Top of the Class!

by Miriam Reissner - Wednesday 20th August 2008


As Jewish pupils across the country open their GCSE results this morning, A Level students will still basking in the glory of another summer of success with dozens of youngsters having made it to the country's top universities.

Despite taking the fewest number of exams overall, Immanuel College came top of the class with a 100 percent pass rate and 82 percent of pupils gaining A's or B's, with Hasmonean and JFS just behind on 77 per cent and 76 percent respectively.

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There were also celebrations in East London and in Manchester as both King Solomon and King David High School surpassed its achievements from 2007 when it came to the percentage of exams passed at A or B grades.

At Immanuel, Tara Cohen and James Krieger scored four A grades, while Ariel Levy opened his envelope to find he had achieved 3 As and with them a place at Cambridge studying land economy. "I am over the moon," he told TJ. "I honestly didn't believe my grades when I saw them. Immanuel College were brilliant helping me through every step of the way, I couldn't have done it without them."

Only a small percentage of students across the country can claim to have achieved five top grades, but among them was Gabriella Lebrecht, 18, who will go on to study maths at Imperial College after a year out studying at Sha'alvim seminary in Israel. Another pupil with 5 As was Anne Guetta, who added 3 A grades in physics, further maths and economics to her two in French and Maths from last year. The 18-year-old from Hampstead Garden Suburb, who will also go to seminary before taking up a place to study land economy at Cambridge, responded to the annual debate about whether exams were getting easier. "You can't do well without working. They are definitely easier than ten years ago, but I worked really, really hard and wouldn't have done well without doing so," she said.

David Fuller, Executive Headteacher of Hasmonean - where seven students also achieved 4 As - said the institution's "excellent results reflect the hard work and commitment of the students, high quality and dedicated staff and the strong partnerships we have with parents and Governors". Also scooping 5 As was one student at King Solomon, where three youngsters also achived 4 As and a further three gained 3 As.

At JFS, meanwhile, Headteacher Jonathan Miller expressed delight "with the best ever percentage of 'A' grades in another year of truly outstanding results. Yet again, JFS students are a source of pride for themselves, their families and the School." Miriam Fenton, who was among eight students at the school to gain Oxbridge places, received 100% in all six units of politics, while Jacob Perlmutter achieved one of the highest marks in the country for photography.

Zoë Lederman - who achieved 4 As and will be volunteering in Malaysia travelling before starting university, said: "people shouldn't water down what you've got. I still think A levels are really hard and everyone that says they're not should try doing them."

There was also considerable success for students at other schools including City of London School for Girls, where Anna Behrmann received 4 As and several other students received three As. Alexander Margolin, 17, who took As exams at Merchant Taylors' School, received a letter from the examining board congratulating him on coming in the top 10 out of 5785 candidates for economics.

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