Press Release – G.C.E. ‘A’ and ‘AS’ Level Results

Following the publication of ‘AS’ and ‘A’ Level results today, the Principal, Mr. Stephen Black praised all of the pupils on their achievements and emphasised that above all else this was a day of celebration for the young people, their parents, teachers and the Ballymena Academy community. Any analysis of the results would show that our pupils have engaged and excelled.

With outcomes from Examination Boards now returned to pre-pandemic standards, it is very pleasing that the outcomes obtained not only exceeded  the results achieved prior to COVID-19 but also those of last year in which the percentage of pupils attaining 3 A* – C grades at ‘A’ Level was the previous highest achieved in a “normal” school year.   These excellent grades bear witness to the hard-work and ability of our pupils and the commitment of our staff to bring the best out of our young people.

We  are delighted that all examinations sat resulted in pass grades and remarkably half of the grades obtained at ‘A’ Level were A* or A grades.  Notably, over a quarter of the year group achieved a minimum of 3 A grades and almost three-quarters of the year group achieved at least one A grade.  The percentage of A* grades at 15% is almost double the national average.  These levels of achievement consolidate the Academy’s  reputation  for academic excellence as one of Northern Ireland’s top performing schools; as recognised by the Sunday Times  Good School Guide which, in recent years, has always placed us in the Top 100 U.K. state schools.

Whilst congratulating the young people on their achievements, he thanked parents for the considerable part which they had played in supporting this success and applauded the school’s teaching and support staff, without whose expertise,  commitment  and willingness to go the extra mile this success could not have been achieved.

While much of the focus naturally is on ‘A’ Level results, outstanding achievement was recorded at ‘AS’ Level with the percentage of A grades exceeding the school’s best previous performance at ‘AS’ Level.

From a whole-school perspective it is very encouraging, not only to recognise the levels of achievement for our young people but to note the quality of classroom teaching which results in almost all subjects achieving results in excess of N.I. Grammar School averages.  Much hard work and planning has been invested in such success and the results demonstrate that the school continues to promote very high standards of learning and achievement across the curriculum.

While the results are admirable n themselves, more importantly they are permitting the young people to gain entry to their chosen pathways on the next stage of their education.  It is pleasing that, once again, young people have gained access to a wide range of courses with many attaining much sought after places in the U.K.’s leading universities, including University of Cambridge.  On ‘results day’, our careers staff are available to provide expert guidance on any issues which may arise, advice which is much appreciated by pupils and their parents.  Our focus at this time is always on helping young people, through our post-results service, that approach proves valuable at this time.

It is especially pleasing that although pupils can access results and check university applications on-line, our students still come into school to be with their friends and teachers.  It is a real privilege to share that experience with our inspiring and talented young people and to sense the strength of this learning community, particularly the culture of achievement and support which is characteristic of every good school.

Top achievers at ‘A’ level were as follows:-

Six pupils attained 4 A*/A grades – James Gregg, Rachael McCue, Natalie McCullagh, Lewis Millar,  Ruby Thompson, Grace Warnock.

Two pupils attained 3 A* grades –  Zach Shaw, Jonathan Skelly.

A further thirty pupils obtained a minimum of 3 A*/A grades – Evan Andrews,
Amy Baird, Georgia Boyd, Abigail Cowan, Olivia Drain, Ollie Eaton, Samuel Francey, Peter Gamble, Helena Graham, Lydia Gregg, Aiden Gribben, Grace Gunning, Shannon Hoey, Daniel Holden, Adam Hunter,  Kristen Kelly, Gavin Kerr, Finlay McCarroll, Isaac McClintock, Luke McCorriston, Katie McDowell, Erin McGivern,  Luke McLaughlin, Luke Millar, Ella Mulholland, Rachael Shields, Lily-Mae Torrington, Casian Vlad, Harry Weir, Tom Wylie.

Twenty-six pupils attained 4 A grades at ‘AS’ Level – Lily Allenby, Callum Baillie, Sophie Charleton, Peter Cochrane, Michael Darragh, Daniel Grimsley, Lucas Kenny, Evelyn Kerr, Martha Kirkpatrick, Ella Kyle, Catherine Macdonald, Maia Malcolm, Matthew McCullough, Laura McDonnell, Ashton Mui, Riley Parker, Sarah Patton, Hannah Ramsey, Jake Rhodes, Briony Robertson, James Robinson, Taylor Stewart, Philip Thomas, Denisa Timuc, Kirk Wilson, Flo Winning.

A further 19 pupils attained a minimum of three A grades at ‘AS’ Level – Jessica Alexander, Jacob Casson, Leah Cromie, Holly Fisher, Katie Gardiner, Natasha Hall, Peter Harkness, Daniel Hickey, Sarah Livingstone, Joe McFadden, Annabel Mitchell, Rowan Murray, Lucas Neilly, Nadine Roddy, Emma Thompson, Archie Waide, Aimee Wilson, Rory Wilson, Glenn Witherspoon,

(S.W. Black – Principal)