Brentwood School's truly global year group collects outstanding results

International Baccalaureate students at Brentwood School received their results on Monday 5th July, the first day of their school holiday. After two years of hard work many students were of course looking to this day to reveal if they’ve got into their chosen university.

This year, following international lockdown measures which prevented students in the UK from sitting examinations, The International Baccalaureate Organisation once again asked for coursework to be submitted, which was then marked by their own examiners. A series of rigorous assessments were then used to generate the school’s predicted grades.

The 2021 cohort includes students with connections to Nigeria, Italy, Denmark, the USA, Hong Kong and Ukraine, showing the increasingly global reach of the school. For many students, dreams have been realised and the School is proud to report that its average score is an outstanding 40 points (with 45 the maximum). The international flavour continues with the variety of destinations the students have chosen to continue their studies at, which includes the USA, Canada and China.

One student received the maximum 45 points: Deputy Head of School, Elizabeth Akeju, who studied Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology at Higher Level, will be heading to Imperial College London to study Medicine. Elizabeth is currently in the Yorkshire Dales on a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Gold expedition, but her father was at School to collect her results. He was understandably and rightly proud of his daughter’s achievements: “I don’t know what to say. She’s never let us down” he said. Also heading off to study Medicine, at Plymouth College, is Amelia O’Leary, with 44 points.

Bosnian boarding student Din Tolj, also with 44 points, who joined the school on a full bursary, managed a full scholarship to Yale University in the United States, one of the world’s most prestigious institutions. His Higher Level subjects were Mathematics, Physics, English and Philosophy.

Charlie Stanbrook received 43 points studying Higher Level subjects English Literature, French and Economics, and is heading to the University of Exeter to study English literature and French. Charlie, the first family member to go to university, paid tribute to English teacher and Head of U6th, Mrs Roberts, who helped ‘academically and mentally’.

It was a double celebration for Isabela Edgington who was celebrating her 18th birthday by discovering she got 37 points, enough to get her into the University of Nottingham Law School. She was planning a family celebration in the garden at the weekend after her first COVID vaccination! Also studying Law is Beatrice Belpietro, who will be heading to Bristol University.

Danish student Inger Hansen, whose father also attended the School in the 1980s, received glowing feedback from her interview at the private London institution New College of the Humanities, where she will be studying English with Creative Writing: “[The interviewer] felt that you have valuable experience of working collaboratively in your creative writing, which stands you in good stead for the workshop components of the minor. He thinks that you have enormous potential, would be delighted to teach you, and very much hopes that you accept our offer.” Brentwood has consistently been praised for its holistic education and the IB Diploma Programme supports this approach very well.

Director of Sixth Form Ms Lauren Austen, added: “The 2021 cohort will always remember their time in the Sixth Form, dominated as it has been by COVID-19, but this is just reward for navigating two national lockdowns and everything else the pandemic has thrown at them. I’m so proud of what they have managed to achieve, both in and outside of the classroom. Their outstanding work ethic and camaraderie has seen peer support and joint projects with celebrations of cultures, from food to fashion and arts and crafts. These fantastic results are a testament to their hard work and also to the commitment of our teachers who have remained dedicated to helping them realise their dreams.”