting up the school's Duke of Edinburgh award scheme which saw 30 pupils gain silver awards.

A number of pupils also took part in the Vitalise scheme, which involved them giving up a week of their holidays to work voluntarily in a respite care centre for adults with learning and physical disabilities.

Headteacher Andrew Shakos said: "Parrs Wood staff and governors are proud of all our students who have consistently been great ambassadors for Parrs Wood School and excellent role models for younger pupils. They are a credit to the school, their families and the community."

Whalley Range High School for Girls had an overall pass rate of 97 per cent (12 per cent A* to A) while pupils at William Hulme Academy achieved a 99.4 per cent overall pass rate (23.2 per cent A* to A).

North Manchester's King David High School once again celebrated excellent results, with 50 per cent of pupils achieving A* and A grades and 93 per cent of pupils getting grades A* to C.

Among those pupils recording successes were Benjamin Lewis (5 A*s), Samuel Seitler (3 A*s and one A), Sigalle Khan (3 A*s) and Dayna Rosenthal (4 As).