Students at Leighton Park in Reading are celebrating another rise in top A* grades, with leavers securing places at some of the country’s leading universities.
The school said 19% of students achieved A* to A grades across all their subjects.
Overall, 40% of grades were A* or A, compared with a national average of 28.5%, while 15% were awarded at A* compared with 10% nationally.
Across A Level and equivalent qualifications, including vocational and International Baccalaureate results, 66% of grades were at A* to B or equivalent.
Students were also celebrating securing their first-choice university destinations, including places at Oxford, Imperial College London and University College London.
The school said students had secured places on competitive courses including veterinary medicine and at music conservatoires.
Among the highest achievers was Liam, who achieved four A* grades and will study Biomedical Engineering at UCL.
Jacob achieved three A* grades and will study Biochemistry at the University of Bath, while Cameron achieved three A grades and will study Engineering at Loughborough University.
Max achieved three A* grades and will study Music at the University of Oxford.
Antigoni achieved strong results and will study Natural Sciences at Imperial College London.
Lily achieved two A* grades and a B and will take an Art Foundation course before studying English Literature at the University of Exeter.
The school said several academic departments achieved particularly strong results, with more than 70% of grades at A* to B in Art, Further Maths, Geography, Mandarin, Maths and Russian.
CTec Sport students achieved 100% A* to A grades.
Jenny Powlesland, assistant head for teaching and learning and leader of the school’s Aspiring High programme, praised students for securing ambitious university destinations.
“The exceptionally high proportion of students achieving their ambitious first-choice university choices, including Oxford, Imperial College London and multiple competitive destinations such as veterinary courses and music conservatoires, is testament to their efforts and the dedicated support they have received from their teachers,” she said.
Head Luke Walters said the results were a testament to the work of students and staff.
“These are impressive A Level results to place beside exceptional IB scores and BTec/CTec grades,” he said.
“It is testament to the hard work of our staff and students, and to the compassionate challenge which sits at the heart of the school.”
Deputy head academic Alex Wallace said the results were “quite exceptional”, particularly alongside the school’s IB results.
“To have headline figures verging on 70% is quite exceptional, especially when coupled alongside our IB average of 35 points,” he said.
“We are also delighted to have seen an increase in the number of A*-A grades this summer.”
Students also reflected on the support they received during their time at the school.
Liam said he was looking forward to studying Biomedical Engineering and hoped to work on prosthetics that respond to human control.
Lily praised the support she received from teachers during her A Levels, saying it had made a “massive impact” on her results.
The school said its music department’s success had also been reflected in this year’s results, with students securing places at conservatoires and Max heading to Oxford to study Music.
Director of Sixth Form Helen Taylor said she was “so very proud” of the Upper Sixth students.
“These fantastic results reflect their hard work, as well as excellent teaching and the support they have received from parents and guardians,” she said.
The school said it was looking forward to following the progress of the 2026 cohort as they move on to university and other destinations.
