Tuesday, 6th August
PERSEVERANCE AND RESILIENCE REWARDED AS ST MARGARET'S STUDENTS CELEBRATE EXCEPTIONAL SQA RESULTS
Pupils and teachers from Scotland's oldest girls' school, St Margaret's School for Girls in Aberdeen, are today celebrating another year of achievements following the publication of impressive SQA examination results.
Pupils in IV Senior have achieved a 98% pass rate (A-C) at National 5 with 94% of grades at A or B level. The school attained a 97% pass rate (A-C) at Higher level for S5 pupils with 84% of grades at A or B level. Results at Advanced Higher were demonstrated by the pass rate of 93% (A-C grade) and with 78% of grades awarded at A or B.
In a year when the national pass rates have dropped pupils at St Margaret’s pupils have excelled with:
Among those celebrating today is Celine, who has achieved 5 As at Higher. Celine is a self-confessed 'girl-geek' and hopes to pursue a career in computer science in the future.
Reflecting on her experience at St Margaret’s Celine said:
“Achieving these results is the first step on my journey to securing a place at university. I am planning to complete an application to study in America, and although my academic achievements are very important to that process, so too are my learning experiences beyond the classroom. At St Margaret’s I have been encouraged and supported to try everything and I have embraced every opportunity wholeheartedly. Whether running a Model United Nations Conference, competing in national tech competitions, taking on various positions of responsibility or mentoring younger pupils to develop their love of STEM, my teachers' belief in me has given me the courage to find my own pathway and be my own person. One of the things I love most about my school is that, at St Margaret’s it’s cool to be clever.”
Fellow computer scientist, Joy, is celebrating the achievement of her grade A at Advanced Higher level as she prepares to pursue her course in Computing Science, commenting:
“Advanced Highers are a huge step-up academically and have really taught me how to develop strategies to study courses at this level efficiently and effectively, which is really good preparation for university. I believe that learning in an all-girl environment, free from gender stereotypes has allowed me to pursue a career that is male-dominated. I am so grateful for the support from my teachers who went over and above to offer help and encouragement, providing me with opportunities to experience STEM in and out of the classroom and ensuring that I was able to engage with highly successful female role-models in science and technology. The world of IT needs more female representation to provide a balanced view of female gender and technology sector issues and I am ready to take on that challenge. In years to come, I hope to be able to inspire future generations of St Margaret’s girls to join in on my quest.”
This year, Headteacher of St Margaret’s School for Girls, Anna Tomlinson, underlines the importance of celebrating those who have demonstrated resilience and excelled in the face of challenges and adversity, commenting:
"These results are a testament to the remarkable dedication of our students, staff and the entire school community. It’s a day to celebrate everyone's success and acknowledge challenges overcome, with the girls’ results setting their course for a bright future. Many of our learners have demonstrated perseverance and resilience when faced with obstacles and setbacks which makes us even more proud of their success. In particular, we wish our sixth year leavers every success and happiness for the future. These wonderful young women, who have given so much to our school community, will be taking up places on courses at prestigious universities to study subjects as varied as computing science, medicine, history, English, law, Spanish, pharmacy and economics, to name but a few.”