Students at The Quest Academy have performed exceptionally well in their A Levels and BTECs, despite the disruption to their education that they’ve faced in recent months as a result of the pandemic. In addition to overall successes, several students obtained impressive sets of results, including three students with two A*s and an A:

Akira Douglas achieved an exceptional set of results with A* in Biology, A* in Chemistry and A in Maths. Akira has secured her first-choice place to study Medicine at the University of Leicester, although she’s as yet uncertain what area of medicine she hopes to focus on in later life. Akira said, “I’d always hoped to do medicine, although I had a few doubts along the way. With the help of friends and teachers, I pushed through those doubts. As well as the academic support I received from teachers, all the staff, but particularly my form tutor and the Sixth Form Administrator, really helped me, including with my personal statement, UCAS procedure and interviews. They managed to keep my morale high.”

Natalia Tobias was awarded A* in Sociology, A* in Religious Studies and an A in Politics; a particularly impressive set of results given that Natalia started at The Quest Academy in Year 10, having arrived from Brazil and speaking very little English. Natalia is going to take a GAP year and then apply to study Law, either at Leeds University or King’s College, London. Natalia said, “At the beginning, especially for foreign students, it’s always hard. But if you put your trust in your teachers, it’ll end up turning out to be a good experience, like it did for me. The teachers were always there for me, and it’s turned out with these great results but also great memories. Being at Quest6 has been wonderful.” Natalia’s mother, Mrs Tobias, said, “I would like to thank all the teachers and the support coordinators. They really helped Natalia to improve her confidence as well as increase her knowledge, which was amazing. Now she doesn’t want to leave! She’s going to miss everything here and every person.”

Frankie Cummings secured A* in Fine Art, A* in Psychology and an A in English Literature and goes on to study Psychology and Criminology at Roehampton University. She intends to go into a career in forensic psychology, following post-graduate study. Frankie said, “I simply couldn’t have done it if I wasn’t at Quest6! I’ve been at The Quest Academy since Year 7 so it’s where I was most comfortable. The teachers themselves are very, very supportive. Not overwhelmingly, but there’s a lot of opportunity for one-to-one conversations. They treated me as an adult, and it definitely helped me so much more. They gave me faith in my ability.”
Jawaad Abubacker is going to read Physics at Birmingham University, possibly with further study afterwards, having been awarded an A* in Physics, A in Biology and A in Maths. When asked about his time at Quest6, Jawad said, “With covid, it was not easy. But all the teachers put in a lot of effort, particularly the maths teachers. I was struggling with maths at the beginning, but my teacher gave me some motivation and ideas to sort it all out, and it worked!”

Tyler Baron is going on to study Biological Science at Surrey University having achieved three As in Maths, Biology and Chemistry. Tyler said, “This is an excellent place to be, to be honest. The teachers are friendly and really supportive. They always just helped me. Whatever you need, they’ll find a way to help.”

Zara Butt achieved double Distinction Star in Cambridge Technical Diploma in Applied Science and a Distinction Star in Business BTEC. She’s now waiting on results from a flight school in Madrid where she plans to train to be a Commercial Pilot. Zara said, “It’s my dream mob! I’ve passed all the assessments and now I’m waiting for an interview. I joined Quest6 in the Sixth Form because they had great value-added scores and showed really good progression for their students. They give so much support to everyone and they treat everyone the same. I even received a weekly call from my teacher during lockdown and even after, just to check everything was ok. A big thanks to all the staff.”

Nathanael Russel was awarded a Distinction Star for a BTEC in IT and As in A Levels for both Geography and French. He is now going on to study IT at the University of Kent with a view to a career in software engineering. Nathanael said, “To be fair, my experience at The Quest has been a rollercoaster of emotions! Overall though, I’ve really come out of my shell and just became better all-round for being here. I’d like to thank all my teachers for always supporting me, for taking the time to help me grow my skills and leading me to where I am now.”

Ryan Donnelly is going on to study Drama, Applied Theatre and Education at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama (University of London) having achieved A* in Drama, A in Psychology and a B in Biology. Ryan said, “My main goal is to become a drama teacher, however, I’d like to explore the possibility of screen acting. I’ve been here since Year 7 and, if I’m being honest, I was quite shabby to start with! I really started working hard in Year 10. The teachers noticed a change in me and when I finally got my head down, they saw me putting in extra effort. In Quest6, there was a lot of support. I was given extra work to help me when I needed it and it would sometimes even be marked within the hour. I was made to feel that no matter what, I’d be safe and secure in my chosen subjects.”

Jamie Kirk is hoping for a career on the stage having achieved A* in Economics, A in Maths, and a B in Drama. He is now going on to study Musical Theatre at Goldsmiths University. Jamie said, “I’m extremely thankful to this school because I’ve got a lot of support from people I’ve met and definitely my teachers. I never would have gone into theatre without them and without this school. When I was in Year 8, we did our first whole-school musical and ever then since then I just loved all the musicals! I got a passion for it through doing it here.”

Andy Crofts, Principal said, “We are delighted today to be celebrating the achievements and destinations of our graduating Quest6 students. This year, more than ever, it has been the important partnership between expert teachers, determined students and supportive families that has culminated in these successes. The year group has been a delight to work with; we congratulate them on their results and wish them all the best for the future. Well done to everyone.”

Gordon Smith, CEO of The Collegiate Trust, of which The Quest Academy is a part, said, “Our students at Quest6 and College VI (Riddlesdown) have worked tremendously hard under difficult circumstances to produce exceptional results. I’m so proud of the quality of support our teachers have given and the rigorous way in which they have assessed students. Good luck to everyone at university and future jobs.”

In 2018, Quest was once again judged as ‘Good’ by Ofsted.