Sixth Form Examination Results

2022 Examination Headlines

The Year 11 and Year 13 students of 2022 were the first to sit external exams since the pandemic. Both cohorts broke the school records for GCSE and A level results, bucking the national trend and producing even better results than the centre assessed grades of 2020 and 2021.

Hanley Castle sixth form students produced a thrilling set of A level results. 37% of all grades were awarded at A* and A grade, while almost 70% of grades were Grades A*-B.

Students performed particularly well in the ‘facilitating’ subjects. Further maths and maths led the way, with 100% and 58% of grades awarded at A* and A respectively. This was closely followed by chemistry with 56% of grades awarded at A* and A grade, history with 53% and physics with 50%.

There were a large number of stand-out individual performances, including Hanley Castle’s exceptional Head Boy, Ollie Cooke. Ollie gained A* grades in chemistry, maths, further maths, physics and his extended project. He will now take up his place at Trinity Hall, Cambridge to study Natural Sciences.

I.S. is also celebrating an exceptional set of results. She gained three A* grades in
chemistry, mathematics and art. She is now off to Nottingham University where she will be studying Architecture and Environmental Design.

N.W. also gained a magnificent set of results, with A* grades in English literature and history, and an A grade in Economics. He will be travelling and working in New Zealand for a year before taking up his place at Warwick University to study history.

Hanley Castle students are taking up their places at a wide range of top universities, including Cambridge, Durham, Bath, Exeter, Bristol and Warwick.

Of course, university is not the only route for successful high-flyers, and more students
than ever are embarking on degree or higher-level apprenticeships with some of our very best local and national employers, including QinetiQ.

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Preliminary analysis suggests that 2022 value added would be significantly better than the national average and comparable with top performing sixth forms across England. However, no national data will be available for this cohort because their GCSE grades were centre assessed rather than based on external examinations.

Celebrating Achievement

The highlight of our annual Celebration of Achievement is the presentation of Hanley Castle’s most prestigious award, the Lechmere Medal. This gold medal is awarded each year to a student who has made a special contribution to the life of the school.

At Hanley Castle we like to recognise outstanding academic achievement, service to the school community, and the wider achievements of our best students. This year it has again been a particular challenge to select the winner from so many worthy nominations.

In 2022, the Lechmere Medal is awarded to Ollie Cooke. Ollie is a student that has been wowing his teachers with his thirst for knowledge over the last 7 years. Not only is Ollie one of the most naturally gifted students that we have seen at Hanley Castle, but he is also one of the hardest working. He combines this with a genuine modesty and is just as likely to be found reading advanced quantum mechanics as he is to be supporting his peers with less difficult academic problems, always showing patience and care.

As Head Boy Ollie raised thousands of pounds for charity, he supported our sixth form committees with countless initiatives, and helped his peers across the school with clever ideas to support during Covid.

We are very proud of Ollie and we know that he will go onto do great things at Cambridge University and beyond.

Lechmere Medal winner Ollie Cooke with Hanley Castle’s headteacher, Mark Stow.