Headmaster Mr Lauder said, “I am immensely proud of our Upper Sixth today. Their hard work has resulted in over 81% of grades awarded at A* to B, of which over 58% were A*/A and given the background to which they achieved this, this is testament to the specific investment and focus we have given to academic attainment and progression in recent years at Strathallan while maintaining the broad range of other activities our pupils excel in.
“The results are better than we were anticipating, especially given recent media comments and the outcomes for our students because of this are especially pleasing to see with the vast majority of our students are into their first-choice university destinations with some others heading off to work, internships or apprenticeships.
“We’ve had close to record level A-Level grades announced today with a 100% pass rate. With more A*s and As overall, breaking our 3-year, 5-year and 10-year grade averages has been better even than last year's results. We are incredibly proud of all our pupils this year.”
Strathallan pupils who achieved straight A*s include Bailey Wilks who will be heading to Edinburgh University to study Psychology, Michael Huang who has confirmed his place to study Chemistry at Imperial College London and Peter Wallwork, who after studying at Strathallan for 9 years will now embark on his next chapter at Bath University to study Economics.
Another pupil who received his results on the day was Mr Lauder’s eldest son, William. William was over the moon to find out he had achieved his predicted four A*’s in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Design & Technology, confirming his place to go directly into second-year Mechanical Engineering at Edinburgh University.
As Captain of School, House Prefect and Head of Strings at Strathallan, William balanced studying for his A-Levels with 1st XV rugby and performing for the Schools’ Choir, Senior Pipe Band and Orchestra.
Looking back on the year William said, “It all feels real now. This hasn’t been an easy year for anyone but after all this hard work it feels great to know where I’m headed next and to be able to look ahead with some certainty now.”
The Headmaster added, “I was doubly anxious this year, I’m always anxious as the Headmaster that my pupils do well but this year I was a father too. I am firstly relieved but secondly and more importantly, I am truly proud of William and all his year group whether they did Highers or A-Levels as I know how hard they worked for this outcome and their futures. This generation worked their socks off. So my congratulations to all in the Class of 2020.”
Strathallan also achieved outstanding Highers with 1 in every 3 grades awarded an A. Focusing on delivering Scotland’s most diverse curriculum, Strathallan will become the first boarding and day school to offer a full programme of SQA one year Higher’s and Advanced Higher’s alongside a full 2-year A-Level programme in September 2021.
Another pupil saying goodbye to Strathallan after 5 years studying here is Muna Nweke. Muna recently received over eight offers at top art schools in the USA, Canada and the UK, including the Rhode Island School of Art and the Ringling College of Art and Design.
Watch his video below or read his story here:
