It has been a summer of celebration for Westminster Academy’s Sixth Form students and the school is congratulating all students who will be embarking on new beginnings in September, including those heading to leading universities such as UCL, Oxford and Imperial, as well as beginning apprenticeship programmes. 

Following the release of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme (IBCP) results in July, today IBCP graduates received an excellent set of BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma results, confirming exciting university places and rewarding the efforts of an extremely hard-working cohort of students.

The Academy was proud to see 100% of its students pass the BTEC Level 3 component of their IBCP, and all with grades that ranged from D*D*D* to MMP. The average grade for Westminster Academy (WA) students was an impressive DDD (triple Distinction). Rim Tanjaoui El Hasbi achieved D*D*D, securing her place to study Business Management at Queen Mary. Ahmed El Saeidi achieved D*DD and will be taking up a place at UCL to study Urban Planning and Real Estate. Aliza Zayn confirmed her place at City University to study Business Management after achieving D*D*D* and 5s in IB Maths and English. Other destinations for IBCP students include Loughborough and Brunel, to study diverse courses from Arabic and International Relations to Software Engineering, plus an apprenticeship with JCA Engineering. IBCP students study a blend of at least two IB academic subjects, the IB Core as well as a Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma. At Westminster Academy all students study IB certificates in English and Maths, and all continue developing modern foreign language skills. IBCP student, Hadil Mohamed achieved IB English, IB Maths and D*DD in BTEC Level 3 Applied Science. She points out, “The IBCP puts us in a better place than BTEC students, it has given us more opportunities and it will open more doors for us in the future. I think universities see and respect that.” Hadil has particularly enjoyed the Service Learning element of the IBCP. “It feels good to go out and help the community and the school.” As part of her Service Learning, Hadil volunteered at a local day centre for people with dementia. She said, “The first time I went it was nerve-wracking, but once we had gone a few times it was really nice. The people spoke to us about their lives. They are a different age group to us so we learned from them and we did activities together.” Hadil now looks forward to studying Applied Medical Science at UCL.

In July students received IB results and the Academy was delighted that the pass rate on the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) was 98% (compared with a UK average of 94.6%). The average score for the IBDP was 33 (out of a possible 45), which once again surpassed the world average of 30.32. Seven students achieved 40 points or above, and among the exceptional performances were Yuji De Vera, who achieved 44 points, and super sisters Eleni and Alicia Allan Padilla, who achieved 43 and 42 points respectively. Three students secured places at Imperial College London, with others gaining places at King's College London, Queen Mary University London, Manchester, Bristol, Bath, Edinburgh and the University of California. Students opted for diverse courses that include Fine Art, Biology, Archaeology and Anthropology, Computer Science and Law. Annabelle Wortsman, who took a gap year after completing her IBDP in 2023, earned a place at Oxford University to study Human Sciences from September.

Maryam Haman was excited to secure her place at King’s College London, after achieving 34 points. She said, “I’m so happy I got in. I’m looking forward to meeting different people, and the topics of the course I’ll be studying look really interesting.” Maryam will be studying Social Sciences, inspired by doing Anthropology as part of her IB Diploma. “I’ve enjoyed the variety the IB gives you. Doing Anthropology has really opened up the world to me.” Maryam reflected on her seven years at WA with gratitude to her teachers. “The teachers are so supportive at WA, they genuinely want to help you and genuinely go above and beyond.” 

As well as being awarded points for subjects in the IBDP, students receive grades for their Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge. The Academy was pleased to note that 21% of students achieved an A in Theory of Knowledge, compared to a historic world average of 7% in the subject. It is of particular significance to WA this year as from September, the Academy will be launching a Theory of Knowledge course for students in Year 7, ensuring students develop essential skills in critical thinking and evaluating information, and challenging students to reflect on how we know what we think we know.

Two students earned places on degree apprenticeships, which are famously competitive. Artem Pionov was up against 1300 other applicants for a position with BNP Paribas, so it is no surprise that he was happy to get a place on the Software Developer Technician Degree Apprenticeship: “I felt a real sense of achievement.”  Artem has always had a keen interest in programming and enjoyed learning it as a younger student. “The way I was taught programming in my early years at the school made it fun and engaging.” Artem’s focus and self-determination is impressive: since he was in Year 8, he has been programming outside of school and has dedicated time developing a portfolio which helped him to achieve this apprenticeship. When he starts in September, he is particularly looking forward to learning about risk IT. “I will need to grasp the concepts of risk management if I want to start my own company one day.”

WA students received their results at the same time as 192,867 other IB students in 156 countries worldwide. These students now join a community distinctive for the shared experience of a programme of education that aspires to develop well-rounded students with ethical responsibility, intercultural understanding, and attitudes and skills needed for both academic and personal success. Through the curriculum, Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) and the above mentioned Service Learning (SL) elements of the IB Core, as well as through extra-curricular activities at WA, over the past two years this cohort has enjoyed initiatives such as mentoring younger students, volunteering at a community festival, creating and curating their own art exhibition, visiting Auschwitz, and organising a social action conference for young people with the American School in London.

Westminster Academy’s new Principal, Mrs Numera Anwar joined the school earlier this month and today she paid tribute to all who were involved in the success of these students. She said, “All of us at Westminster Academy are incredibly proud of these hard-working students; they have exciting futures ahead of them and we wish them all the best. On behalf of the school I’d also like to thank the supportive network of staff, parents, carers, sponsors, trustees and supporters who contributed to the achievements of the Class of 2024 throughout their time at Westminster Academy.”

(This is an update of our news on 9th July, following the release of further Level 3 results on 15th August.)