Best-ever A-level results cap a vintage year for Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet

Queen Elizabeth’s School is today (Thursday 18th August) celebrating its best-ever results, with seven out of every ten A-levels awarded the highest-possible A* grade.

The results are yet another golden achievement at the end of a year that has seen the boys’ state grammar school earn an ‘outstanding’ rating from Ofsted, win the Sunday Times’ coveted State Secondary School of the Year title, and secure 35 Oxbridge offers.

Not only are the results better than in the past two years, when no examinations were taken and figures were based on assessments, but they are also up on the last pre-pandemic year of 2019.

Headmaster Neil Enright said,: “Exams are back, everything is back, and all the better for it! This has truly been an annus mirabilis for QE, and I am delighted that we have been able to crown the year with such a magnificent set of results, notable, especially for a substantial increase at the very top.

“These brilliant outcomes are well deserved and are testament to both the talent and dedication of pupils and staff, and to the quality of education maintained throughout the last two-and-a-half years.

“The return of public exams has given the boys the opportunity to clearly demonstrate the fruits of their continued hard work and focus during the challenges of the pandemic, and their strong motivation to push forwards.

“The fact that nationally pupils are being warned of lower grades and unusually strong competition for university places makes our own boys’ results all the more impressive: the vast majority here will secure their first choice of university, although of course, staff will be on hand today to guide and support anyone in need of help or advice.”

Among the many highlights of today’s results at QE are the following:

• A* grades amount to 69.9% of all results – up 10.4% on 2021 (when there were Teacher Assessed Grades or TAGs), and up from 45.3% in 2019;

• 92.2% of results are at A*–A, again higher than during the pandemic and up 6% on 2019;

• The A*-B figure is 98.3%, again higher than 2021’s TAGs. This is the 17th consecutive year above 95% for this benchmark figure;

• 71 of the 167-strong cohort (42.5%) have achieved straight A* grades;

• All 50 Economics candidates are awarded either A* (37) or A (13); similarly, there are no grades lower than A for English, French, Geography, Latin, Music and Sociology;

• Mathematics was taken by 139 boys (83% of the year group), with more than four out of five pupils (82.0%) achieving A*.

Mr Enright said: “As the Ofsted report helpfully pointed out, at QE, we are resolutely determined to keep up the momentum with further improvements. It’s not just about academic results – important though these are – but about achieving our mission to develop fully-rounded young men ready to make a positive impact in a fast-changing world.

“Extra-curricular activities here are flourishing: it was wonderful to open our state-of-the-art Music school in May and to celebrate boys’ endeavours in fields as diverse from drama, translation, robotics, debating, engineering and cricket.

“At the same time, many of our boys are involved in volunteering and charity work, while our pastoral programme aims to ensure that the School remains a happy, inclusive environment for boys from all backgrounds.”