28th August 2012 Dear Parents External Examination Results ...

28 th
August 2012
Dear Parents
External External Examination Examination Results
Results
I hope that this letter finds you well and that you and your families have enjoyed a happy summer
break.
Last weekend saw the first of the dreaded School League Tables appear in the national press with
their customary incomplete and often misleading information. This is therefore a timely moment
for me to write to you with factual and accurate information about how Fettes students fared in their
external exams this year.
I am very pleased to report that the news is generally extremely gratifying and the large majority of
our Fifth and Sixth Form students performed very well indeed.
International International Baccalaureate Baccalaureate (IB)
(IB)
The IB results were the first to be released and they were by some margin our strongest set of results
since we introduced the IB to Fettes seven years ago. We were all thrilled that two Fettesians achieved
the ‘Holy Grail’ of a perfect 45 out of 45 points. To put the scale of this achievement in context,
only about one hundred IB candidates world-wide are awarded 45 points. Out of a cohort of thirtysix
students, which represents just under one-third of the year group, twelve (33%) gained 40
points or more and twenty-three (64%) gained 36 points or more. Everyone passed the Diploma
and our average score across the cohort as a whole was 37.1 points, which in terms of UCAS points is
equivalent to gaining A*A*A*A at A Level. This is a tremendous achievement which places Fettes
among the top ten IB schools in the UK.
A A Level
Level
The A Level results were also extremely pleasing, particularly so given the fact that a significant
number of our more able students had chosen to follow the IB pathway. There were a number of
stunning individual performances, including one candidate with straight A* grades and several
others very close to achieving that. Twenty-six candidates (33%) of the A Level cohort gained a fullhouse
of A* and A grades. Notwithstanding my concerns about the work rate of some members of
the year group, who had been populating the lower end of the Orders table throughout last year,
there were relatively few weak or disappointing individual performances. The overall A Level
statistics are:
A* grades 16%
A*/A grades 48%
A*/A/B grades 77%
Pass Rate (A-E grades) 99.3% (only 2 papers out of 275 received U grades)

It is difficult to combine IB and A Level results in a meaningful manner to give a measure of the
overall performance of last year’s leavers. The methodology employed by some newspapers (The
Daily Telegraph for example) is deeply flawed and the information they provide should be treated
with considerable caution. In my opinion the only meaningful statistic is to add up the UCAS points
gained by all of our students through their variety of qualifications and produce an average score.
On that basis the average UCAS score per Fettes student this year was 415 points. In A Level terms
this is equivalent to an average achievement of A*A*A across the year group as a whole, which by any
standards is a remarkable achievement.
AS AS Level Level
Those members of last year’s Lower Sixth Form who are following the A Level pathway took AS
exams in the summer. There was a considerable spread in these results with some stellar
performances at the top end but some very weak outcomes from those at the bottom end of the scale.
This is not unusual and the results this year are very much in line with previous years. Those
students who have done well have placed themselves in a strong position for their final year and have
powerful evidence of achievement to include on their UCAS forms. Others will have received a
valuable reality check and will now have clear goals to work towards this year. The situation for those
who have underperformed significantly is by no means irretrievable but those students should be in
no doubt about the scale of the challenge ahead of them. The 2012 AS Level statistics, together with
last year’s results for comparison, are:
A grades 42% (41% in 2011)
A/B grades 63% (65% in 2011)
A/B/C grades 79% (79% in 2011)
Pass Rate (A-E grades) 94% (95% in 2011)
GCSE
GCSE
The overall performance by last year’s Fifth Form is very pleasing indeed and I am delighted with
their combined efforts and subsequent achievements. At Fettes we welcome students of a broad
range of ability and it is extremely gratifying to see that not only have the more able done themselves
full justice but also that very many of those who historically might have found academic study more
difficult have risen superbly to that challenge and exceeded expectations. Six students gained a full
house of A* grades and twenty-two were awarded all A* and A grades: the percentage of A* grades
awarded (35%) is the highest we have achieved. These numbers would have been even higher but for
the well-publicised national issue over the harsh marking of a particular English module. Alongside
these outstanding performances, the achievements of those further down the list are every bit as
pleasing. No student failed to clear the six C grade hurdle and there were many really impressive
results gained by those who have had to work their proverbial ‘socks off’. I am thrilled for them and
all of last year’s Fifth Formers: they can look forward with real confidence to the start of their IB
and A Level courses. The overall GCSE statistics are:
A* grades 35.5%
A*/A grades 65.5%
A*/A/B grades 88%
Pass Rate (A-C grades) 97% (only 23 out of 844 papers were graded below C)
University University Entrance
Entrance
These excellent results have translated into a most positive picture on the university entrance front.
The large majority of last year’s leavers have secured places at their chosen universities. All but two
of our Oxbridge candidates fulfilled the conditions of their offers with many others going on to
Russell Group and other leading universities, medical and vet schools. Only a small handful of our
leavers are still going through the Clearing process. However, it should be noted that a significant
number of applicants narrowly missed the conditions of the (often ambitious) offers that they were
holding but were nevertheless accepted by their universities. I am delighted for them but I must
sound a cautionary note for those who will be applying to university this year and in the future.

A very particular set of circumstances applied to the university entrance process this year. A
combination of the advent of tuition fees and Government initiatives meant that many universities
were able to vary their offers. This will not apply in the future and I am quite sure that next year we
will see a return to the norm where universities will stick rigidly to the conditions of offers made to
applicants from academically successful schools such as Fettes.
I hope that all of this information will be helpful and of interest to you. I look forward to meeting
up with many of you during this coming academic year.
With warm good wishes,
Yours sincerely
M. C. B. Spens