Behind the Grades: The Stories Behind A-Level Results Day

While we celebrate our strongest A-Level results in over a decade, we remember that behind each set of grades is a young person’s personal story of hard work and determination. We share just a few of those with you now.

Small Classes, Big Impact

Sam, who achieved an A* in Maths, A* in Physics, A* in Computer Science and an A in Further Maths, is now off to Imperial College London to study Mechanical Engineering. When asked what helped him to achieve such an impressive outcome, his answer was simple: “My classes were small, and the teachers knew exactly what I needed, what I was good at, what I was bad at, and that really helped, especially in Further Maths. You can really get that one-to-one teaching from the teachers.”

His Dad agreed, but was keen to point out that at Truro School, Sam had never been defined by academics alone, with drama and two and a half attempts at Ten Tors (the last being thwarted by “another maths exam”), being just as much a part of his time at school. “He’s done loads of amazing stuff,” he said, “and it’s made him the man he is.”

Elsie, Jasmine and Sophie have all been at Truro School since Prep, and are now heading off to Bath, Manchester and Cardiff respectively. Talking it through together, they kept coming back to the size of the school. “It’s the opportunities that a smaller school gives,” said one, while another added, “everyone already knows me and knows what I’m like.”

A Personalised Approach

Elsie is the last of her siblings to have gone through Truro School, and with two A*s and an A, she is deservedly thrilled with her results. Her mum was able to reflect on their time within the Truro School community: “Each child is so individual, and the way the school has been able to find their own thing and their own drive is incredible… You’ve had to find resilience and grit, and we have loved the small classes in the Sixth Form, and the teacher support mechanisms… When you have four children, you have to see each as an individual, each with their own charter and that has been recognised at Truro School.”

A Breadth of Opportunity

Zack achieved A* in his EPQ, A* in Geography and As in Economics and RS and is off to Warwick to study Law. As Head Boy, public speaking, particularly on Speech Day, was one of the biggest things he took from the role. But what he valued most was being able to juggle lots of interests rather than specialise too soon: “I could balance the rugby I was playing at school, the rugby outside of school, and other sports like surfing, with my academics. In some places you have to lean into one thing specifically, whereas here I could stay broad.”

His mum agreed that Truro School had changed things for him completely: “It’s completely changed his trajectory… the sports and academics were balanced, and things like the Seasonaires cookery have given him a really broad range of things, helping him appreciate and enjoy stuff he hadn’t had the opportunity to do before.”

Ben is off to Bath to study Aerospace Engineering, with an A* in Maths, an A* in DT and As in Physics and Further Maths. He joined Truro School in Year 9 and stayed on for Sixth Form because of the friendships he’d built and the strength of his subject teaching, particularly in Maths and Further Maths.

Alongside his A-Levels, he’s completed his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award and gained work experience with BAE Systems, arranged with the school’s help. His Mum explained: “The whole environment has been really good. All the outside stuff, like surfing and scuba diving, there’s just so much, and it’s gone so fast.”

Ella is another student who has benefitted from the raft of opportunities available at Truro School. A chorister from Year 9, Ella chose to stay to continue her musical and choral education but remarked, “But I also knew that the learning style here is really personal and the teachers will help to ensure your direction is exactly the way you need to go. I’ve done a lot of extra-curricular things like chamber choir and jazz band, which has helped my understanding of music. There is an extra-curricular activity for everything here, so whatever you’re studying, you have the opportunity to get some hands-on experience.” Her hard work has certainly paid off with four A*s and, after her gap year, she will go on to read music at Bristol.

Medicine, Oxbridge and Getting There

Sophie, who achieved three A*s and an A, is now fulfilling a lifelong dream and is heading to Cardiff to study Medicine, a vocation she’s dreamed about since she was little. “It’s been a lot of hard work to get here, so I’m happy about it,” she said, crediting the school’s Medical Pathway, clinics and its visiting speakers for helping her get there.

She was also Head Girl this year, working with the Student Council to make sure younger pupils’ voices were heard. Beaming with pride, her dad remarked, “I’ve really seen Sophie flourish, with lots of attention lavished towards her from school, which has been fantastic. She really wanted to stay on to the Sixth Form, and that’s been perfect for her.”

Harry is another student off to study Medicine, with a place at Bristol secured on an A* in Biology and As in Chemistry and Maths. He was also quick to single out the school’s Medical Pathways team for praise: “I can’t thank Ms Havis enough. She’s been really brilliant… doing mock interviews, talking to us about our choices, taking us onto new paths.”

As Deputy Head Boy, Harry also helped set up the school’s Student Council, and had no doubts recommending Sixth Form here to others: “It’s basically a chance to get closer to the teaching and to the teachers who put more and more in. They’re properly invested in how you do.”

Celia is off to Balliol College, Oxford, to study English Literature and Language, and credits a lot of that to the school’s guidance. “The school here has such an amazing Oxbridge team that is so, so incredibly supportive,” she said. “It’s helped me through every single stage of the application process.”

She’s also spent years in the Drama department, from Twelfth Night to this year’s Hamlet. “It’s not just the performing; I’ve had the opportunity to do costumes, sound recording, all these different things,” she said. “The drama department here is so amazing… It’s really shaped me into the person that I am.”

PE Cambridge Technicals Successes

Matilda, a member of the Truro School boarding community, was one of those who proudly achieved a Distinction in her Cambridge Technicals (CTEC) today, a vocational pathway offered alongside A-Levels at Truro School and assessed through a combination of exams and coursework units. Rather than heading to university, Matilda’s next step is to secure her tickets to work on superyachts from January.

Matilda joined the boarding house in Year 10 and stayed on for Sixth Form, and says it came down to the framework that both Truro School and boarding gave her. “It’s a good community; it helps with structure a lot, like making sure you work and get to school on time, and it’s good preparation for exams,” she said. When it came to staying for Sixth Form, the decision was easy: “I knew all my teachers already, and we had a lot more structure. It just made more sense to stay here and carry on, rather than uproot myself and start again with new teachers.”

Matilda’s well-deserved success is a reminder that Sixth Form at Truro School isn’t a single track but one that offers support regardless of the direction a student chooses.

Congratulations too to those who couldn’t join us in person or whose moment was quieter but no less deserved, from Ed, who is hoping to study Football and Broadcast Journalism, Rocco, who did better than expected and is now weighing up higher-choice destinations as a result, Benjamin, who achieved three A*s and an A; Noah, with three A*s; Alice, who, with two A*s and an A, is on her way to becoming a vet, and Andrii, who is going to study Interior Design at the prestigious University of the Arts, London.

Oxford or Imperial, Bristol or Bath, university, gap year or straight into work; wherever today’s leavers are headed next, they leave as ambitious, courageous and remarkable young people who’ve been known, challenged and given room to grow into who they wanted to be.

Congratulations to the entire Class of 2026.

A reminder for all of our leavers and their parents that they are welcome to join the Old Truronian (OT) Community via this link: Alumni – Update Your Details for Truro School | Independent School, Cornwall, UK