Rossall Academic Newsletter - June 2020

SENIOR SCHOOL ACADEMIC NEWSLETTER JUNE 2020

SENIOR SCHOOL ACADEMIC NEWSLETTER JUNE 2020

Rossall School Diploma Results - Sixth Formers achieve Outstanding Results!

We are delighted to report that our current Upper Sixth Form (Year 13) students have achieved outstanding results in their recent Diploma examinations. In the absence of public examinations this year, the Rossall School Diploma was launched in order to ensure that all of our students had the opportunity to sit rigorous examinations before progressing to university in the Autumn.

The Diploma was administered and invigilated online. It takes full account of coursework and is open to external validation.

Many UK universities have made it clear that this year they will welcome additional information provided by Schools regarding individual applicants. Our confidence in the rigours of this process is such that we are very happy to share all completed examination papers and coursework with universities or external agencies so long as the student(s) concerned provide their consent.

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SENIOR SCHOOL ACADEMIC NEWSLETTER JUNE 2020

Rossall Diploma Examination grades will be released alongside the OFQUAL generated grades on Thursday 13th August, but we can share with you the headline figures:

YEAR 13 ROSSALL DIPLOMA RESULTS ROSSALL DIPLOMA RESULTS (A LEVEL) 42 25% A* 48 54% A 40 78% B 22 92% C 11 98% D 3 100% E 0 U ROSSALL DIPLOMA RESULTS (IB): Average point score 35.5 These fantastic results reflect tremendously well upon our Year 13 students and serve to place Rossall well up the league table of UK independent schools in terms of academic performance. The vibrant intellectual culture that our Director of Sixth Form, Stephen Prest, has promoted, has resonated extremely well with a cohort of students who have been conscientious and set themselves high aspirations. Our ambition to become the leading independent school in the North West by virtue of the quality of our teaching and the results that our children are routinely achieving, is now being realised at a level which is indicative of the extraordinary progress that we have made over the last two years.

The class of 2020 deserves to be congratulated on account of all that they have achieved and we know that the cohort of 2021 looks equally as strong.

We will provide individual subject reports in due course and there will be plenty of opportunity to celebrate the success of our students upon the publication of results in August.

UNIVERSITY OFFERS Unsurprisingly, this cohort of Rossall students has achieved university offers from some of the most prestigious institutions in the UK and Overseas.

Over 70% of our students who intend to study at universities in the UK are holding offers from Russell Group or Top 20 universities. These include institutions such as the University of Oxford, Imperial College, London the London School of Economics, University College London and the University of Bristol.

No fewer than five of our students have accepted offers from Durham University and we are delighted that one student has secured an offer to study BA (Hons) Illustration at the prestigious - and highly competitive Camberwell College of Arts at the University of the Arts, London.

Scotland is home to some of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the UK and it has proved a popular destination for our students this year.

The University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh are two of the seven ancient universities of England, Scotland and Ireland and two students will be heading to each of these superb institutions.

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SENIOR SCHOOL ACADEMIC NEWSLETTER JUNE 2020

Indeed, one of our student’s academic excellence has been recognised by the awarding of the St Andrews General Wardlaw Scholarship.

The degrees that our students will be pursuing include Medicine, Classics, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, History, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Pharmacy, Music, Computing and Psychology to name just a few. Indeed, the range and breadth of our students’ academic interests and passions is a credit to them and a reflection of the intellectually aspirant culture that our teaching staff have engendered.

Success has also been seen further afield. Three members of our Golf Academy have won generous scholarships to study at universities in the United States of America and a number of students have the option to take up places at highly competitive universities in Germany, Hong Kong and Canada.

LAUNCH OF ROSSALL INTERNATIONAL MATHS ACADEMY 2021 In September 2021, Rossall is launching an International Maths Academy for Sixth Formers. This distinct stream within our Sixth Form provision will enable students to experience very real stretch and challenge for those aspiring to read Mathematics at Oxford, Cambridge, and other leading universities both within the UK and Overseas.

Rossall International Maths Academy will be led by Alex Shaw, our new Head of Mathematics (who is himself a graduate of Oxford University).

We are fortunate to have a phenomenally strong department and teachers within the Academy will include Dina Porovic, a graduate of Imperial College, London, who has been Head of Mathematics at Brentwood School and previously taught at both St Albans School and the Stephen Perse School in Cambridge. Other key teachers within the Academy will include Cyrus Yow (graduate of Cambridge University) Jinlong Qi (graduate of the London School of Economics) and Catherine Stacker (graduate of Newcastle University).

The academy will support excellent young mathematicians who seek challenges beyond that which would be provided by A Level Maths/Further Maths and IBDP Higher Level Maths.

ROSSALL SCHOOL ESSAY PRIZE 2020 Whilst we celebrate and recognise the success of our outgoing Upper Sixth, we also look forward with a keen sense of expectation. Our current Lower Sixth are a superbly strong cohort and this has been evidenced by their submissions for the inaugural Essay Prize. I am delighted to announce that Zenith Subba’s interpretation of the title ‘Words Degenerate’ Discuss claimed a deserved first place with Anna-Sophia Mackel’s thoughtful response to the question of whether ‘The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.’ our runner-up. Both essays were erudite, fluent and engaging and, with the kind permission of their authors, will be published on our website.

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SENIOR SCHOOL ACADEMIC NEWSLETTER JUNE 2020

FINALLY‌..

It is worth remembering that Rossall School is proud to be an academically non-selective school. We are an inclusive community and we believe that all children are capable of making fantastic progress given the right level of support and encouragement from dedicated and inspiring teachers. We have the highest aspirations for all of our children and we help them to develop the confidence and self-belief necessary to excel.

At Rossall, children have the opportunity to develop their interests and skills within a nurturing and empowering environment. We know each and every member of our community has an important contribution to make to society and it is our responsibility to ensure that they leave us equipped to lead happy personal lives and fulfilling professional lives.

Dina Porovic

Jeremy Quartermain

Deputy Head (Teaching & Learning)

Headmaster

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