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Watch some of the Invicta
Grammar School students getting their results and hear from Cllr
Jenny Whittle

Schools are celebrating another
year of record A-level results.

Schools opened their gates at
10.30am this morning for students to collect their A-level grades
and find out if their dreams of university or work places
had come true.

Nationally, one in four A-level
passes was an A. But there are also reports of a shortage of
university places, with students facing a tougher fight than ever
to secure a place on a course through clearing.

We'll update this page as
results come in from schools across the area (schools listed
alphabetically).

Angley School,
Cranbrook

It was a record breaking year for
A-level students at Angley School in Cranbrook, with the number of
pupils gaining two or more passes up by 10 per cent on last
year.

Philosophy and Ethics students
achieved a 100 per cent pass rate, with 10 gaining A grades and
nine getting Bs, while the average points score for each pupil went
from 455 last year to 513 points.

Star performances were turned in by
Katie Harrison, Rachel Kelly and Rachel Stevens, all gaining A
grades, while Josh Campbell gained four passes and Peter Fowler,
Ben Daly and Will Fowler all achieved strong grades.

Principal Philip Morris said: “This
is again a record year for our students who have worked hard and
made a wonderful contribution to the life of the school.

“Our Year 13 students have been
great leaders of the whole school community. Their results have
been because of the great partnership between a dedicated and
experienced teaching staff and their own commitment to their
studies.”

Astor of Hever School,
Maidstone

Students at Astor of Hever
School with their results. Picture: Matt Reading

Astor of Hever School is
celebrating after 61 per cent of pupils passed their A-levels at
grade C or higher and 31 per cent achieved A grades.

Acting Head of School, Julia
Campbell said: "I am delighted with our students’ performance. The
overall pass rate has increased by 8 per cent on the previous
year. The students have worked hard to achieve these results
and their university places secured are well deserved.”

Among those celebrating was
Nepal-born student Rajan Pun, who has only been living in the UK
for two years. He got an A in maths, C in business studies and D in
applied science.

Rajan, 20, whose father was a
Gurkha, said: "It was very difficult at first and very different to
before. We only ever had books in Napal, we didn’t have the
internet. The lessons here are a lot more practical and
interactive, rather than just memorising books.”

Aylesford School,
Aylesford

Students
at Aylesford School celebrate their A-levels. Picture supplied by
Aylesford School

The relief as
two years of hard work came to a conclusion was shown on the faces
of students at Aylesford School - Sports College.

Christine Dudley,
head of sixth form, said the school in Teapot Lane, Aylesford, was
celebrating a “very good” set of results.

James Fuller,
Kerri Lee and Gary Ward gained three A grades.

Bethany School,
Goudhurst

Bethany School students
managed to secure a record 100 per cent pass rate.

All 180 A-level students passed at
grades A – E. Fifty-three per cent of those got A and B grades,
also a Bethany record.

Three students secured A grades in
all of their subjects. James Lees, from Tunbridge Wells, is off to
study a degree in English and creative writing; Christina Mikelis,
also from Tunbridge Wells, will continue with her art and design
studies at Central St Martins; and Christopher Kirkland, from
Tonbridge, will study for a degree in politics.

Headmaster Nick Dorey said: “This
is an absolutely outstanding set of results.

“We do not just cream off the most
able – we give all who want to study A level the chance to do so.
Yet the results achieved by this year group, across the board, are
of the highest standard."

Cornwallis Academy,
Maidstone

(l-r) Head of Cornwallis
David Simons with Phillip Relf, Dan Taylor, Kirsty Newell, Nisha
Newell and Nick Akerman. Picture: Moira Mitchell.

There were hugs all around when
students opened their A-level results at Cornwallis Academy in
Maidstone.

A total of 97 per cent of all
pupils at the academy who took the exams passed, with 64 per cent
achieving the higher grades.

Head teacher David Simons said:
“This continues the trend of high performance within the sixth form
at Cornwallis Academy and is a reflection of the dedication of
students and staff.”

A number of Year 12 students also
took their A-levels a year early, where out of almost 200 entries
55 per cent gained higher grades, and 18 of those students are set
to will start university courses at the academy site.

Cranbrook School,
Cranbrook

Cranbrook School pupils
celebrate their results. Picture: Cranbrook School

A-level students at Cranbrook
School achieved a pass rate of more than 99 per cent, with 39
pupils gaining three or more A grades.

Virtually every pupil obtained the
results they needed to get into their chosen universities.

Head teacher Angela Daly said:
“These results reflect the hard work of both staff and students and
we are very pleased with them.”

Holmesdale Technology
College, Snodland

Holmesdale Technology College in
Snodland also had a good year. Ninety Year 13 students gained
two or more A-level passes at Grades A to E, up on last year. The
college expects 65 per cent of its students will be taking up
university places in the autumn term.

Invicta Grammar School,
Maidstone

Invicta Grammar School
pupils get their results. Picture: Chris Hunter

Ali Orrin, 17, (right) is looking
forward to a future in civil engineering after taking four A-levels
a year early and getting A grades in all of them.

Ali, from Marden, is one of 17
students who achieved four A-levels in what has been a record
breaking year for Invicta Grammar School.

More than 73 per cent of students
at the Maidstone school achieved A or B grades, with six students
achieving five A grades.

Headteacher Kirstin Cardin said the
result was the “best ever” in the school’s history, and said the
hard work of staff and support of parents had contributed to the
success.

Maidstone Grammar School,
Maidstone

Pupils at Maidstone Grammar
School celebrate their A-level results. Picture: Maidstone Grammar
School

Students at Maidstone Grammar
School clocked up the second best set of results in the school’s
history, 59 per cent of results at A or B grade, and 85 per cent at
C or above.

The joint top A-level scholars were
Sam Evington and Dushyanth Gnanappiragasam who gained four A grades
at A-level and another A grade at AS-level.

Sam has a place to read mathematics
at Oxford University while Dushyanth will read medicine at Imperial
College, London.

Harriet Ryder achieved four A
grades at A-level plus a distinction in the Advanced Extension
Award in French. Another seven students achieved four A grade
A-levels and a further eleven gained three grade As.

The school’s new headmaster, Dr
Nick Argent, said: “These fine results reflect a significant effort
on the part of both the pupils and the staff who taught them.
I am heartened by the standards apparent upon my arrival at the
school and wish to extend my congratulations to all concerned.”

Maidstone Grammar School
for Girls, Maidstone

Pupils at Maidstone Grammar
School for Girls celebrate their results. Picture: Maidstone
Grammar School for Girls

Mary Smith, head teacher at
Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, said she was delighted with her
girls’ results. She said: “I’d like to congratulate them and all,
and the staff, on some excellent results.”

From an upper sixth of 149
students, 50 girls obtained three or more A-levels at A and B
grade. Twin sisters Francesca and Chelsea Heard managed eight
straight A-grades between them.

Mascalls School, Paddock
Wood

A pass rate of more than 97
per cent is one of the A-level achievements being celebrated at
Mascalls School.

The school, in Paddock
Wood, had a pass rate of 99 per cent, excluding general
studies, and 97.2 per cent when the course was included. More than
42 of those pupils received A and B grades.

Head teacher, Vanessa Everett, said
it was: “A fantastic result for a non-selective school.”

Cambridge University now beckons
for Callum Fowers from Horsmonden, who achieved six As in maths,
further maths, physics, chemistry, history and general studies.

Many students also gained three A
grades.

Mid Kent College,
Maidstone

This year Mid Kent College saw an
increase in students obtaining grades A - E in their A-levels, with
the figure rising by 2 per cent to 88 per cent.

In total 111 college students
gained A to C grades in a variety of subjects. The percentage of
learners studying AS-level courses obtaining grades A - B remained
at 18 per cent, the same as last year.

Principal Stephen Grix said: “We’d
like to congratulate our A2 and AS Level students on their hard
work. Results day can be a nerve-wracking experience, and we’re
happy to see many didn’t have anything to be nervous about.

“Whether you choose to continue
studying or go into employment, qualifications such as these really
can open doors and are well worth the effort.”

Oakwood Park Grammar
School, Maidstone

We've passed! Oakwood
Grammar School pupils celebrate. Picture: Matt Reading

Thirteen students at Oakwood Park
Grammar School scooped three A grade A levels to contribute to the
schools “outstanding” results.

Staff and sixth form students will
be celebrating tonight after 53.3 per cent of all A levels taken
were grades A or B.

The triple A students were
Christopher Bone, Clarissa Dow, Ben Fowler, Luke
Fundell-Williamson, Alexander Gunyon, Steven Harris, Richard
Kember, Michael Loines, Claire Smith Tom Standen, Bryan Taylor,
Naomi White and Toby Whitlock.

Mr Kevin Moody, Oakwood Park head
teacher said he was very pleased with their success, adding: "We
are delighted that all the hard work of students, teachers and the
support of parents has led to such great success."

St Simon Stock Catholic
School, Maidstone

St Simon Stock Roman
Catholic School. Picture: Matt Reading

St Simon Stock is celebrating its
best ever A-Level results with 57 per cent of students achieving A
or B grades, 80 per cent achieving A to C grades and 99 per cent
achieving A-E grades.

Head teacher John McParland said:
“These are excellent results for our school and our students
deserve the highest praise. I know they appreciate the
commitment, dedication and expertise of their teachers who have
been very supportive to them in their two years of intensive
study”

Students Paul Batty and John Ryan
will now take up places at Oxford University.

At AS Level, twins Benjamin and
Thomas McParland and Richard Whiteman, Year 12 students, each
achieved 4 grade As at AS-Level as well as an A grade in A-Level
Mathematics.

Sutton Valence School,
Maidstone

Staff and students at Sutton
Valence School near Maidstone were celebrating their best-ever
A-level results.

With 80 per cent passes at grades
A-C, the results were the highest ever recorded and the number of
passes at A and B grades was 10 per cent higher than last year’s
tally.

Five students achieved three or
more A grades: Ruby Burfoot, from Maidstone; Matthew Coombe-Jones,
from Goudhurst; Jo Janney, from Sevenoaks; Robert Bell, from
Beckenham; and Zhao Wang, from Shanghai.

New headmaster Bruce Grindlay said:
“Today’s results are testament to all we have achieved and the type
of inclusive education we provide. Our A-level results are a credit
to students and staff alike, who have worked as a team, and we are
delighted that 90 per cent of our leavers will now be going on to
their first choice universities.”

Swadelands School,
Lenham

Swadelands School in Lenham has the
highest number of students in the school's history going on to
university this year following the latest A-level results.

Head teacher Richard Baddeley said:
“I am really pleased for the students and staff who have all worked
very hard.”

Valley Park Community
School, Maidstone

Valley Park School pupils
Sarah Bryant, Emily Smith. Melanie Golding, Luke Attwood, Chris
Dixon celebrate their A-level results. Picture: Valley Park
School.

Valley Park is celebrating
after 61 per cent of its pupils gained the highest A-level
grades.

This year A-C pass rate
is a rise of 12 per cent from last year and the school said it
bettered its previous high by eight per cent.

Out of the A-C grades, 28
per cent were grade A. The overall pass rate was 95 per cent.

Individual success
stories include Chris Ranaldi, Steven Bush, Chris Dixon and Emily
Smith who all gained three grade As. Sally Tennant, Steven Brooker,
Luke Attwood and Lauren Martin gained two grade As.

And 2009 is the first
year that some Valley Park students will be going to the elite or
“Russell Group” universities, while a record number secured
university places.

Head teacher Vic Ashdown
said: “This is a fantastic achievement by a highly motivated and
capable group of students. They are an absolute credit to
themselves, their parents and the school.”

Wrotham School,
Wrotham

Wrotham School pupils get
their A-level results. Picture: Wrotham School

Wrotham School’s class of 2009
celebrated a 99 per cent A-level pass rate overall.

In 13 subjects every pupil passed,
including English, RE, theatre studies, history, maths and
science.

The school says the “unconfirmed”
average points score per student has jumped to 531 with 93 per cent
of students leaving with two or more A-levels.

Head teacher David Day said: “These
A-levels results represent a landmark achievement for the students
at Wrotham.

“At Wrotham we value the art of
communication and it is good to see students doing well in subjects
which rely upon good old fashioned essay writing skills. Our
specialist Humanities status serves our cause well.”