A* success stories for Yorkshire students on results day

Figures show that almost a quarter of A-levels were awarded an A* or an A across Yorkshire.

The region saw the biggest increase in top grades of anywhere in the country with 23.3 per cent of exams being awarded this – up from 0.7 per cent last year.

Although there is a North- South divide in results Yorkshire students have outperformed their peers in West and East Midlands and in the North East.

There were individual success stories being reported across schools and colleges in the state and independent sector yesterday.

Among the top performing students in the region was Matthew Pinate at Woodkirk Academy, in Tingley, who achieved five A*s at A-level.

Mount School in York saw well over a third of pupils achieving two or more A*-A grades. The all-girl Quaker senior school saw 100 per cent of girls achieving A* grade in physics. Caroline Rosenzweig, who has accepted an unconditional offer to study Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scored 100 per cent on one of her physics papers.

At Bootham School, head girl Holly Jeffrey and head of the student council Andrew Hodgson have each secured their Oxbridge places to read modern and medieval languages.

Holly is off to Clare College, Cambridge, while Andrew has a place waiting for him at Wadham College, Oxford.

Grammar School at Leeds student Shahzaib Ahmed celebrated his 18th birthday by picking up 4 A*s and a place at St John’s College, Cambridge to study medicine.

He arrived in the UK aged 11 with only a few words of English and has achieved four A*s at A-level in chemistry, biology, maths and French.

Shahzaib said: “It was daunting changing cultures and countries at such a young age, however being in school straight away helped me to pick up the language in about a year and a half.

“I decided about four years ago that I wanted to be a doctor, and I’m so happy to have my place at Cambridge confirmed – on my 18th birthday too.”

Shekeil Nasser, 18, of Tapton School, in Sheffield, will be studying chemical engineering via natural sciences at Cambridge after achieving four A* grades in maths, further maths, physics and chemistry.

He said: “It’s relief for me – I’m just pleased that all my hard work paid off.”

Bradford Grammar School star students include Ed Padget, 18, who scored straight A*s to study modern languages at Oxford, Matt Boyle from Bramhope, Leeds who also scored straight A*s to study Medicine at Bristol and Holly Hellawell, 18, from Steeton, Keighley, who will study medicine at Cambridge after gaining three A*s and an A.