The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School warmly congratulates our Year 13 students on achieving an excellent set of A Level results enabling them to secure, once again, places at prestigious universities the most popular this year including Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, LSE, UCL, Bristol, Warwick and Durham. With nearly 20% of Habs pupils receiving some financial assistance, the School is enormously proud that its academic and extensive co-curricular opportunities are available to all.
During what would have been their exam time, Sixth Formers were offered a ‘Frontiers Programme’. At its core, it was a holistic programme of live online sessions with the aim of giving students greater insights into the area of study that they have opted to read at university. The programme also continued to broaden their intellectual horizons and support their pastoral wellbeing, enabling them to maintain the momentum needed to start university informed and on the right track.
School Captain Zamaan, who received 4 A* and will go on to study Engineering Design at the University of Bristol, said: “I am overjoyed with my results and am glad that all my hard work paid off, despite not sitting the exams! The school provided lots of support during lockdown, both academically and pastorally, which really helped during such an uncertain period of time. Remote learning was brilliant – teachers adjusted their normal lesson plans to fit the needs of the students and the online environment that we found ourselves in.
Throughout my time at the school, I’ve always been quite active outside the classroom, taking part in activities ranging from music to sport. I especially loved representing the school on the hockey pitch and being part of the famous Habs Big Band!
I would like to thank all my teachers for always being there to support and educate me. After being at the school for 11 years, I think the teachers play a big part in making Habs the school that it is and there’s no way that I would have been able to get this far without them.
The last few months have been quite tough for everyone, and I am extremely proud of the students and staff alike for their resilience and resolve – the mark of a truly exceptional group of people.”
Josh, who achieved 4 A* and will be going on to study Mathematics at Jesus College, University of Cambridge, said: “I’m ecstatic about my results – after an extraordinarily tough year, unlike no other, I am so pleased to see my hard work having paid off. After working throughout lockdown towards them, I am especially pleased with my STEP (Cambridge maths entrance exam) results. The school was particularly helpful and supportive towards me. I would especially like to thank my teachers for going above and beyond throughout my time at Habs, and especially during the last few months.
The Frontiers Programme was a highly enjoyable fortnight, seeing a side of teachers’ expertise that we wouldn’t normally get to see during a normal school year. The breadth of the content delivered was phenomenal, and hopefully this programme can continue for other pupils even when school returns to normal.
During my time at Habs, I have had the opportunity to participate in many co-curricular activities but dedicated most of my time over the past few years to Model United Nations (MUN). I was Secretary-General of the infamous Habs MUN 2020 that was cancelled immediately beforehand due to the pandemic but loved every minute of planning the conference with the rest of the team, who I am extremely close with.”
Jamanvir, who has confirmed his place to study Natural Sciences at University College London with two A* and an A, said: “Probably the biggest feeling right now is just relief. There was a level of uncertainty going into these results and I am grateful for getting what I need for next year.
Having continuous zoom calls with our teachers and friends, created a sense of normality and unity, something absolutely crucial for so many kids struggling with the lockdown. Online lessons, as well as the Frontiers Programme, helped us to keep a daily routine, whilst of course keeping us intellectually stimulated and interested. Speaking for both myself and others, this was a really great and important thing the school provided, not only on the academic side of things but more importantly, keeping us mentally healthy and alert.
At school, I loved to represent in sport, drama and music. Some of my greatest memories lie there on stage in the Bourne Hall, performing in amazing concerts or incredible theatre productions. I have a huge collected thanks to everyone at Habs: to all the teachers who saw me through my time there, to Hendersons for guiding me all the way up the school, to all the Joe’s and Bates staff who were always so kind and generous and to the friends and teachers I grew closer to in the last few years, who undoubtedly went out of their way to make school such an amazing and inspirational place.”
Rohan, who received three A* and will be studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, University of Oxford, said: “I am both elated and grateful to get the results that I wanted. This results day was unlike any other that I’ve experienced and was something we’ve all been waiting for since March, so to finally receive our results was both exciting and a relief.
Habs have supported students as much as possible during these difficult times, so much so that sometimes it felt like I was back at school! I have thoroughly enjoyed remote learning and, in many aspects, the school has made it just as good as in normal times. The Frontiers Programme was very different. It gave us a chance to diverge from the general curriculum and delve deeper into areas that we are more interested in. It also gave us a taster as to what university life may be like. The sudden changes have made me further appreciate the extensive support that Habs offers. It highlighted to me that Habs is a school that really cares about their students and their staff.
During my time at Habs, there’s always been a plethora of activities on offer and I took full advantage of them. Playing 1st XV rugby and representing the school on a national level for athletics have definitely been a highlight for me. With so many opportunities at hand, students can find that anything they want to do is already an established club or society.
I’d like to thank all my teachers, who I felt went the extra mile when it came to our learning. For example, when Oxbridge interviews were approaching, many students, myself in particular, would ask difficult and sometimes unrelated questions. The teachers would not only answer these questions, but inspire a deeper interest and provide a greater understanding that helps in all realms of academia. Safe to say, my Oxford application would have been far more difficult without the knowledge and confidence Habs afforded me. I hope that I can give back to the community that has helped me so much one day.”
Mr Gus Lock, Headmaster, warmly congratulated the pupils: “The theme for recent school assemblies has been ‘resilience’ and that is exactly what our Year 13 pupils have demonstrated over the best part of five months. I am very proud of their character, strength and positive attitude. Whilst it is a great pity that they were unable to sit their public examinations this year, they have worked exceptionally hard during their time at the School, excelling not only in the classroom but on the sports field, on the drama stage, in music performances and in the many rewarding charity and community events at Habs. I want to thank our immensely dedicated staff for their expert, passionate teaching and guidance. I also want to thank our very supportive parents who can be justly proud of their sons’ achievements. Warmest congratulations to our Year 13 pupils who, having endured and overcome obstacles during this unusual year, will no doubt go on to enjoy some quite remarkable careers and become the problem-solvers of the future.”
Congratulations to the Class of 2020 – this cohort will certainly go down in history and will continue to thrive!
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