Tonbridge’s excellence at A-level and GCSE earns a Crystal Award 

Tonbridge has received a national award in recognition of its outstanding results in the most recent A-level and GCSE examinations.

The School is named as a ‘Top Five UK Boarding School by A-level and GCSE 2022’ by Education Advisers Ltd, the company which runs the ‘Best Schools’ website and produces annual league tables of the UK’s top performing independent schools.

Education Advisers presented one of its exclusive ‘Crystal Awards’ to Tonbridge’s Headmaster, James Priory, on Friday 5 May to celebrate this achievement.

Mr Priory said: “I am delighted that Tonbridge is being honoured with a Crystal Award. It is a tribute to the boys’ hard work and excellent performances, but also highlights the dedication of our teaching staff, who provide a hugely stimulating learning environment and who challenge all our students to reach their full potential.”

Allison Pettitt, of Education Advisers, added: “I am thrilled to present this award, which recognises the School’s commitment to academic excellence and the exceptional achievements of its talented students.”

In last year’s A-level exams, half of all grades awarded to the School’s Upper Sixth cohort were at A*, or Pre-U equivalent. More than 85 per cent of all grades awarded were A or A*, while nearly all grades (98 per cent) achieved by Tonbridge students were either A*, A or B.

The 2022 leavers were the first Tonbridge cohort to have completed the new Sixth Form Curriculum. Inspired by skills which The World Economic Forum identified as having the greatest value in today’s workplace, such as problem-solving, critical thinking and creativity, the Sixth Form Curriculum gives students the opportunity to develop high-level specialism in their studies while also sustaining breadth through options such as the Extended Project Qualification and additional language courses.

Tonbridge’s GCSE results in 2022 were among the best-ever for the School. More than 57 per cent of grades were at 9, the highest possible grade; almost 85 per cent were at 9 and 8 (with both grades the equivalent of A*); and 97 per cent of all grades were at 9-7 (equivalent to A*/A).

The Upper Sixth at Tonbridge take up places each year at many of the UK’s leading universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, London School of Economics, University College London, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Durham, Bath, Bristol, Manchester, York, Warwick, Leeds and Exeter. The large majority of boys  achieve their first-choice destination.

Pictured: James Priory receives a Crystal Award, on behalf of the School, from Education Advisers consultants Allison Pettitt and Dan MacDonnell.