Rochester Grammar School students celebrate excellent IB results

Students at Rochester Grammar School are celebrating after they again achieved excellent results in the international Baccalaureate (IB) this year – ahead of the school offering the high-quality qualification exclusively in its sixth form from September 2020.

The overall average score for students at RGS, part of the high-performing Thinking Schools Academy Trust, was 36 – equivalent to A*A*AA at A-Level. The excellent individual results mean many RGS students have won their first choice of university, including at some of the best universities in the country, or will undertake highly prized training or apprenticeships with leading firms.

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The universities include Bath, London School of Economics, Warwick, King’s College London, Lancaster, Imperial College London and Bristol.

Some of the exceptional individual results this year included:

• Arwen Pike – Arwen gained 45 points, having studied four Highers instead of the usual three, in French, Spanish, English Literature and Theatre Studies. She intends to pursue drama. Arwen’s achievement was matched by only 260 people worldwide in 2018, equating to 0.4% of the global IB Diploma candidates each year.
• Elizabeth Castell – Elizabeth gained 42 points, with Highers in Anthropology, History and English Literature for which she gained 7, 7 and 6 points respectively. She holds an offer to read Sociology at the London School of Economics.
• Caitlin Jackson – Caitlin obtained 43 points, with 7s in each of her Highers of Biology, English Literature and History. She will take up her place to study Liberal Arts at King’s College London in September.
• Damilola Matthew – Damilola, who joined Rochester Grammar School from The Victory Academy (also part of Thinking Schools) at the start of Year 12, obtained 35 points altogether. This included Highers of Biology, Psychology and Chemistry, where she achieved a 7, 6 and 5 respectively. She will take up her place to study Medicine at Aston University.

Arwen and Damilola also formed part of the Executive Officer team during their time at Rochester Grammar School.

The IB is studied in the Sixth Form at Rochester Grammar School as an alternative to A levels, and has been offered at RGS for the last 12 years. Students must take six subjects, incorporating both sciences and humanities. 

Rochester Grammar School is routinely  ranked the best in the country for IB and from September 2020 it will be exclusively offered, with all students joining the sixth form from then on taking it.

The Thinking Schools Academy Trust is a family of 17 high-performing schools across the South East that prides itself on providing a high-quality education to all students.

Joanna Wadey, Acting Head of School at Rochester Grammar School, said:

“I am absolutely delighted for all of this year’s cohort of IB students for achieving such excellent results in a world-leading and rigorous qualification. We have watched their hard work and commitment first-hand and their success is truly deserved.

“The IB encourages students to deeply engage with their subjects, developing their ability to learn and readying them for university-level material. Their accomplishments this year really show the long-term value of studying the IB and we are incredibly proud of them.”

Stuart Gardner, CEO at the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, said: 

“The calibre of the results that this year’s cohort of students has achieved is really fantastic and reflects the level of effort and dedication that went into their studies.

“Our students are a real credit to the school and the Trust, and we are all very much looking forward to seeing where their journeys take them next. A big thank you must also go out to all our staff and our wonderful community of parents and carers, who have supported our students the whole way.”