Sixth form students celebrate record 98.4% success rate 

ARK students were celebrating today when they learned that they had achieved yet another outstanding set of A level results. ARK Sixth Form East Sussex, which is linked with ARK William Parker and Helenswood secondary schools, achieved a 98.4% pass rate – this follows their 98% pass rate in both 2013 and 2012. Best of all, the proportion of students achieving the sought-after A* grade rose to 45.5%, up from 30% last year.

Some students who did particularly well:

Jodie Henningway is planning to go to Warwick to study Chemistry, having got straight As in her A levels in Maths, Biology and Chemistry.

Joseph Jenner managed to get all A*s in his A levels in Business Studies, History and Sociology and is also planning to go to Warwick to study History and Sociology.

Both Amy Wibberley and Leah Homewood managed to get three A*s in their exams, and are now looking forward to starting work after the summer.

Mojo Blyth-Piper managed to get two As and a B and has an offer to attend Sheffield University to study Politics and Philosophy.

Michael Manyarara was born in Zimbabwe and moved to Britain three years ago. He achieved 3 A levels including As in Art & Design and Graphics. He had been separated from his mother for 12 years.

“In Zimbabwe, it was hard to find food sometimes, and the electricity went almost constantly. I remember I only had a sandwich, for a week or so.”

“I started at William Parker when I was in Year 11 and had to learn the whole curriculum in seven months, before the exam. I had a great teacher called Mr Firth. He pushed me beyond my limits.”

Pippa Sampson got a distinction in her BTEC in Health & Social Care alongside two A levels in English Literature and Photography. She plans to go to Huddersfield to study Counselling. Her results are all the more impressive because she has dyspraxia, a speech and language disorder that means she finds some subjects more difficult than others. She explains: “It’s similar to dyslexia but your motor skills are affected and you can struggle with balance, speech and language. Basically, you just have to work a bit harder at everything.”

Even though she has had her own challenges, Pippa has never let anything hold her back. She says: “Something I’ve learnt through ARK is that you don’t have to limit yourself. I don’t want to be a counsellor just because I like it. I want to be the best counsellor in the world.”

Lucy Monk, Principal at Helenswood and Joint Head of ARK Sixth Form East Sussex, said:

“It’s one thing to have a really great year of exam results. But it’s much more difficult to keep up those results, year after year. It’s a lot of pressure for students and for staff. That’s why we’re especially proud of these results – everyone has worked so hard, and shown such dedication, and they absolutely deserve to be commended today. We wish them all the best of luck as they begin their journeys to university and beyond.”