A Level results day: another good year for Sixth Formers in Redland, Bristol

Hundreds of pupils in Redland, Bristol, headed back their sixth form college this morning to collect their A Level results.

There were plenty of smiles and a few tears as the teenagers opened the brown envelope to see whether they'd made it into their university of choice. But there was extra stress added to the morning by the fact that the UCAS track website, which confirms whether they got the grades to get their place at university, crashed.

Redland sixth forms (namely Redland High and North Bristol Post 16 Centre) fared very well in the tables, with the majority of pupils getting their predicted grades. Nearby Bristol Grammar School also did well.

Caroline Bateson, Headmistress at Redland High, said: "With small tutor groups, we know each and every student well, understanding when they need encouragement and guiding them to make sound subject and extra curricular activity choices. Our dedicated sixth form staff are on hand to help and advise with UCAS applications every step of the way and that is now paying off for our students."

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Clearly a winning formula, as Redland High School achieved a 100 per cent pass rate, with 55 candidates all doing well. Almost 80 per cent secured A*-B grades, with four students getting three A*s and 5 getting in to Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge Universities).

We caught up with a few pupils at Redland High as they received their results. Eighteen-year-old Judith Shapiro made the grade for Cambridge University after securing two As and an A*. She heads there in the Autumn to study Archaeology and Anthropology. She said: "It's been mixed with my friends, some did well and some less so. I'm pleased to be going to Cambridge."

Lucy Jetha, 18, from Redland also made the grade for the prestigious Warwick University, with two A*s and one A. Lucy came back to Bristol early, from a family holiday, to get her results at Redland High. She said: "I wanted to be here in case anything went wrong, it's just easier to be in school than away. It's also nice to be with your friends and we're going out to celebrate later."

One of the top performers at Redland High was Clare Dickins, 18, who achieved three A*s, more than enough to get onto her Geography course at Nottingham University. She said: "I was predicted three A*s but it was a real shock as I didn't think I would get it. The Geography exam was fine, but I thought I did really badly in the English one. It's nice to be see everyone else doing well and we're going out tonight to celebrate."

Some did fall foul of the failure of the UCAS Track website, which was designed to give students up to date information about their university application, whether they'd been accepted and had made the grade.

Sorcha Regan-Capes, 18, from Redland, said: "I was worried when I couldn't get onto UCAS Track this morning as I thought I was the only one, but it was a problem with the site. Then I came in to collect my results at 9am and found out I got two As and a B so I knew I had enough to go to university in Birmingham."

Mrs Bateson added: "As they set off to universities of their choice, our congratulations go with them all - we look forward to news of their future success."

We also spoke to a couple of boys (in the interests of gender equality) at the North Bristol Post 16 centre, which is linked to Redland Green School, where several people were stood out on the rain with faces to match the weather.

One 18-year-old Redland lad, who did not wish to be named, told us he planned to re-sit his exams as he was just a few marks shy of the grade above in each of his subjects. He said: "I got enough to go to university but it could have been better." Asked whether he thought that there was too much pressure on young people today in terms of exams, he said: "Yes they're hard but you know you've got to do them to get on to better things. No one's making me resit, I'm doing it for me."

So, another year another A Level success story in Redland, Bristol. Congratulations to everyone out there who got the grades they needed!