Grenfell students return to school to pick-up A-level results

Mia John-Phillip (left) and Annie Hyatt, students at Kensington Aldridge Academy, receive their A Level results
Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd

Students collecting results from their school in the shadow of Grenfell Tower said they were proud to be bringing a sense of hope back to the community.

Safety concerns forced Kensington Aldridge Academy to move to portable classrooms after the fire in June last year. Four of the school’s pupils and one former student were among the 72 killed.

Students were given the choice to sit the exams in the original building or in the temporary classrooms. Many returned to the school’s “home” today, just opposite the scene of the tragedy, to receive their results.

Abdullahi Ali, 18, and Vivian San Pedro, 18, right, were among the high-achievers. Mr Ali got three As in English, history and French. He is one of the first pupils in the school’s history to go to Oxford and will study French and Russian at Christchurch College.

Annie Hyatt (centre) receives her A Level results with friends
Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd

He returned to the school to sit his exams. “It felt right,” he said. “I wanted to sit them here and come and collect my results so this place had happy memories. I think it gives people in the community hope to see us doing so well.”

Fellow student Kai Chappell secured a place at Oriel College Oxford and will study Spanish and linguistics after getting two As and a B.

Abdullahi Ali won a place at Oxford
Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd

Daniel Glinka, 18, got an A* in Polish and As in maths, psychology and chemistry and is now off to Exeter to study maths. He said: “There was so much lost potential in the fire. We are realising ours for those who didn’t get that chance.”

Ms San Pedro got A* in classical civilisation, A in English literature and B in religious studies and is now off to SOAS to study English. She said: “I wanted to prove to people that we aren’t the students that you pity.” Overall, 62 per cent of the school’s results were A*-B, The pass rate was 99.6 per cent.

The school will be based in its North Kensington home from September.

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