Farlington celebrates A-Level success and first-choice university places

Today, students at Farlington celebrated exceptional A-Level examination results, with 74% of grades awarded to Farlington students being A*-B; 84% A*-C; and a 100% pass rate. 

Particularly impressive is our ‘value added’, with 83% of students achieving one grade above expected in at least one A-Level, and 21% of all grades awarded being two grades above expected. This reflects the outstanding progress made by these students during their time at Farlington. Headmaster James Passam says, “In a year when the media has repeatedly warned us of a harsher marking regime and to expect a realignment of grades to pre-pandemic levels, I am hugely proud of the achievements of our students and their performance against their expected baseline grades.”

Furthermore, 83% of these students have today secured a place at their first choice of university, beating the national average. Farlington students will now go on to read a range of subjects at prestigious universities across the country. These include History at King's College London, Urban Planning at the University of Sheffield, Neuroscience at Keele University, and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London. Farlington students will also be joining Bournemouth University to read Fine Art, and Media and Communications, and Nottingham Trent University to read Psychology and Criminology.

Penny Hart, Head of Senior School, says, “Farlington caters for individual choice and as such our diversity in both degree subject choice and university destination is the embodiment of Farlington’s ethos in promoting and supporting each individual in their chosen pathway. I am delighted by how well this cohort has performed, especially in today’s challenging context.”

Students arriving at Farlington to find out their A-Level results this morning praised the “approachable”, “understanding” and “supportive” staff at the school. 

“I will miss Farlington so much, it is a home away from home and has made me the person I am today. I used to be really shy, but Farlington helped to build my confidence,” said Izzy, who joined Farlington in Year 2 and will now read History of Art at the University of East Anglia. “The A-Level support provided at Farlington is unmatched elsewhere – and the support I have received today on results day has been amazing. I know that my teachers really want the best for me.”

Thomas, who joined Farlington in Year 12 and will now read Psychology at the University of Surrey, said, “When I first visited the Sixth Form here, the people were so friendly. The small class sizes, and the independent-yet-guided experience offered at Farlington, really appealed to me. I will take away lots of great memories!”

As in previous years, whilst many of Farlington’s Year 13 students will now go to university, others have chosen to take a gap year, taking the time to build up their portfolio or gain work experience. This includes Millie, who today celebrated an outstanding set of results, and is due to begin volunteering at Butterfly Palliative Home, a palliative care hospice for children in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, from October. She then intends to pursue a career in medicine. 

This is a hugely exciting period for Farlington School, with recent investment made across the board, including the opening of our new nursery, Little Farlington, this September, and improved facilities including new classrooms for Music, Computer Science and Year 6, as well as a new dance studio. We are also excited by the investment into our curriculum, introducing Computer Science and Design and Technology at GCSE, and Economics at A-Level, in addition to the priority we place on character development at Farlington.