Students at St Leonards School in St Andrews celebrate GCSE results success

An impressive 54.5 per cent of pupils achieved grades 9-7, with the highest scores including Sophie Clarke, from St Andrews, Madelaine Gavine, from Balmullo, Charlotte McFadyen, from Inchture, Ismini Mcleod Dorizas, from Leven, local pupil Nicholas Müller, Ailsa White, from Guardbridge, and Julia-Eva Wiegand.

The exams marked the return to the standard examination system after the pandemic.

Will Gaisford, Deputy Head (Academic) said: “Pupils at St Leonards have once again shown they have the appetite for success. This year’s results are evidence of the hard work of our young people, with well over half of grades awarded 9, 8 or 7.

“Pupils are brilliantly positioned to progress through to our sixth form pathways, the International Baccalaureate Career-Related or Diploma Programme, which offer unparalleled preparation for university, apprenticeships and beyond. Our leavers this year achieved exceptional results, securing places in world-class universities across Scotland, the rest of the UK, and beyond.”

Some of the top results were in Science and Maths, where the most common grade for St Leonards pupils was a 9, demonstrating particular excellence in STEM subjects this year.

This trend was also evident in the destinations of the 2022 St Leonards leavers, who secured places at top UK and international universities with their IB Diploma and career-related programme results. Course choices included Medicine at the University of Aberdeen, Engineering and Architecture at University College London, Economics with Management at Durham University, Computer Science at the University of Dundee, and Physics at the University of St Andrews.

Simon Brian, Head of St Leonards, said: “These GCSE results show the resilience and the ambition of our young people at St Leonards in the first return to exams after the pandemic.

“A St Leonards education is about developing lifelong learning, and these outstanding results are a well-deserved milestone in that journey.”