Thousands of students across the UK ripped open their precious envelopes on Thursday 18th August to unveil their highly anticipated A-level results.
Amongst those celebrating was Grammar School at Leeds student, Shahzaib Ahmad.
Having arrived in the UK at the tender age of 11 with only a few words of English, he has now secured a prestigious place at Cambridge University after achieving stellar A-Level results.
To make the day even better, the results came out on Shahzaib’s 18th birthday.
The gifted student will now go on to study medicine at St John’s College, Cambridge, after gaining four A*s in chemistry, biology, maths and French.
His impressive academic record, which includes 12 A*s in his GCSEs taken at Batley Grammar School, has been achieved despite having to adapt to a new language and culture when his family moved to the UK from Pakistan seven years ago.
Shahzaib said: “It was daunting changing cultures and countries at such a young age, however being in school straight away helped me to pick up the language in about a year and a half.
“I decided about four years ago that I wanted to be a doctor, and I’m so happy to have my place at Cambridge confirmed – on my 18th birthday too. It will be a double celebration with my family and friends later.”
Shahzaib is one of 14 A-level students at GSAL who are celebrating a clean sweep of three or more A*s.
Of the 14 who gained the top grade, three students achieved four A*s, including Manjari Dhar, and a further 11 achieved three A*s.
Kaiser Lodhi, Adi Munot, Abhijeet Oswal and Miheer Sonwalkar are each celebrating three A*s and an A, while Aditi Rajgopal achieved three straight A* grades.
At GSAL, 63 per cent of the cohort achieved a minimum of ABB grades – the entry requirement of leading universities. Nine students have their Oxbridge places confirmed.
Principal Sue Woodroofe said: “These are tremendous results and we are very proud of every one of our students. A-levels continue to be a hallmark of excellence around the world and, in achieving so well at this stage, we know that our students will go on to continued success at university and beyond.
“We send them our sincere congratulations along with our very best wishes for the future.”
Elsewhere, celebrations were also seen in Bradford with students and staff at Bradford College Sixth Form ‘overjoyed’ after their A Level overall pass rate reached 96.1 per cent.
The Sixth Form is also celebrating 97.6 per cent pass rates for English and Maths, which is a 3.3 per cent increase on last year.
Amongst the high achievers was 20-year-old Hodan Abdi from Leeds, who secured her place at university to study business management after securing A Levels in Business Studies, Sociology and Anthropology.
She said: “It is a big relief. I didn’t get any sleep last night.”
Congratulations to all students who received their A Level results last week and good luck with your futures.
