A level results - reports and pictures from Budmouth, Thomas Hardye, IPACA, Weymouth College, Colfox, Beaminster and Woodroffe

Students are celebrating A level exam success in Dorset with some exceptional results.

It comes amid major changes to the qualifications, with the first grades awarded in 13 subjects reformed, with a move away from coursework and modular exams throughout the course, making them more challenging for students.

A record number of students at Budmouth are going to university, IPACA celebrated its best ever results before the sixth form is stopped, while the Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester said results surpassed last year's record high.

Among those celebrating was Budmouth College student and aspiring young engineer Fred Walters, 18, pictured below, who has secured one of just 25 places up for grabs at the prestigious new Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology in Malmesbury, Wiltshire Fred received 3 A* and said he did better than he expected.

He said: “I didn’t expect to do so well. I was nervous before my exams but I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed. I wasn’t expecting to do that well, they only take a small number of students.”

Fred also explained the application process.

He said: “I basically heard about it from my girlfriend and it sounded like a great opportunity. I went through the process and the further I got through I thought I might be in with a chance. When they replied with an offer I accepted immediately.”

Fred’s mother, Caroline Walters said she is extremely ‘proud’ of his achievement.

She said: “I am hugely proud of him. He has always been incredibly focused about what he wants to do and achieve. We haven’t had to push him at all.”

Dyson Institute of Technology is a private institution of higher education and was founded in 2017 by Sir James Dyson. The institute offers a Bachelor of Engineering course, and Fred will be part of its first class of students.

Meanwhile, Thomas Hardye student Kim De Leon, pictured below, achieved a clean sweep of three A* grades.

Picking up his results for A levels in biology, chemistry and mathematics Kim said he could not be happier with the outcome.

“I feel great, I’m so happy. It wasn’t expected so it’s still sinking in,” he said.

Kim will now be heading off to top institute, University College London to study a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering.

He said he had yet to find out his accommodation details and who he would be living with in halls from September, but he was excited about the next step.

“I’m looking forward to living in London, it should be a great new experience,” he said.

• See Saturday's Echo for an A level results picture special

THE Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester celebrated another successful year as its A level results surpassed last year's record high.

Headteacher Mike Foley, whose own daughter was also picking up results, said: "Last year was such a great year, so you start to wonder how the next year is going to go, but we are chuffed to bits."

The school achieved an overall pass rate of 98 per cent with almost a third of passes at A or A* grade and 20 per cent of students achieving AAB or higher.

Mr Foley said: "We were warned there might be turbulence in the system this year but we haven't seen it here. These are exceptional results and we have raised the bar yet again."

He added most of the students succeeded in getting their first choice of university, including six to elite Oxbridge universities.

Bethan Jones, who bagged a coveted place at Cambridge University to study linguistics, said: "I'm really nervous now I have my results but I'm very pleased and very surprised."

Phoebe Scott, who will be heading off the Leeds to study Law from September said Hardye's was the place to go if students wanted to do well.

Phoebe's mum, Linda praised the school and said she couldn't be prouder of daughter Phoebe's three As.

"I'm absolutely elated. She's been working 10 to 12 hours a day. She didn't go out for six months, she just knuckled down. They set the bar high and wanted her to get three As to get into Leeds University. I am so incredibly proud of her.

"Thomas Hardye is such a marvellous school. They really get behind their students," she said.

Mr Foley said the rise in results confirmed Hardye's position as a leading provider of of post-16 education with a national reputation.

Friends, Polly Kendall-Price and Phoebe Baxter both got into their first choice of university.

Polly, who is heading to Bournemouth to study retail management said: "I'm really elated. I can finally relax."

Phoebe who will be studying engineering science at the University of Southampton said: "I've overcome so much to get here so it's a really good day."

Mr Foley said: "Congratulations are due to a wonderful set of students, supported by their parents. I want to pay a particular tribute to the teaching staff who have navigated their way through a complex set of reforms and these results are a testament to their skills and abilities.

"Our Ofsted report commented on the inspirational teaching in the sixth form and this is the outcome.

Celebrations at Thomas Hardye School Picture: DORSET MEDIA SERVICE

Students from Budmouth College celebrated receiving their A level results yesterday with a record number of students applying to university.

This year 20% of A level results were graded at A or A* and 42% were graded from A* to B, which topped the college’s target.

A record number of students from the college applied to university and will now be able to continue to higher education.

Mark Henman, Head of Sixth Form at Budmouth College said he was ‘pleased’ with this year’s results.

He said: “I am very pleased, it’s been a relief. A lot has changed with A levels nationally this year, and this is the first group to follow up those changes. Nobody knew how it was going to go, but it’s nice to know the results are as high as last year. Having my son in the mix was also worrying for me as a parent and teacher but I am proud with his achievement.”

Mr Henman’s son Sam scored A*, A, A, B meeting his offer to study economics at Warwick University.

A spokesman from Budmouth College said: “Students should be congratulated on their results. They should be extremely proud of their hard work and resilience in navigating their way through the demands of the new A level courses.

“We would like to thank the staff of the college, who have done an excellent job in preparing the students for their exams. We would also like to thank parents for their partnership and support.”

Budmouth College A level results day Picture: GRAHAM HUNT PHOTOGRAPHY

IPACA celebrated the island’s best ever A level results.

Students at the IPACA sixth form achieved 100 per cent pass rate in BTEC and technical qualifications and a 90.63 per cent pass rate in A level examinations.

This will be the last year of A levels at IPACA, which is being taken over by a new trust and renamed the Atlantic Academy.

The results represent a three-year improvement in data for the Portland academy sixth form which opened its doors in 2013.

Acting principal Gary Spracklen praised the dedication and commitment of students and staff, saying: "The results are a testament to the hard work, dedication, and commitment of our IPACA sixth form students, teaching staff and wider IPACA team.

"They supplement our improving results in EYFS, KS1, and KS2 and I am certain they will be followed up next week with improved GCSE results."

Among the successful scholars, Harvey Camp achieved three strong A level passes in English language, sociology and philosophy while fellow scholar Rhys Hudgell also achieved three strong A level passes in engineering, philosophy and law.

There was also particular success for BTEC dance, a specialism of the IPACA Sixth Form with all students achieving the coveted ‘distinction star’ grade, the highest grade possible.

Speaking about the success in dance, head of Sixth Form, Ange Williams said: "I couldn’t be more proud of the students who all achieved a distinction star grade in their BTEC Level 3 dance. This puts them among the highest performing dancers in the country and I am certain many of them will go on to have very successful careers in their chosen profession.

"They are a credit to IPACA and a credit to Portland."

Looking to the future, Mr Spracklen added: "All of this hard work provides a solid platform for Atlantic Academy to move forward with and deliver even more success in the years to come.

"While there will be no Sixth Form on Portland in September, I am confident that post-16 provision will return in due course to the island.

"The success we have achieved this year should provide plenty of appetite to do so."

WEYMOUTH College celebrated another year of success on A level results day, with an overall pass rate of 98 per cent.

Across the college, 254 students applied to university in 2017 and 96 per cent of them received offers.

Weymouth College Principal Nigel Evans said: “I am extremely proud of all our A-Level students and the very strong results they have achieved this year. As always, this year’s A-Level outcome is the result of committed and consistent hard work and I – together with every member of staff here at Weymouth College – couldn’t be more proud of what our students have achieved.

One of the top performers at the college was Jonathan Chant, who was ecstatic with his A in Creative Writing, B in English Literature and C in English Language.

He said: “I am absolutely elated. It’s exactly what I wanted and I have been accepted at the university I wanted to go to.”

Jonathan will be going to the prestigious University of York to study Philosophy and Linguistics.

He said: “It’s a beautiful city. It’s such a nice place and an incredible place to study.”

Another high achiever was Robyn Parker, who worked hard to get her two Bs in Psychology and Biology and an A* in her Extended Project Qualification.

Robyn will be studying Medical Genetics at Swansea University and hopes to go into genetic research, a subject close to her heart as her mother has a genetic condition.

She said: “I am very pleased. I had to take an extra year as I started my A-Levels at a different place which went very badly and then came and I restarted here.”

Robyn described the college as a “hidden gem” because the class sizes are very small and the teachers truly care about their students.

Head of sixth form Paul McArthur said: “A-Levels are currently undergoing a large amount of change nationally and the college has responded in a very positive way. All the staff involved wish our students the very best of luck and every success with their future endeavours.”

BEAMINSTER and Sir John Colfox joint sixth form students celebrated excellent A level results.

A quarter of the grades achieved were A* or A, with almost half of the grades (48 per cent) at A* to B and the pass rate was a 99 per cent overall.

Keith Hales, headteacher at Beaminster School, said: “These are a wonderful bunch of students who have met, and exceeded, the challenge of the new A levels and can now go confidently forwards in their lives with a fine set of grades.”

David Herbert, headteacher at the Sir John Colfox Academy, added: “This is a tremendous set of results from a group of students who should be as proud of themselves as we are of them. Their hard work and the excellent support of their teachers has been richly rewarded."

At the Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis, headteacher Richard Steward said it has been 'a very turbulent year for exam results.'

He said: "There has been a great deal of media coverage of the issues including changes to examination syllabuses, new rules governing marking and assessment, and the decision by the boards to alter the way re-marks are dealt with.

"Despite all that, students have once again achieved an excellent set A-level of results, confirming the school’s position as one of the most successful fully comprehensive sixth forms in the county.

"59 per cent of entries were graded A*, A or B, with 24 per cent at A*/A."

Purbeck School students posted impressive results with 48 per cent of the A-level grades awarded being an A*/A or B.

Some subject areas achieved exceptional success; maths and further maths headed the charge with 55 per cent of their awarded grades being either an A* or A; English Language and chemistry students were also rewarded for their hard work and dedication by the vast majority being awarded either an A*/A or B.

As a result nearly all students have been able to secure the grades they require to progress to their first choice of university or to take up their apprenticeship placements.

There were some superb individual results with a number of students achieving A*/A grades across the board.

An exceptional 3A*s and 2A grades will enable Sam Brown to read Bio Chemistry at Oxford University, and with 1A* and 2A grades Phoebe Hobbs will be reading English Literature at Durham University,

Tom Gething will be reading Maths at Exeter University, Ashley Mathews will be reading Engineering at Southampton University, and Harry Whitmarsh-Bauer will be reading Maths at Bath University.

Other fantastic results included Phoebe Symonds who also achieved 1A* and 2A grades, Jamie Singleton who achieved 4A grades and Head Boy Ben Ingram has been offered a prestigious scholarship to read Media at Bournemouth University.

A number of students have gained highly prized apprenticeships including Ryan Stearn with Wessex Water and Jess Ashworth at Babcocks.

Sixth form students at The Blandford School are celebrating having achieved some excellent results in a year which has seen so much curriculum change, including the introduction of new linear A levels.

Headteacher Sally Wilson said: “I am thrilled at the success of our students of all abilities, they have worked exceptionally hard.

"Our high fliers have done exceptionally well and students across the board have gained places at top universities, including Oxford.

"We are really proud of our comprehensive intake with 26 per cent of students achieving A*- A grades this year, half the cohort achieving A*- B and a pass rate of 99 per cent. I have a very dedicated team of staff and they should feel exceptionally proud of their contribution to student performance.”