Benenden Students Celebrate A Level Results

Benenden School’s Headmistress has praised the achievements of this “remarkable” year group for their impressive A Level results in unprecedented circumstances.

Benenden students are celebrating a strong set of results, including one student who achieved a total of seven grades at A*.

Nationally, this year group faced a particularly challenging environment. Having not sat their GCSEs due to the pandemic, they were the first cohort to sit A Levels as normal. Education leaders had warned this year group to expect lower grades and that university places would be more competitive because of a population rise and higher education destinations adjusting after Covid.

However, Benenden is delighted that this year’s results are in line with its pre-pandemic levels.

Our top performer, Sophie Moody-Stuart, achieved five A* grades on top of two A* she had already secured by sitting them early: Chinese A Level and her Extended Project Qualification – an additional qualification that involves a dissertation-style research project.

Another student, Emily Kerr, also achieved five A* grades, while five other students are each celebrating straight A* grades. Overall,36 students achieved a clean sweep of A* or A grades.

The Class of 2022 Benenden students are now off to leading universities around the world. All those holding offers from Oxford and Cambridge secured their places, with other UK destinations including Imperial, UCL, LSE, Durham and Edinburgh.

International courses are always popular at Benenden, with destinations this year including Boston, McGill, Carnegie Mellon and Sciences Po in Paris.

Students are pursuing an eclectic mix of courses, ranging from Art History to Zoology, with the likes of Psychology, Computer Science, Music/Pop Music, Management and Neuroscience in between.

Benenden Headmistress Samantha Price said: “This unique year group have faced an unprecedented set of challenges but coped admirably and should all be proud of their outstanding results.

“Every one of these young women is now heading off to pursue the future of their choice, at leading universities around the world and at prestigious workplaces and exciting gap years.”

Mrs Price added: “What is particularly pleasing is that not only have these remarkable young women shone in their exams but they have demonstrated time and again that they will be going out into the world to make a positive difference. They are kind, resilient, willing to try new things and are passionate campaigners with a strong moral compass who are determined to help make the world a better place. I am extremely proud of them all and look forward to welcoming them back to Benenden very soon.”

Benenden, one of the UK’s leading independent schools, is renowned for offering so much more than just outstanding academic results. In addition to their academic success, Benenden’s Class of 2022 have excelled in a wide range of activities during the past year. Examples include completing parachute jumps, building a microlight, developing successful businesses as part of the School’s highly regarded Professional Skills Programme and leading a remarkable array of charitable initiatives.

In addition, this year group have launched an array of student-led societies and clubs, pioneered collaborative sessions with peer schools on topical issues and hosted live interviews with prominent figures including Jacob Rees-Mogg, musician Chi-chi Nwanoku and designer Patrick Grant.

• Discover more about Benenden’s remarkable Sixth F orm at its Sixth Form Opening Evening on Thursday September 15. More details at benenden.school/sixth-form