A NERVOUS wait was met with plenty of smiles on Thursday morning as students in Monmouthshire received their A-level results.

And the hard work and dedication of sixth formers and staff at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls (HMSG) and Monmouth School paid off with almost one in three students gaining all A* or A grades.

At HMSG, 56.9 per cent of grades were A* or A and the vast majority of girls gained access to their first choice university. 82.4 per cent of grades were A* to B, and the pass rate was 100 per cent.

Monmouth School enjoyed its best set of results in four years, with 50.2 per cent A* to A grades and three quarters of all grades A* to B. Three boys, Freddie Parker, Dan Smith and Sam White all achieved four A*s.

One girl from HMSG, Stephanie Wai, was awarded five A*s and secured her offer to read engineering at Cambridge.

Ellena Gale achieved two A*s, two As and a B and will take up her place at Oxford to study psychology and philosophy, and Cass Lowton has secured her place at Oxford to study theology with two A*s, two As and a B.

Ellena said: “It means a lot – it hasn’t quite sunk in yet.

“When you put in so much work it’s gratifying to get good results.

“I’m most looking to forward to being able to look really in depth at the subjects I love and to being surrounded by such academically-minded people.

“Going to Oxford will be another chance to shape my academic future all over again. I’ve definitely had some very supportive teachers at HMSG who have encouraged me and helped me along the way.”

Mary Lord, from Chepstow, achieved three As and will be reading French and Spanish at Durham University. The actress, who played Mrs Potts in HMSG’s recent Beauty and the Beast musical, also has a Vice Chancellor’s Performing Arts Scholarship which will see her work on drama productions within primary and secondary schools throughout her time at university.

She said: “I’ve acted all my life and I’ve loved drama from such a young age, so it will be amazing to help other young people discover the same love for it.”

And Pippa England, who has rowed for GB and was Captain of the Boats when the HMSG team won the Schools Head this year, is off to study bio chemistry at Imperial College London.

She said: “I was absolutely terrified opening the results. I was very surprised and extremely happy.

“It’s been tough since Easter right the way through, but it’s been worth it.

“I’ve been training the whole time as well – which is great for time management

“Rowing for the last seven years has definitely taught me how to motivate myself.

“I’ve been at HMSG since Year 3 and I couldn’t have done this without being here. All of my teachers have been so amazing.”

Monmouth School’s Head Boy, Sam White, will take up his place to study maths at Oxford after achieving a remarkable four A*s and 100 per cent in his physics paper.

The First XIII rower said: “I was really nervous but excited this morning - my hands were shaking over my cup of tea! I was genuinely surprised and relieved when I opened UCAS to see my offer was confirmed.”

Zac Raouf was awarded two A*s and an A and is excited to begin reading medicine at Oxford.

He said: “I mostly felt relief when I opened my results. All the hard work has paid off and I’m looking forward to what’s next – it means a lot.”

Freddie Parker’s four A*s will enable him to study medicine at King’s College London.

He said: “Both of my parents are farmers, so I’ll be the first medic in the family. I’m thrilled with my results. I’m hoping to specialise in forensic psychology or surgery and I’m very excited about embarking on my medical career.”

Dr Andrew Daniel, Headmaster of Monmouth School, said: “Such strong results have allowed Monmouth School boys to take up places at their universities of choice, including Oxford and Cambridge, and the elite Russell Group Universities.  We are particularly pleased that the boys achieved such excellent results alongside being involved in many other activities: many of our most committed sportsmen and musicians, for example, achieved outstanding grades.  This is the hallmark of Monmouth School - the boys certainly work extremely hard in their academic studies, and achieve outstanding results, but they also make highly valued contributions to a wide range of other activities in School.”

Dr Caroline Pascoe, Headmistress of HMSG, added: “We are delighted there has been an improvement on last year’s results. It is a huge relief when the hard work and dedication of staff and pupils pays off and the girls achieve their personal best, whether that is an A*, A, B or C grade. HMSG has achieved above and beyond the national average for A* to A grades across the board, including core STEM subjects. It’s so lovely to see the dedication of such a talented year group help them progress on to their next step.”

At Monmouth Comprehensive School, students excelled with a galaxy of outstanding examination results. Over 150 students were entered for A Level and BTEC qualifications. Grades and pass rates were significantly above national figures at 23 per cent, with 43 per cent of students achieving the top grades A* to A and 85 per cent achieving A* to C. Students who took the Welsh Baccalaureate at Advanced Level achieved a 100 per cent pass rate, with 75 per cent of students achieving A* and As.

On Thursday morning, there were smiles of joy and delight (as well as a few tears of relief) as students celebrated their success with parents and teachers. A number of students achieved top grades across all their examination courses: Grace Allan, Gurpreet Bal, Herman Bal, Lewis Bell, Natasha Chandra, Francis Dowle, Henry Edwards, Nathan Friend, Alice Gable, Lara Gordon, James Johnston, Georgia Jones, Megan Kinniment-Williams, Harry Lloyd, Lucy Neil, Jess Netherway, Philippa Parry, Reuben Pierrepoint, Annica Prince, Ben Warmington and Sam Winder.

Students have accepted places at a number of universities and colleges with others taking up apprenticeships. Seven students are off to Oxford and Cambridge as well as a vast majority to other Russell Group Universities. Our students will be studying a wide range of subjects including PPE, Linguistics, Medieval Languages, Engineering, History, Physics and Maths.

Director of Sixth Form Studies, Mrs Caroline Guest, said how delighted she was with the work of the students and their determination to succeed. “Our students leave with the skills, knowledge and attitudes to succeed in their next pathway and be successful in life. At the heart of our Sixth Form programme of study is the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification. This is a rigorous and widely recognised qualification that prepares students not only for lifelong learning but also focuses on personal development. A major component of the qualification is the individual investigation which is written to the format of a university thesis and is invaluable in providing students with the grounding they need in succeeding at higher degrees of study. I am not surprised that so many universities, including the Russell Group, made the qualification a requisite in the offer they made to students. It is testament to the high regard of the qualification and the Welsh Curriculum.”

Headteacher, Mr Davies, praised the work of students, parents and staff in achieving such excellent results. Mr Davies said: “The students and staff at Monmouth Comprehensive school work hard to ensure the success of every student. Parents work closely with the school and support students at every opportunity. I am proud to be able to work with such exemplary, hardworking and dedicated students and staff. The results show that our students are able to lead their lives”.

The school has an Alumni Organisation which plays a major part in mentoring and inspiring students. This year, MCS welcomed many alumni into school to work with the Sixth Form. Mr Davies said “I would like to thank all those who have given of their time and worked with our students throughout the year.”