The long, anxious wait finally came to an end this week for pupils at Limavady Grammar School as they received their A Level results. A stressful experience at the best of times, this year brought added uncertainty as it marked a return to traditional examinations after a two-year gap due to the pandemic, during which time students had to be awarded grades based on teacher assessments. However, the pupils need not have worried as the school received one if its best ever sets of results, with over half of the three hundred and eight examinations sat resulting in A* and A grades and over 93% of all examinations sat being awarded A*- C grades.

An astonishing 34 pupils achieved 3 or more A*/A grades. Top achievers were Ivan Mariblanca (4 A* and 1 A grade) and Maebh Clenaghan (4A* grades), whilst other high-flyers were Jenna Mullan, Emma Peoples, Eve Walker, Rebecca Barr, Joe Dallas, Bethan Gilpin, Amelia Hetherington, Daniel Devenney, Maxine Matiza, Niall McCallion, Emma O’Flaherty, Faye Young, Emma Cochrane, Rachel Cochrane, Maria Conn, Zara Craig, Conor McClelland, Lauren McShane, Haydn Mullan, Callum O’Neill, Kavan Mullan, Kirsty O’Brien, Brennan Whiteside, Stephen Brown, Aaron Gault, Victoria Haggan, Sinead Heaney, Matthew McCullough, Fionntan McDermott, Eunan McLaughlin, Hannah Thompson and Craig Moore, all of whom received three or more A* or A grades.

Year 14 student Jason Kirkpatrick, who received two A grades and one B in Maths, Physics and Geography and who is now intending to study Renewable Energy Engineering at the University of Ulster, admitted to being “excited but relieved” at receiving his results. Jason said that he was sad to be leaving the Grammar after seven years but “excited for the next chapter and to see what life has in store”. Fellow Year 14 pupil Eve Walker said that she was “totally shocked” when she realised that she had attained 3 A* grades in French, Spanish and Life and Health Science. Eve is now going to Aberystwyth University to study French, Spanish and Italian.

Also receiving results this week were Year 13 pupils who sat their AS Level examinations in June. Just like their older counterparts, results were very encouraging with almost 40% of examinations sat being awarded A grades and over 90% receiving A-C grades, a rise of over 7% on 2019, the last time that traditional exams were sat. 21 pupils received three or more A grades with the following pupils receiving straight A grades in all of their subjects: Matthew Armstrong, Cain Hamilton, Emma Kershaw, Joan Moore, Kaia Moore, Amelia Mullan, Lucy Somerville, Peter Somerville, Joe Caldwell, Ellie Cowan, Benjamin Howe, Shea Kealey, Malachy Kitson and Owen McClenaghan.

Principal Nicola Madden was quick to congratulate the pupils on their success. “We are delighted with the achievements of all of our pupils,” she said. “The last two years have been difficult for everybody, but especially for young people. Many pupils have had their education disrupted by the pandemic and the fact that they have achieved such tremendous results is testimony to the hard work that they have put in, the support of their parents and the dedication and efforts of their teachers who have gone to great lengths to ensure that our pupils were fully prepared for these examinations. I would like to wish all of our Year 14 pupils well as they leave school and move on to the next stage of their lives and look forward to welcoming our returning pupils back next week for the start of the new academic year.”