As staff and students at the International School Seychelles (ISS) returned for the start of the new school year, they were inspired by this summer’s IGCSE and A-Level results.

Upper Sixth Form students have once again secured university places all over the globe, as far apart as Miami, Durham and Hong Kong. The most exceptional A-Level results were achieved by Maarej Rizvi who gained three A* grades, while William Gao gained two A’s and a B and Vishal Shah gained an A and two Bs.

Lower Sixth students had great success at AS-Level, with a nearly 30% improvement on last year’s grades. Notably, Natacha Roberts and Alexei Balabanov each gained three grade A’s and one grade B. At IGCSE level, Year 11 students gave the school an overall pass rate of 100%, with 88% of entries achieving A* – C grades. That almost half of these grades were the top A/A* grades shows the real level of success ISS students have achieved, and were highlighted by two top performing students: Korry Robert who secured eight A* grades and two A’s and Andrea Woodcock who gained eight A*s and one A.

Head of Sixth Form Matthew Marson commented: “These remarkable results are testament to the hard work and commitment of the students and staff as they strive and push themselves to be the best they can be. I look forward to welcoming our returning students back to the Sixth Form and wish those moving into employment and higher education the very best.”

New head teacher Karl Wilkinson said: “These are results that any school would be proud of, especially when you consider that ISS is not a selective school, but one where the children have a rich diversity of backgrounds and abilities. Our top students have matched themselves with the world’s very best, but we are equally proud of the success of the students who have surmounted all sorts of learning challenges to achieve these world-wide standards. This is one of the strengths of ISS, where real education – beyond just ‘learning the book’ – enables all the children to become the best they can be, in not only their academic achievements, but also through developing the social, creative and physical skills that all people need – and universities and employers look for – in today’s global society.”