History repeats itself as Portsmouth High girls delight in A Level success

In another tremendously successful year at Portsmouth High School, Sixth Formers excitedly received their A Level results marking yet another year of excellent academic and personal achievements for students at the school.

Girls achieved over 14% of A* grades and an impressive 43% of all grades at A Level were A*/A  and 80% were A*- B.  There was an excellent spread of top grades over all subjects with over half of the girls receiving A*- A in Religious Studies, Geography and Mathematics.  All girls who sat Modern Foreign Languages received B grades or above and 77% of girls who sat Biology received A*- B.

Head Girl, Anna Mackay, 18, repeated the success of her sister, Claire Mackay who was Head Girl at Portsmouth High School from 2011-2012. Both Anna and Claire achieved A* in Geography, A in History and B in Biology. Anna goes on to read Geography at the University of Manchester and Claire has now left the University of Cardiff and is working as a civil servant.

‘I have loved studying geography at Portsmouth High School,’ said Anna.  ‘It has been a wonderful school and the staff have been with me on every step of my journey.  It is extraordinary that Claire and I got exactly the same grades. It has been a fantastic eleven years of hard work and Mum and Dad are very proud!’

Lara Bird, 18, who was Deputy Head Girl, gained a place at the University of Oxford to read Philosophy and Theology with two A*s and an A.

‘I am so relieved, happy and excited,’ she said. ‘I have been up all night thinking it was all going to be a disaster so it is like a dream come true. I cannot believe that I am going to Oxford.’

Harriet Newcombe, 18, was thrilled that she got into her first choice of university, Edinburgh.  She achieved two A*s and an A in politics, religious studies and English.  Her mother, Mrs Bridget Newcombe, a Portsmouth High School, alumnae, said. ‘I am so very proud of her and thrilled she has got into her first choice of university.’

Other successes were Ella Herman, who achieved three B grades and secured her place at Loughborough to study Ergonomic Design; Lulu Barlow with A, and two Bs who moves on to study Criminology & Psychology at Southampton and Chloe Chapman who has secured a place at Brighton and Sussex Medical School with two A*s and a B.

‘I am so delighted for the girls and so pleased they are going on to the university of choice,’ said Headmistress Mrs Jane Prescott. ‘They have performed well across all subjects including the sciences, arts and languages.  These results are down to the hard work of the girls particularly at a time when A Levels have become tougher and are increasingly marked much harder.  This demonstrate that Portsmouth High School is continuously providing high quality education to girls in Portsmouth and the wider area.  We also understand that the school isn’t just about results but about preparing the girls for the next stages of their adult lives.’

Mr John Paget-Tomlinson, Deputy Headmaster (Academic) at Portsmouth High School added:

‘It is a joy to see how delighted the girls are with their amazing results. There is a tremendous atmosphere within the Portsmouth High Sixth Form. The girls have a real determination to succeed and excellent  working relationships with their teachers; it’s a winning combination.’