A-level results day 2022: The nervous anticipation and excitement as students across Leeds open their results

The stage was set. Students milling around the auditorium as a buzz of nervous excitement filled the air. A buzz that could mean only one thing – it was exam results day.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

A-level results day is when dreams can be made and quashed in equal measure – with one open of an envelope determining the immediate futures of many young people.

Students up and down the country as well as across Leeds have been discovering their results today.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

At Elliott Hudson College, located next to Leeds’s White Rose Centre, the scene was no different this morning as the hall began to gather with the nervous excitement there for all to see.

A-level results day is when dreams can be made and quashed in equal measure. Picture: Tony Johnson.A-level results day is when dreams can be made and quashed in equal measure. Picture: Tony Johnson.
A-level results day is when dreams can be made and quashed in equal measure. Picture: Tony Johnson.
Read More
A-level results day 2022: Live updates as students across Leeds receive their gr...

One student who was left excited was Georgia Brooks, who is heading to study Classics at Cambridge.

"I couldn’t open them at first, I just sat with the envelope in front of me and when I did open them it just didn’t register. I’m just so happy” she told the YEP.

Georgia was one of a handful of students accepted into one of the country’s most prestigious university’s.

Lee Styles, Principal at Elliot Hudson paid tribute to his pupils and staff for what they have been able to achieve. Picture: Tony Johnson.Lee Styles, Principal at Elliot Hudson paid tribute to his pupils and staff for what they have been able to achieve. Picture: Tony Johnson.
Lee Styles, Principal at Elliot Hudson paid tribute to his pupils and staff for what they have been able to achieve. Picture: Tony Johnson.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Another was Lewis Bryan, who after a stunning results day of five A stars, is heading to Cambridge to study Engineering.

“It’s really exciting to know where I’m going and to have the next few years planned out now,” he said.

“I was basically studying every moment I could so it’s good to know the hard work paid off.”

This year’s group of students have been widely referred to as ‘Generation Covid’ as the most disrupted school leavers since the Second World War.

Lewis Bryan and Georgia Brooks are both heading for Cambridge after a day of stunning results. Picture: Tony JohnsonLewis Bryan and Georgia Brooks are both heading for Cambridge after a day of stunning results. Picture: Tony Johnson
Lewis Bryan and Georgia Brooks are both heading for Cambridge after a day of stunning results. Picture: Tony Johnson
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The challenges the pandemic has brought on for pupils and staff alike, from lockdowns to online learning to cancelled GCSE exams, have been immense.

Speaking to the YEP, Lee Styles, Principal at Elliott Hudson paid tribute to his pupils and staff for what they have been able to achieve.

“These young people have been through the most extraordinary educational journey over the past three years – these were the cohort who during their Year 11 were told to go home and that school was finished,” he said.

"They then had a year of high levels of restrictions, remote learning and another national lockdown then they have had to sit external examinations.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Beyond anything they need to feel that they have done an amazing job, which regardless of what their outcomes are they will have done because they have had to go through an experience that no one ever has before.”

This is the first time pupils across the country have sat summer exams since 2019, as A levels and equivalent vocational exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

As pupils sitting exams this year had their education disrupted by the pandemic, they were given additional support in most exams such as information in advance on the area of focus. Pupils in maths and physics had formulae tables rather than being expected to learn them off by heart.

Coun Jonathan Pryor, Leeds city council's executive board member for education said:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I’d like to congratulate everyone on the results they have received today, which as always, are the outcome of a lot of hard work, effort and determination, as well as the high quality of teaching in our schools and colleges.

“To say that the last couple of years has been challenging for everyone in schools and other learning settings would be an understatement. Pupils across the system have shown remarkable resilience in overcoming the challenges to their education caused by the pandemic.”

At Elliot Hudson students were treated to a band playing and free ice cream to mark their momentous day.

For teacher’s, they are made aware of results in advance as they sort them into envelopes ready for students to open.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Results day for me and probably all teachers is the biggest day of the year. It’s the day where there’s a whole load of emotions and feelings that go before and during but it’s by far my favourite day,” Principal Styles said.

"Students will get what they worked for. Here we talk about you work hard, you get success and today’s all about that.”

Not all students head for university with some heading instead heading for apprenticeships and some straight into the world of work.

Maisie Spence, is off to be a Delivery Executive and said: “It’s reassuring to be heading straight into a job and that I don’t have to go to university with the pressures of getting certain results”

Students from colleges and academies are celebrating.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Principal Tim Jones at Woodkirk Academy said pupils and staff should be "proud of the grades that have been attained.”

“They are the result of a huge amount of hard work, resilience and a commitment to excel in the face of the challenges presented throughout the study towards these qualifications,” he said.

“I am delighted for our students and I wish them all the very best for the future; I look forward to hearing about their successes.”

This was echoed by Andy Downing, Principal at Outwood Grange Academy, who said:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Academy staff are all so proud of the commitment and resilience shown by our students over the last two years, which has been an inspiration to us all.

"Despite everything, they have been determined to succeed with their studies and I am so pleased that they can now enjoy their successes as they prepare for their next steps in higher education and employment.

“They will always be part of our school community and we are excited to see what they achieve in the future and how they can inspire our younger students.”

Related topics: