Shania Leurs with her results

HAVERSTOCK School has posted its best A-level results in its sixth form’s history, three years after pupils last sat exams in person at the school.

The school posted historic results, with headteacher James Hadley saying the average grade was a B. Nearly 60 per cent of pupils got A* to B grades and 86 per cent got A to C, the best in the school’s history. It came after two years where grades were awarded nationally based on teachers’ predictions for pupils, leading to claims that grades were being inflated.

Teenagers gathered in the school library in Chalk Farm, after walking through the school’s reception and passing famous alumni including politicians Ed and David Miliband, author Zoe Heller and footballer Danny Hylton.

Among those celebrating their results was Shania Leurs, 18, who got two A*s in Politics and Sociology, and a B in English Language. She said she had not eaten on Thursday morning before coming to get her results, such was her nerves.

“If I had, I wouldn’t have kept it down,” she said. “I called my mum and she was more excited than I was. My younger brother cried. I’m really excited about my English grade because the best I had ever got before was a D.”

Haverstock headteacher James Hadley

The Chalk Farm resident is off to study Politics and International Relations at the University of Birmingham. She said: “It’s the most applicable subject. I was doing an internship at Convex, an insurance company, and I was talking to them about sanctions.”

She added: “Partygate, as much as it was interesting about its politics, it was all about the drama, like Oprah, just so good to keep following it every day.”

Oketa Zogi-Shala

Oketa Zogi-Shala, 18, who lives in Chalk Farm said that the nerves had partially overshadowed her summer since her last exam in June. She will go and study Human, Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge University.

“I’ve been worried really over the summer. They say it’s the best summer of your life but you are worrying about your results the whole time. The last week has been quite nervewracking especially.”

Nuha Islam and Azizah Abdul

Nuha Islam, 18, who will study politics and business management at Queen Mary’s University said it had been difficult after disruption to previous exams.

“I think it has been really hard for all of us. It has been hard because the last exams we sat were our Sats and then it’s nothing until our A Levels. We didn’t get that GCSE experience.”

A group of friends celebrate their results in Haverstock’s library

Mr Hadley said: “We’re incredibly proud of this group of students who had their GCSEs disrupted by the pandemic but have worked so hard and had the best results in the school’s history.

“It’s been transformational in the sixth form in the last three years under out head of sixth form Katie Metselaar. We’ve had a more aspirational programme and it has all come good.

“The key has been in the mocks, making sure they are sat in the exam hall and they can get used to the environment and what it’s all like so it’s not as intimidating. It was really unfortunate because most students in history have sat GCSEs and have that experience.”