We are congratulating the Upper Sixth on a fantastic set of A Level results with 80% graded A*-B and, contrary to media reports on the picture nationally, 57% of entries at A*/A. The proportion of these top grades is higher than it was in 2019, before the pandemic. This is a remarkable achievement for a year group for whom these were the first set of public exams. One in five of the cohort have secured places at Oxford, Cambridge and medical schools. The vast majority of students gained their firm or insurance university choice, with courses ranging from architecture to linguistics, international business to diagnostic radiography.
Over 70% of the cohort got three A*-B grades, the essential requirement for admission to the most competitive universities. However, it is the diversity of students’ choices that stands out, with the wider opportunities of the BOLD programme contributing to the Upper Sixth’s success with their future destinations.
The BOLD Award is a fully funded scholarship place for a pupil from a local maintained school. Our first recipient, Anah, not only achieved top grades, taking her to read Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at London School of Economics, she also made the most of every opportunity. Anah got to the national finals of the Oxford Schools Debating Competition, raised money and awareness of food poverty through school assemblies and initiatives such as organising the first community Iftar meal. Head Lars Fox said, “Burgess Hill Girls will continue to open its doors to talented and ambitious students from local maintained schools thus allowing unique development opportunities for those wishing to benefit from our outstanding academic provision.”
All those making applications to read medicine and dentistry were successful. Lucy’s straight A*/A grades mean she takes up her place to read Medicine at Queen Mary University of London. In her EPQ, Lucy wrote about whether artificial intelligence should be used in medicine. Head Girl, Meghana secured straight A*/A grades and is off to study Dentistry at the University of Birmingham. Meghana’s A* EPQ examined why the Partition of India in 1947 remains relevant today.
Work experience and wider engagement with healthcare is particularly important for medicine applications. Whilst Poppy’s three A grades earn her a place at Cardiff to study Medicine, the breadth of her wider achievements in the BOLD programme is equally impressive. Poppy’s A* EPQ project addressed the question of whether bioprinting is the future of organ transplants. In 2022, Poppy undertook a challenge to survive on £2 a day in order to raise awareness of poverty in Ghana. Her efforts raised thousands for medical equipment for a community in Bhusa, Ghana. Poppy is taking a gap year, working as a healthcare assistant for six months at Princess Royal hospital, and then travelling across South East Asia and South and Central America.
STEM successes include top achiever, Abi, whose four A* grades secure her place to read Natural Sciences at Robinson College, Cambridge. Nastya’s straight A grades mean she goes on to read Computer Science at Sheffield. Phoebe takes up her place to read Psychology at Newcastle, Izzie and Crystal will both study Psychology at Warwick and Loughborough respectively.
Burgess Hill Girls’ exceptional creative students have secured places on highly competitive courses. Top artist, Emily, goes to Loughborough to study Textile Design, Emma to Nottingham Trent University to study Architecture, and Millie goes off to Kingston University to study Fine Art.
One in four students are off to study courses in the field of economics and business. Alice’s four straight A*/A grades mean she will take up her place to read Economics at Warwick University. Netisha will go to Royal Holloway to study Economics. Alejandra will read International Business at Leeds. Isabella and Sophie will go to Exeter to study Marketing and Management. Yawen will study Fashion with Marketing and Management at Southampton University.
Liberal arts and humanities results are also strong this year. Maisie’s straight A* grades secure her place at Jesus College, Cambridge to read History of Art. Maisie’s EPQ on whether the conservation and restoration of paintings should be continued also gained an A* grade. Sarah’s straight A*/A results mean she is off to Newnham College, Cambridge. Her EPQ on whether literary texts can be reliably translated showcased her interest in her chosen course, Linguistics. Georgina’s straight A* grades take her to Manchester to read Philosophy and Politics. In addition, Georgina’s EPQ asked whether feminism is the main theme of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and she has excelled in national essay competitions, winning a place on a competitive program at the John Locke Institute at Princeton University. Jemima’s straight A grades take her to Sheffield to read English Literature. Jemima’s EPQ asked whether the West’s historical oppression of the East could lead to a Sino-American war.
Head Lars Fox said, “I am extremely proud of this year group, who have achieved such wonderful results showing once again that Burgess Hill Girls successfully develops tomorrow’s women who are ready to take on the world.”
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