Computer Science students top the national leaderboard for A Level results
Following the news that two of last year’s A Level Computer Science (CS) cohort (Solar Choi (HS) and Toby Mok (PS)) were among the top 100 students in this year’s A-Level examinations, Head of Computer Science, Justin Robertson shared insight into one of our strongest A-Level subjects.
Justin joined Tonbridge in 2020 from the International School, Manila. Since then, a remarkable 25% of those studying A Level Computer Science have gone on to study it at Oxbridge or Imperial College London. Indeed, three of the 2024 cohort (Justin Leung (HS), TK Buristrakul (HS) and Eden Cheung (FH)) achieved the same accolade of being among the 100 best in the country and are now studying CS together at Cambridge University. Around 60% of A Level computer scientists go on to study the subject at degree level, the rest generally studying mathematics, the sciences, engineering or economics.
Typically, Tonbridge CS students take the subject alongside Maths, Further Maths and Physics, although other pairings include Economics, DT, Chemistry and Biology. One of this year’s cohort would like to study Marine Biology, but others are drawn to careers in Financial Technology and AI start-ups.
When asked what the key to such incredible success is, Justin says, “Tonbridge’s reputation for academic excellence means we attract exceptional pupils. Our sizeable GCSE cohort of fifty reflects this subject’s broad appeal, which is further boosted by its importance in developing the 21st century competences identified by the World Economic Forum as being key to success. A-Level choice is typically motivated by a genuine fascination for the subject, coupled with a strong appetite to deepen one’s knowledge. With approximately fifteen students in an A-Level group, the stretch and challenge are as likely to come from one’s peers as from our faculty.”
While universities may not require CS at A Level to study it at degree level (as not every school can offer it), many universities, including Cambridge, strongly advise students to take the subject if it is offered by their school. Studying CS at A Level provides a strong foundation, enabling boys to progress more quickly at university by skipping introductory courses. Beyond their knowledge of CS per se, the course is valued for its development of logical and creative thinking skills. As Steve Jobs famously put it, “Everybody should learn to program; it teaches you to think.”
Beyond the classroom, our students enjoy success in national and international competitions. Since the school’s first entry in 2022, Tonbridge has not finished below fifth place in the Perse Coding Team Challenge, a programming competition which attracts thousands of schools from the UK and across the world each year. Two boys (Justin Leung (HS) and Yijun Wang (PH)) have recently finished in the top 15 in the British Informatics Olympiad (BIO), securing invitations to Trinity College, Cambridge, to participate in the finals, with the former going on to represent the UK in the International Olympiad of Informatics (IOI).
Co-curricular activities include the Programming Club, with its increasing focus on AI, and the mathematical society Arcana, both of which give boys the opportunity to present their own research into computational esoterica. Recent topics have included Fast Fourier Transforms, Alpha-Beta Pruning in the Minimax Algorithm, and Position Evaluation Optimisation using Bit Arrays. Visiting speakers have included representatives from Meta and MIT, giving boys an insight into the cutting-edge applications of the subject.
