Outstanding and international from Sevenoaks to the world
With their May exams cancelled , the Class of 2020 were denied the usual rite of passage to finish their school career . In such unprecedented circumstances , exam systems around the world encountered challenges , but the strong grades were a reflection of the hard work of students throughout their time in the Sixth Form . At 214 , they were one of the largest IB cohorts in the world and they were awarded a remarkable average IB Diploma score of 40.1 points . Eighteen students achieved the maximum 45 points , 24 secured 44 points , 23 secured 43 points , and 63 per cent ( 135 students ) achieved 40 points or more – another truly excellent result .
By the autumn Sennockians were flying around the world to their new universities : 21 per cent of our students went international and began their studies at top universities in the United States , Asia and Europe . The average for other ISC schools is just five per cent .
The UK
At 92 per cent the overwhelming majority of Sennockians are starting their studies at their first choice of university . In the UK that means that 83 per cent of them are at elite Russell Group universities , including 20 students at University College London , 19 at Durham , 17 at Oxford , 18 at Exeter , 12 at Imperial College , 12 at Cambridge , 10 at King ’ s College London and eight at Edinburgh .
The world
Across the Atlantic , 37 of our students are making themselves at home in top North American colleges ; four each to University of Chicago and UCLA ; three each to Stanford , Dartmouth and the William and Mary / St Andrews joint degree ; and two each to McGill , UC Berkeley and the Columbia / Sciences Po joint course . We also have students going to Yale , Harvard , UPenn , NYU , Carnegie Mellon and Brown , among others . A further nine of our students are entering prestigious universities in Hong Kong and Europe , with one taking up a place on the World Business Degree joint course between the University of Southern California , Bocconi University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology .
What are they studying ?
This astonishing range of universities is matched by the range of subjects that Sennockians are studying . A Sevenoaks education and the IB prepares students for a wide range of vocational and interdisciplinary subjects . Fourteen Sennockians are on the road to becoming doctors , vets and dentists while a full 38 of them are taking Combined Degrees or Liberal Arts Programmes in the UK or the US . Fifty-three per cent will study subjects in the arts and humanities and 30 per cent will take STEM courses ( Science , Technology , Engineering and Mathematics ).
Looking to the future
Exams were cancelled for Year 11 as well , but their impressive results bode well for the Class of 2022 : 94.9 per cent of all examinations were graded A / A * or 9 / 8 / 7 ; 27 students gained 11 or 12 A */ A + 9 / 8 / 7 grades , and 106 students gained 10 A */ A + 9 / 8 / 7 grades . They are joined in the Lower Sixth by talented students from around the world , and the Higher Education department looks forward to helping them as they embark on their next steps .
Wendy Heydorn Director , Institute of Higher Education and Professional Insight
18
HIGHER EDUCATION REVIEW