Joy as UAE students secure record-setting A-level results
Leading school provider Gems Education had a record 1,999 students sitting 5,379 A-levels across 22 schools in the UAE and Qatar.
This year saw 32 per cent of entries awarded A* - A, up from 26 per cent last year. The proportion of top A* grades also increased to 11 per cent.
Lisa Crosby OBE, chief education officer for the group, praised the results as "just the beginning."
A-Level results day at Repton Abu Dhabi - in pictures
Standout performances included Gems Wellington Academy - Silicon Oasis, which posted an 18 point rise in A*-A grades, and GEMs Founders School- Al Mishear, which saw A*-B results jump by 27 points.
More than a quarter (28.3 per cent) of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 0.5 percentage points on last year.
Resilience beyond grades
This time last year, Pranaw Lalwani, was ready to throw in the towel.
He told The National that anxiety over grades had impacted his performance last year. "I got to a point at the end of year 12, I just wanted to walk out," he said.
After sitting down with his parents at teachers at Jumeriah College he decided to perceiver and brought his grades up to gain a place at a University of Madrid.
Beyond the grades, Pranaw, said he had learnt critical lesson in resilience.
Beyond grades
Brighton College Dubai also celebrated its strongest results yet, with A* grades surging to 28 per cent - almost double last year's 15 per cent. More than half of all grades were at A*-A and 80 per cent at A*-B. Several students, including Arvand Zara, Shaurya Kumar, and Vibe Kumar, achieved the coveted three A* grades.
Shaurya told The National that while she was "still in shock", at the outstanding results, she said on reflection it was the school environment that made the biggest difference with the smaller class sizes at Brighton College allowing for more one on one time with teaching staff.
"Previously I was in a pretty big school where the year group size was about like 300 400 people," she said. "My classes at Brighton ranged from about five people to 13 people."
Hannah Aly, a student at Brighton College in Abu Dhabi, received a much coveted score of four A* grades.
She said that the key to success comes from planning to study early as "that way it'll be less stressful once exams actually come around."
Simon Crane, headmaster at Brighton College, hailed the achievements as ranking "amongst the best in the UAE," crediting the schools's culture of striving for excellence.
Graduates will now head to elite destinations including University College London, Edinburgh, Toronto and Paris's renowned Gobelins animation school.
Dubai British School Emirates Hills also posted its best ever A-level results, with the schools Principal highlighting the "determination, resilience, and commitment" of students.
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