A Level success for Ilkley Grammar School students

Ilkley Grammar School students celebrate another year of excellent results following today’s publication of A-level, AS and other Level 3 qualifications.

Ilkley Grammar School’s Class of 2025 have performed extremely well this year, securing a very strong set of outcomes both at A-level and in a range of Level 3 BTEC courses. The vast majority of students have secured places at their chosen university, on apprenticeships or in employment.

With a third of all A-Level grades at A/A* this year, IGS students continue to perform exceptionally well, exceeding national standards (the percentage of grades in England at A*/A in 2025 is 28%). Indeed, with over 60% of all A-level grades at A*-B (England 55%), alongside an overall pass rate of 99% (England 97%) the Class of 2025 have maintained the consistently strong outcomes which have been secured by IGS students since 2019 (pre-Covid) with students this year achieving an average of a B grade in their best three subjects at A-level.

[Jessie Duckworth celebrates securing her place at Norland College with her proud teacher]

The cohort of students completing Level 3 BTEC qualifications also secured a range of excellent results this year with students on these courses securing an average grade of a Distinction (-). Highlights include Sophie Hindmarsh who secured a double Distinction* in the Health & Social (Double Award), Kuba Slazyk who secured a Distinction* in IT, and Joe Bee who secured a Distinction* in BTEC Sport (Extended Certificate). In Media an impressive 60% of students secured Distinction* including Oliver Taylor-Skeels; Xander Boyd; Libby Clapham; Kiran Degregorio; Ella Fisher; Daisy Gross; Joseph Henderson; Mia Humphreys; Marcos Kovacs; Charlie Lovery; Ava Marcantonio; Katy Mountcastle; Jesse Price; Sam Shepherd; Ella Swift; Liam Thompson and Oliver White.

[Head Student Justin Derla and Lucy Simpson celebrate securing places to study Medicine]

There were also some outstanding individual performances across the whole cohort including Rachel Joyce (Ch (A*) Fm (A*) Ma (A*) Ph (A*)) and Caden Murphy (Ch (A*) Fm (A*) Ma (A*) Ph (A*)) who each achieved an astounding 4 A* grades at A-level, and the following thirteen students who secured at least three A* grades/Distinction* in their A-Level/Level 3 courses: Nicholas Archer; Mia Fleetwood; Sasha Goodman; Lucy Hayes; Mia Humphreys; George Lofthouse; John McGough; David Purvis; Keiran Slowinski; Ben Swift; Isobel Tate-Smith; Hannah Tomlinson and Emily Wood.

A further 28 students secured A*/A (straight As) in all their A-level/BTEC level 3 subjects including: Izzy Atkin; Charlie Atkinson; Joe Bee; Edward Bleazard; Samuel Brooks; Archie Budding; Callum Dow; Alice Dutton; Hamza Farooq; Thomas Finnett; Edward Green; Luke Helme; William Holley; Lottie Johnson; Claudia Kahlon; Cameron Leach; James Lofthouse; Thomas Madden; Lily Markham; Edward McCarthy; Sophie McMullen; Maryam Qureshi; Molly Robson; Lucy Simpson; Lois Skelton; Henry Smith; Oliver White and Rosie Wilson.

[Students celebrating in the sunshine]

IGS students have therefore secured places on courses from Accounting to Zoology and as diverse as American Studies; Animation and Games Art; Cognitive Neuroscience & Psychology; Cyber Investigations with Digital Forensics; Culture, Media & Creative Industries; Fashion Communications; Hispanic Studies & Italian; Marine Biology; Mental Health Nursing; Midwifery; Money, Banking & Finance; Musical Theatre & Dance; Ophthalmic Dispensing; Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE); Social Work; Theology. The destinations range from Ulster to University of East Anglia and from Exeter to Dundee and beyond.

Oxbridge Success

Following three successive years where each year a record number of Ilkley Grammar School students have secured places at Oxbridge, this year another 8 students have met their offers to Oxford or Cambridge, and one student is still awaiting a final decision. Congratulations this year go to: Nicholas Archer (Mathematics, Cambridge); Rachel Joyce (Natural Sciences (Physics), Cambridge); Cameron Leach (Spanish and Beginners Portuguese, Oxford); Caden Murphy (Mechanical Engineering, Cambridge); David Purvis (Chemical Engineering, Cambridge); Lois Skelton (Law and French, Oxford); Ben Swift (Natural Sciences (Biology), Cambridge) and Isobel Tate-Smith (Natural Sciences (Biology), Cambridge).

In addition, this year six students have secured places to study medicine or veterinary science at university including: DB Justin Derla (Medicine, University of Leeds); Fran Guise (Medicine and Surgery, Newcastle University); Lottie Johnson (Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool); Lucy Simpson, (Medicine and Surgery, Lancaster University) and Maryam Qureshi (Medicine, Hull York Medical School).

Students have also accepted places on a number of high-profile, competitive apprenticeships including Charlie Atkinson who has secured a Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship in Digital and Technological Solutions with Accenture and Sam Atherton who will soon be starting an apprenticeship with Jet 2. In the Creative Arts Emma Chapman has secured a place to study Classical Singing at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester

Some students have also set their sights further afield, for example Archie Budding has secured an athletics scholarship (for cross country and track and field) and will go to the USA in the autumn to study Economics and Finance at Grand Canyon University in Arizona. Closer to home, Jessie Duckworth is the first IGS student ever to have secured a place on a highly competitive course with Norland College, one of the most prestigious childcare providers in the world.

[David Purvis, Caden Murphy and Cameron Leach celebrate Oxbridge success]

Carly Purnell, Headteacher stated:

‘Today we proudly celebrate the remarkable achievements of our year 13 students, whose hard work, resilience and ambition have delivered outstanding results across both A-level and vocational pathways. Their successes have opened doors to an inspiring variety of futures – from competitive university courses, sports scholarships and conservatoire places to fantastic apprenticeship and employment opportunities with leading companies at home and abroad.

While my congratulations go to our students for their collective and individual success, I would also like to take the opportunity to thank our committed staff, as well as the families, who have championed and supported them throughout their journey. We are excited to follow our students' next steps and will celebrate their many accomplishments together at our Year 13 Presentation Evening in December.’

Alex Fox, Assistant Headteacher, Director of Post-16 added:

“This group has worked really hard this year, and we are very pleased with the progress they have made. It has been wonderful to work with so many young people as they mature and become ever-more committed to academic study and the pursuit of excellence. The students have expressed their personalities with verve and enthusiasm over the last two years and go into the world to pursue a broad variety of exciting destinations. I would like to thank the post-16 team who worked incredibly hard with this cohort and supported them to achieve excellent results. Thank you to all the teachers at IGS for their continued outstanding academic support and guidance, without them the students would not be able to achieve such outstanding outcomes and destinations, and I know they are truly thankful for the hard work they do.”

[Emma Chapman - Classical Singing at the Royal Northern College of Music]

Mr Sykes, Associate Assistant Headteacher i/c year 13 says:

“It is always a privilege to work closely with students and support them with their next steps journey. I am proud of our students for the hard work that they have put in to secure their future plans. It is also wonderful to work alongside such experienced and dedicated staff at IGS as well as with members of the wider Ilkley community who provide opportunities beyond those which the school can offer. I would like to say a huge thank you to these people for the time and effort they have put in to support our students. It is great to celebrate together the success that we have achieved as a community.”