UAE pupils look to universities around the world after record A-Level success

Pupils across the UAE were celebrating their A-level results on Thursday, as the number of top grades awarded hit their highest level outside of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Graduates told The National that they were now planning to head to elite destinations including University College London, Edinburgh, Toronto and Paris's renowned Gobelins animation school.

Leading school provider Gems Education had a record 1,999 pupils sitting 5,379 A-levels across 22 schools in the UAE and Qatar.

This year, 32 per cent of entries were awarded A* – A, up from 26 per cent last year. The proportion of top A* grades also increased to 11 per cent.

Lisa Crausby, chief education officer for the group, said the results were “just the beginning”.

Standout performances included Gems Wellington Academy – Silicon Oasis, which posted an 18-point rise in A*-A grades, and Gems Founders School – Al Mishear, where A*-B results jumped by 27 points.

More than a quarter (28.3 per cent) of UK pupils were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 0.5 percentage points on last year.

Resilience beyond grades

This time last year, Pranaw Lalwani was ready to throw in the towel.

He told The National that anxiety over grades had affected his performance. “I got to a point at the end-of-year 12, I just wanted to walk out,” he said.

After sitting down with his parents and teachers at Jumeirah College Dubai, he decided to persevere and brought his grades up to gain a place at the University of Madrid.

Beyond the grades, he said he had learnt a critical lesson in resilience.

The National joined Pranaw and his classmates at the GEMs school, emotion filled the main reception as students collected white envelopes with their grades ready to be opened at the stroke of 11am.

The parents of Rayyaan Rabbari were elated at his results which have secured him a place studying engineering at University College London.

“I haven't seen him in month,” Rabbi, Rayyaan's mother told The National. Food is delivered to his door as he was so focused on the exams.

Schools across the UAE took to social media to celebrate their results. Cranleigh Abu Dhabi posted that 52 per cent of its students achieved A*-A grades. Repton Abu Dhabi shared that 72 per cent of pupils had obtained A*-B grades.

Exactly half of the A-Level pupils at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi achieved A*-A grades. Nord Anglia International School Dubai, Al Barsha, posted on its Instagram account that 100 per cent of pupils had passed their exams, with 38 per cent obtaining A*-A grades.

Brighton College Dubai also celebrated its strongest results yet, with A* grades surging to 28 per cent – almost double last year's 15 per cent. More than half of all grades were at A*-A and 80 per cent at A*-B. Several pupils, including Arvand Zare, Shaurya Kumar and Vibha Kumar achieved the coveted three A* grades.

Vibha told The National that while she was “still in shock”, at the outstanding results, on reflection it was the school environment that made the biggest difference, with the smaller class sizes at Brighton College allowing for more one-on-one time with teaching staff.

“Previously I was in a pretty big school where the year group size was about 300-400 people,” she said. “My classes at Brighton ranged from about five to 13 people.”

Simon Crane, headmaster at Brighton College, hailed the achievement as “among the best in the UAE”, crediting the school's culture of striving for excellence.

Hannah Aly, a pupil at Brighton College Abu Dhabi, received a much-coveted score of four A* grades.

She said the key to success comes from planning to study early, as “that way it’ll be less stressful once exams actually come around”.

Eloi Roberts, an A-level pupil at Brighton College Al Ain, has his heart on a career in architecture. But for now he has a big decision to make, considering a placing in the UK, or at home in the Emirates at UAE University as the built environment industry is moving at a rapid pace.

Elsewhere, at Repton Abu Dhabi, 43 per cent of all A-Level entries were awarded A* to A grades and 72 per cent of all entries at A* to B. At sister school, Repton Dubai 31 per cent of entries received A*to A grades, and 62 per cent of grades awarded A* to B.

Dubai British School Emirates Hills also posted its best A-level results, with the school's principal highlighting the “determination, resilience and commitment” of pupils.