A-level success 2026

Students and staff at Hanley Castle High School are celebrating a superb set of A Level and Level 3 results this summer. More than 99% of all A Level entries were passed, almost four in five entries were awarded grades A*-C, and over half were awarded grades A*-B, with students moving on to leading universities, competitive apprenticeships and the careers they have set their sights on.

Many students achieved outstanding individual results, ensuring that the vast majority secured their first-choice place at a range of top universities including the University of Cambridge, LSE, and the universities of Bath, Birmingham, Warwick, Exeter, Nottingham, Cardiff, Reading, and Lancaster.
As always, there were a number of star performers:

Luc Marchant was the stand-out academic success of the year, achieving a magnificent clean sweep of A* grades in chemistry, mathematics and physics. Luc now heads to the University of Bath to study Integrated Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.

Charlie Clements achieved A* grades in both biology and chemistry, an A in mathematics and a further A grade in the extended project qualification, earning him a place at the University of Cambridge to study Medicine. Faith Evans also secured a place to read Medicine, at the University of Birmingham, following an A grade in chemistry and B grades in biology and mathematics.

The school’s mathematicians and scientists excelled once again. Daniel Wonnacott notched up A* grades in mathematics and further mathematics alongside an A in chemistry and moves on to the University of Bath to study Mathematics. Edward White complemented his A* in mathematics with A grades in further mathematics, physics and the extended project qualification, and will study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Birmingham. George Smith achieved an A* in mathematics with A grades in chemistry and physics, and takes up a place at the University of Bath to study Chemical Engineering.

There was creative flair too. Ed Berry produced an outstanding A* in fine art, supported by a B in physical education, a B in the extended project and a C in English language, and will study Architecture at Cardiff University. Isla Wilkes achieved a superb A* in film studies together with B grades in drama and theatre studies, English literature and history, and has a place at Bath Spa University to study Acting. Sofia Amin achieved A grades in fine art and in drama and theatre studies alongside a B in English language.

In the humanities, Alfie Collins and Charles Dolan both achieved A grades in English literature and history, supported by B grades in drama and politics respectively; Alfie goes on to study Law with Criminology at Cardiff University and Charles to read History at the London School of Economics. Peter Powell impressively secured A grades in history and mathematics alongside a B in English literature and heads to the University of Exeter to study History, while Henry Chichester achieved A grades in economics and history with B grades in politics and the extended project and will study Economics at the University of Nottingham.

Elsewhere, Florence Findlater achieved an A in mathematics with B grades in French and history and moves on to Lancaster University to study Linguistics with a year abroad; Chinonye Osakwe secured B grades in English literature, history and politics and will study Law and Sociology at the University of Warwick; Ivan Ansimov achieved an A in economics with B grades in business studies and mathematics and takes up a place at the University of Reading to study Quantity Surveying; and Alice Garner combined a top Distinction* in travel and tourism with B grades in drama and film studies, and will study Social Work and Applied Social Studies at the University of Bath. Megan Longdon rounded off an excellent year for the creative subjects with B grades in English language and film studies and a Distinction in BTEC music technology, and joins Isla at Bath Spa University to study Theatre, Festival and Event Production.

University is far from the only route, and a number of students have secured high-quality apprenticeships with strong local and national employers. Alexander Smith begins an engineering apprenticeship with Moog in Tewkesbury, Tobias Watkins starts in mechatronics and Lily Broadway takes up a business administration apprenticeship, with Joe Maddock and Gracie McCann both beginning apprenticeships in accountancy, Isla Gibbons in marketing and Sumher Key in travel.

Performance at the top end was particularly strong in mathematics and further mathematics, where every further mathematics entry was awarded an A* or A grade and almost 70% of mathematics entries achieved A*-B. History, the school’s largest subject with 28 entries, saw close to 80% of entries awarded A*-B, and there were excellent outcomes in chemistry, physics, English literature and film studies. Every single entry in drama and theatre studies was awarded a grade A*-B – a remarkable achievement for the department.

Success was by no means limited to purely academic qualifications. Every Level 3 BTEC entry was passed, with more than half of all entries awarded a Distinction or Distinction*, and outstanding results in travel and tourism, where Lillijanna Chown, Amanda Fowler, Alice Garner and Sofia Hill were all awarded the top Distinction* grade. Students taking the extended project qualification also performed strongly, with more than three quarters awarded grades A*-B, including A grades for Aoife Kelly and Harry McKendrick.

Headteacher Mark Stow praised the students for their hard work and commitment:
“We are enormously proud of this wonderful group of students. They have worked with real determination and have been rewarded with some quite superb outcomes, and it is fantastic to see them moving on to such an exciting range of universities, apprenticeships and careers. These results reflect the talent and commitment of our students, and the dedication of our staff, who go above and beyond to support every individual. Just as importantly, they are brilliant young people who will go on to make a positive difference wherever they land. We are delighted for them all, and we can’t wait to hear how they get on in their next steps”.

Photo caption: Celebrating their A Level results at Hanley Castle High School. Left to right: Charlie Clements, Daniel Wonnacott, George Smith, Faith Evans, Sofia Amin and Megan Longdon.