High number of first choice university places for St Margaret Ward students

Students at St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy celebrated during A-level results day this year after their hard work paid off.

It has been well documented that grade boundaries have all increased for this year’s students. Despite this increase, many St Margaret Ward students have been accepted into their first-choice universities, many of these Russell Group. 91% of students have been successful compared with the UCAS national figure of 79%

Principal, Dominic McKenna, said: “We are all thrilled that so many of our students got into their first-choice universities. This is a testament to not just the teaching but their hard work and ability to battle through adversity.

“We all believe that this group of Year 13 students is an inspirational one. Their aspirations are high and it’s days like these when you see the impact of what we do here. These exams were the first formal exams for this year’s cohort due to Covid, so they’ve all done tremendously well. They’ve worked hard and we’re proud of their achievements.”

Comments from the students

Head Boy, Josh, is now headed to the University of Bath to study International Management. Josh is extremely proud and looking forward to the challenges ahead with excitement.

Shaf is now moving to Bristol to study medicine. He was extremely happy and bursting with pride to get into his only choice university. He’s always wanted to do medicine and can’t imagine doing anything else. Both he and his mum were “buzzing”.

Aspiring linguist, Jess, has been accepted into St. Andrews to study English. She’s another student who got into their first-choice university and is “excited for the next chapter”.

Other courses for students include History and Politics – with student Caitlin hoping to be an MP one day, Law, Dentistry, Neuroscience, Quantity Surveying, Midwifery and Social Work.