The largest ever cohort of Year 13 students at King Henry VIII 3-19 School in Abergavenny are celebrating a “very strong” set of A-Level results after a year of hard work and dedication.

Those who are now at the end of their journey with the school’s post-16 provision will now be moving on to the next chapter of their lives, whether that be the world of work or further education.

91 per cent of those from King Henry who applied to university have been successful in gaining places at their first choice, while two students will be going to the prestigious Cambridge University in September!

Headteacher, Jonathan Watson, was full of praise for everyone who was celebrating this momentous occasion.

A “Huge congratulations to all our King Henry VIII 3-19 School Year 13 pupils who received their results today,” he said.

“This is our biggest ever Year 13 cohort. I am delighted to announce a very strong set of grades. These include pupils who have achieved high academic outcomes, including many pupils with a whole suite of A* and A grades. One pupil has achieved six A* grades! These also include pupils who have made excellent progress, and are now going on to life changing courses.”

“These results reflect your high levels of determination, ambition, and courage that you have consistently demonstrated. We are so proud of what you have achieved. Effort is the fundamental component of success, and your efforts, and continued curiosity, have inspired us all.”

“These results now provide our pupils with what they need to commence their amazing next steps, with 91 per cent embarking on their first-choice university courses.”

“A very well done to our two pupils going to the University of Cambridge, one to study Natural Sciences, and one to study English. What an amazing achievement. Congratulations to our two pupils going on to study Medicine, great work!”

“Even more important than your academic outcomes is who you are as people. You have all grown into really kind and positive young adults, who really embrace our school values, and our school is a better place because of you. We know you will go out into the world and leave it an even better place than you find it.”

“Thank you to our wonderful staff for the first-class support, commitment, and dedication you have you have provided our pupils.”

“We wish our Year 13 pupils the best of luck as they start their exciting next steps. Congratulations to you all.”

Overall in Wales there has been a slight rise of 0.1 per cent in the number of students achieving A*/A grades to 29.6 per cent, and more passes on the whole when compared with last year.

The overall trend shows a more consistent pattern in the results since the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the rate of students getting the top two grades is still 20 per cent lower than the teacher-assessed years of 2020 and 2021 due to the lockdown restrictions.