There were “lots of lovely moments” at Clapton Girls’ Academy this morning as pupils confirmed their university offers, according to head Anna Feltham.
Maysa Chunara, from Upper Clapton, was thrilled with the A* grades she achieved in maths and further maths and the B in physics, which secured her a place at King’s College to study maths.
“No one at the school has ever had A*s in both those subjects,” she told the Gazette.
“I feel really, really excited. I worked really hard to get that.
“I was really nervous. I didn’t want to come in but the maths teachers were smiling at me so that gave me hope.”
Ayesha Gleed from Dalston was also over the moon with the three As she got in English, art and history.
She might go through adjustment to “fish around a bit” to see if she can get any other offers, but is happy with the unconditional offer she already has to study English at Birmingham University.
Despite being predicted three As, she wasn’t expecting to achieve so highly in her subjects, which all followed a new syllabus this year.
“For history there was only one past paper to sit,” she said.
“It was frustrating but our teachers worked hard to make it work and I think that got a lot of people through. They made their own papers and were always on the phone to the exam board complaining about the lack of information.
“It felt as though the exam board was waiting for the exams to be sat before giving any specification as to what they were judging them on.”
The school in Laura Place, Lower Clapton, remains in the top 25 per cent of sixth forms nationally, with students achieving 88pc A* to C grades – 11pc above the national average
Happy Imafidon from Shoreditch was true to her name, beaming at the three As she secured in maths and chemistry and further maths, with a B in physics,
She will to onto UCL to study chemical engineering – a course she discovered when she did a placement at the university.
“A lot of it is about taking raw materials and making a product that’s useful for society,” she said.
“I like the problem-solving aspect of it and how chemical engineering allows us to improve our society. I’m really excited.”
Sally Hammond, meanwhile – who has racked up 100pc attendance at the school since Year 7 – is going to follow in her mother and aunt’s footsteps and become a midwife.
She got three distinction stars in the health and social care BTEC she studied, and will study midwifery at City University.
“I’ve always been interested In pregnancy and helping women who want to try and have babies,” she said.
“My mum and aunty helped me see what I wanted to do and not waste time on subjects. My mum was a midwife in Ghana but she didn’t like it, and she’s a nurse at Homerton now. But my aunty is still a midwife in Newham and she says if you can push through the times that are difficult you know it’s the place to be.
“Going to the university open days there have been a lot of older applicants but as a young person you can bring different experiences.”
Ms Feltham is proud of her students, who she says “coped really well” with the new curriculum.
“The staff are really experienced and they have supported the girls really effectively, and their dedication and commitment means they’ve all done really well,” she said.
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