Images from St Mary's Catholic School and from St Thomas More Catholic High School by Barry Pells Photography; images from St Cuthbert's Catholic High School and from Sacred Heart Catholic High School by John Millard Photography.
At St Mary's Catholic School, Longbenton, more than 20 students achieved at least three A/A* or Distinction/Distinction* grades across their Level 3 qualifications, with many more securing strong results across their chosen programmes of study.
The school, part of Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, credits these achievements to the talent, resilience, and academic ambition of the students, paired with the consistently high-quality teaching, personalised guidance, and pastoral support provided by staff throughout their time at St Mary’s.
Students are now preparing for their next steps including in apprenticeships, employment, further training, and higher education at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, University College London, Edinburgh, Durham, Manchester, Leeds, and many other Russell Group and high-achieving institutions, in courses such as Engineering, Natural Sciences, Medicine, Law, Artificial Intelligence, Economics and Mathematics, Pharmacy, Architecture, Optometry and Social Work.
Oliver Cass was celebrating after achieving two As and two A* grades, with his A*s in Maths and Physics. He will now go on to study Engineering at the University of Oxford. "I think doing Maths and Physics at A-Level helped lead me to the decision that I liked engineering and I’m happy with how everything turned out,” he said.
Leo Gray achieved two A*s and an A and will take up a degree apprenticeship with Oliver Wyman, studying for a degree in Data Analysis with the University of Exeter. “I got a lot better than I expected to, so I’m really pleased,” he said. “What I'm most looking forward to know is the responsibility – starting to live by myself and earning some money and adulthood, basically. That’s what a lot of people say.”
Joshua Shields was celebrating after achieving three A*s and an A. He has secured a five-month internship with a major technology company in London and hopes to gain real-world experience before deciding what comes next, with a passion for computer science. “I’m shocked about my results across the board. I didn’t expect to get the results I did, but I’m most proud of Physics,” he said. “I really put in the effort for Physics to bring it up from an A to an A*, and I’m very happy.”
St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy, Bedlington, celebrated a fantastic set of A-Level and vocational results. The achievements reflected a continued trend of sustained improvement seen within the school, part of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, over recent years.
The academy reported an impressive overall pass rate of 97% across its Sixth Form cohort with nearly a quarter of all entries (23%) achieving the top A* or A grades, while 68% of all entries were awarded grades between A* and C. And the school’s commitment to preparing students for their next steps was evident with an outstanding 95% of students successfully securing their first-choice university destinations.
Megan Myerscough (pictured, top) achieved an incredible A*, A, and A, and is now heading to Durham University to study History, and Beth McDermott secured an excellent A*, A, and B, and has an offer to study Psychology at Manchester University. Meanwhile, Thomas Routledge is preparing to study Chemical Engineering at Newcastle University after achieving an impressive two A grades and a B.
St Wilfrid’s RC College in South Shields, part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust,celebrated another year of exceptional sixth form success, with students achieving outstanding outcomes across A Level and technical qualifications.
This year's A Level results were particularly strong, with 84% of all grades awarded at A* to C and 28% achieved at A* to A. In addition, 18% of students secured AAB or above, opening doors to highly competitive university courses, higher apprenticeships, and careers.
More than two-thirds of technical qualification grades were awarded at Distinction* to Distinction, while students studying technical qualifications achieved remarkable success, with 100% of technical qualifications graded at Merit or above.
With 84% of A Level grades awarded at A* to C, St Wilfrid's students have performed significantly above the national figure of around 79% while the proportion of grades awarded at A* to A (28%) is in line with the strong national picture.
One student, Oliver Gray (pictured above) who achieved an A*, A, A, B including an A* in mathematics and will be progressing to Durham University, said: "I am really excited about my future, studying maths at Durham. I am so grateful for the support from all the staff at St Wilfrid’s."
Another student, Bradley Law (pictured above) who is going to study Medicine at St Andrew’s University added: "I am so excited for the next adventure. I have had the best two years of my life at St Wilfrid’s Sixth Form and have had so much support over my time here."
Other notable successes include Caitlyn Bowyer A*, A, A; Olivia Breheny A*, A, A; Alex Connor A*, A, A and Freddie Norton A*, A, A.
At St Aidan’s and St Anthony’s Catholic Sixth Form, also part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, students have once again achieved exceptional results across the board with 15% of students achieving A*- A and 45.3% achieving A*-B.
Among the top achievers is Kendrix Mayamaya, who achieved two A* grades in Physics and Computer Science and an A grade in Maths. Kendrix is set to pursue Finance at Newcastle University. He said: "I am feeling really happy. I put a lot of hard work and effort into my A Levels, and it has paid off. I hope to work in the finance sector in the future."
Matilde Gois, who secured an impressive A* in Spanish and 3 A grades in Mathematics, Biology and Chemistry is on her way to the University of Dundee to study Medicine. Reflecting on her success Matilde said "I am so pleased! Studying at St Aidan's and St Anthony's Sixth Form has been wonderful, and I can't wait for my next steps!"
Another success story was Joshua Ogunbode, who is off to Oxford University to study Experimental Psychology. He achieved an A* in Psychology and A grades in Maths and Sociology. Joshua said, “I am proud of the grades I achieved at A level. It was a lot of effort, but thankfully it was worth it in the end. I am off to study experimental psychology at Oxford in October this year.”
A delighted Ava Fawell is off to study Music at Durham University after achieving an A* in English Literature, two As in Economics and Music and a B in Maths. "I am totally speechless, but so pleased with my results! I can't wait to study Music at University!"
Ben Fawcett is another shining example of student success, celebrating one A* grade and two As. He is thrilled to be studying Mechanical Engineering at Newcastle University. Ben said, “I am delighted with the grades I have managed to achieve. I have worked hard since the start of year 12 as I knew I wanted to study Mechanical Engineering at university and I am very excited about starting the course.”
Nancy Jones achieved 2 A grades in Religious Studies and Geography and a B grade in Psychology and will study Geography at Liverpool University. She shared that "I am so happy! I have the grades I needed to go to university. I loved my time at sixth form, and all the hard work has paid off!"
Students and staff at St Thomas More Catholic High School are celebrating a phenomenal day of academic achievement following the release of this year’s A-Level results.
The North Shields school has reported exceptional figures across the board, reflecting the hard work and resilience of its graduating class. More than half of all A-Level grades (55%) were awarded between A* and B, with a quarter of all grades (25%) achieving the top A or A* brackets. An impressive 7% of all grades were the highly coveted A*. Individual performances were equally remarkable, with six students achieving an outstanding four A* or A grades, and a further 14 students securing three A* or A grades.
Success was not limited to traditional A-Levels. The school’s vocational and applied courses saw incredible outcomes, with a third of all Applied Grades awarded a Distinction or Distinction*. Eight students achieved two or more of these top-tier grades, opening doors to highly competitive apprenticeships and career pathways.
Jonathan Gaukrodger with A*, A* and A grade, who will now study Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at the University of Warwick, with hopes of eventually working in finance. “Getting an A* in Philosophy probably shocked me the most,” he said.
Classmate Joseph Eggett achieved A*, A* and A grades and will now read History and German at the University of Cambridge. “I really enjoyed doing German at A-Level and learning about another culture, and that’s kind of what inspired me to take it on at university,” he said.
With A, A* and A grades, Jennifer Henderson has secured a place at Manchester to study Philosophy – a subject she discovered during her time in Sixth Form; while Charlotte King Charlotte King attained two As and one A* and plans to study Fine Art at Manchester Metropolitan University. “I think Art shocked me the most because I was told I was going to get an A, but I ended up with an A*,” she said.
Lauren Hastie’s three As and A* sees her head to Durham University to study Mechanical Engineering. “I was always a huge fan of maths since primary school, but A-Levels drew me to Physics a lot more,” she said. “I was recommended Mechanical Engineering as a course that was a really good incorporation of both of those things. So I’m looking forward to it a lot.”
Students and staff at Sacred Heart Catholic High School, in Fenham, are celebrating an excellent day of academic and vocational achievement following the release of this year’s Year 13 results.
The school has reported exceptionally good outcomes across all pathways, with students securing places at some of the most prestigious institutions and competitive apprenticeships in the country.
An impressive number of students achieved combinations of A and A* grades, securing places on high-tariff courses at top UK universities, including Oxford, Durham, and Edinburgh, as well as highly competitive medical schools.
The school saw tremendous success in its vocational courses, with students achieving the highest Distinction* grades. These results have paved the way for students to study subjects such as law, nursing, midwifery, and optometry.
Alongside university success, several students have secured highly sought-after legal apprenticeships. Notably, this includes a highly competitive degree apprenticeship with Sintons Solicitors.
The school credits this year's success to the unwavering commitment of the girls and the expert guidance of the teaching staff.
At St Cuthbert's Catholic High School also part of Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, a remarkable 30% of all A-Level grades were awarded at A or A*, while more than half of all grades achieved were between A* and B. The average A-Level grade was a strong B, demonstrating the consistently high academic performance of the school’s Sixth Form students.
Ten students secured at least three grades at A or A*, while 14 students achieved AAB or better, including at least two facilitating subjects, keeping doors open to the most prestigious university courses in the country.
Success extended well beyond traditional A-Levels, with students achieving excellent outcomes across vocational qualifications. Over half (53.5%) of vocational grades were awarded at Distinction or above, highlighting the impressive breadth of talent and achievement across the year group.
These stellar results have enabled students to progress to an impressive array of destinations. This year’s leavers are preparing to head to some of the country's most elite institutions, including the University of Cambridge, Durham University, and the Royal College of Music, alongside securing highly competitive higher-level apprenticeships and other exciting pathways.
Find out more about Catholic education in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
