‘Incredibly proud’: Hackney students celebrate improved exam results after ‘strange and difficult couple of years’

Mayor Glanville and Deputy Mayor Bramble (back row) with BSix students on A-level results day. Photograph Hackney Council

Hackney students had fantastic news to celebrate as they collected phenomenal A-level, Btech and GCSE results in August.

This year was the first since 2019 that in-person exams took place after various lockdowns and restrictions prevented students from attending normal exams in 2020 and 2021.

Grades were up on those achieved in 2019, with 93 per cent of students gaining A-D in their A-levels and the proportion of Btech merits and distinctions rising.

One student who did herself proud was Daisy O’Connell, 18, from Clapton Girls’ Academy. She earned three A*s in Geography, Politics and Chemistry, and is set to study Geography in Mansfield College, Oxford University.

She said: “I feel really proud of myself. Going to Oxbridge is something you see others go on to do but you don’t feel it’s going to be you. There’s no feeling like it!”

Meanwhile BSix College student, Victoria Fatimehin, 21, took one step closer to achieving her dreams after earning a Btech distinction in Music Production and Performance.

“I’m headed off to study at a music school,” she said. “I want to become a musician or producer. I’m really happy I got this result. I’m off to do greater things!”

Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, deputy mayor and cabinet member for children’s services and education, pointed out that this year group was particularly unique as they had not sat formal GCSEs due to the pandemic.

She said: “I am incredibly proud of the achievements of our remarkable students here in Hackney, particularly after such a strange and difficult couple of years for these young people.

“I spoke to lots of students picking up their results and their enthusiasm for the future was remarkable. I wish them all the very best in whatever they do next.”

A number of council members and education officials including Bramble and Hackney’s mayor, Philip Glanville, visited schools across the borough on A-level results day to celebrate students’ incredible achievements.

Year 11 pupils across the borough also had some fantastic grades to celebrate as they collected their GCSE results earlier in the month.

Overall, results have improved since last year with the borough looking set to exceed the UK average by five per cent, despite the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville visited the new City of London Academy Shoreditch Park, where an impressive 88 per cent of students received passing grades in English and Maths – roughly 20 per cent higher than the national average.

He said: “This is a particularly special moment for City Academy Shoreditch Park as this is their first ever set of GCSE results since opening in 2017 and moving last year to a permanent, brand new school building built by the council.

“I congratulate everyone involved for establishing the school as an exceptional centre of learning in the borough that delivers an outstanding educational experience.

“Despite the disruption caused by Covid, young people across the borough have once again excelled, achieving results above the national average, which I also saw first-hand at Bridge Academy.

“A big thank you to Hackney’s incredible teachers and all those inside and outside of school who have dedicated their time to supporting young people through their exams and helping them achieve their full potential.”

Many schools in the borough either sustained particularly high grades, or saw a drastic increase in their results compared with 2019.

These include Clapton Girls’ Academy, Mossbourne Community Academy and Mossbourne Victoria Park, Our Lady’s High School, The Bridge Academy and Waterside Academy, but many more also celebrated fantastic grades.

For students considering their next steps, there is an array of support available at younghackney.org.