by Emma Grove

It has been a successful year for students who took their A-levels and AS levels in the final year at Minster College.

Some 43 students took A levels at the college while another 97 completed AS levels.

There was a 96 per cent pass rate for the A-levels, with many of the pupils who applied to university being accepted.

There were 100 per cent pass rates for A-level in English, history, law, product design, psychology and sociology, and four of the eight A grades were in law.

AS level results were also promising with 100 per cent pass rates in law, history, French and citizenship.

Fourteen students achieved A grades in their AS levels, and 19 got Bs.

Many of the students who took AS levels will continue their studies through to A levels at the Isle of Sheppey Academy which is due to open in September.

Zoe Woodard, 18, from Sheerness, is off to study nursing at Greenwich University after achiveing an A in English litearture and a C in sociology at A-level.

Minster resident, 18-year-old Lauren Greenham, was pleased with her A-level results after getting As in law and sociology and C in psychology.

Lauren is going to study law at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Adam Carter, 18, from Queenborough is going to study law at the University of Kent after acheiving an A in law and a C in sociology.

Adam said: "I’m very pleased with my results, some of us are going to go out clubbing tonight."

Rebecca Dunn, 18, from Minster, was waiting to hear if she had been accepted into University of Kent to do psychology, after getting Cs in English literature and psychology and a B in sociology.

Another big achiever was Caroline Richards, 19, from Halfway, who got As in law and English and a C in history.

Caroline is going to the University of Kent to do English literature.

Caroline said: "I’m really pleased – I didn’t expect it."

One of the high achievers with the AS level results was 17-year-old Stacey Baxter, from Sheerness, who got three As in citizenship, sociology and psychology.

Stacey is positive about continuing her studies at the academy, and thinks the change can only be a good thing.

She said: "I think it’s nice to be part of change.

"Many people think it’s going to be something negative but it’s here to help us.

"I think the aim of the academy is to get more results like these and I’m pleased to be part of it."

Other success stories in the AS level results were 17-year-old James Palmer, from Minster, who got an A in citizenship, Cs in law and maths and an E in physics.

He said: "I’m really pleased, I didn’t expect it so it’s a good surprise."

Anna Glascott, 17, from Eastchurch, got Bs in law and citizenship.

She got a U in sociology but said she was over the moon at her B grades and is going to study the two subjects for A level.

Megan Shufflebotham, 17, from Minster, was pleased with her grades – she got Bs in psychology and English literature and a C in history.

Victoria Standing who is currently assistant head of sixth form at the school and law and cititzenship tutor for A level, is going to become the sixth form coordinator for the academy at its Cheyne site.

She said she is extremely proud of the pupils and is pleased the results have continued the upward trend of the last few years.

She said: “We have worked really really hard this year to ensure we finish on a positive note and I think it’s obvious we have got areas of excellence on certain subjects.

“What we are really focusing on doing is taking that into the academy and looking to develop those areas as well as raising standards so students from this community go on to have success at good universities.”

Miss Standing said the staff are committed to making the transition period for the AS pupils, and all the students, into the new academy as smooth as possible, and she said these results should give the pupils confidence.

She added: “There are students that have got three As – this is not the kind of grade you get at a bad school and it’s a credit to them and to the staff.

“It’s really encouraging for students to see their hard work and they deserve it.

“Transition is difficult but a lot of them will take confidence from these results and staff are committed to ensuring continuity.

“Of course there’s work to do we are always looking at where we can improve and things are going to go from strength to strength.”

Miss Standing was also delighted with the law results and said it has been the most successful law class ever. She added: “I’m so proud of them.

“It’s lovely to know we have finished on a high note and we have got happy students who by and large are smiling as they leave – it’s a fitting end to sixth form at Minster College.”

The national picture

Nationally the pass rate rose for the 27th year in a row, with more than one in four exam entries (26.7 per cent) awarded an A grade - up from 25.9 per cent last year.

The overall pass rate (grades A-E) was 97.5 per cent, an increase of 0.3 per cent from last year, and more than three-quarters of entries (75.1 per cent) were awarded at least a C grade.