Following months of uncertainty, the Congleton High School team were delighted to once again open the doors on Thursday to enable Sixth Form students to collect their exam and vocational grades.

The majority of students achieved the results they needed to progress on to their chosen pathway and are excited to start the next chapter of their life.

The school has supported the cohort to ensure that they are able to move on to positive destinations and fulfil their potential.

Many students have chosen to continue their education at university, or combine it with employment in a degree apprenticeship, including:

Alex Lehm, 2019-20 Head Boy: "After working hard for two years, I'm proud to be going to Newcastle University to study an MComp in Computer Science.

"Alongside my hard work, with the strong support of the CHS Maths and Science departments, I have undertaken a variety of extracurricular work, including charity work as Head Boy, a summer school programme and self-study to build my skills."

Lara Nuttall, 2019-20 Head Girl - Packaging Professional Apprenticeship at AstraZeneca: "I will be designing the packaging of medicines and scientifically testing how this interacts with the patients and the medicine inside.

"This will be alongside studying for a BSC honours at Sheffield Hallam University. My work as Head Girl really helped me secure this role. It gave me experiences to talk about and also really helped me to tell a story to the employer about my life and how my role helped me to gain so much confidence.

"I also mentioned in my interview about Miss Boulton and Mr Franklin and how much they helped bring out the best in me. I also want to say such a massive thank you to all my subject teachers, especially Mrs Airey, who spurred my love for psychology and really believed in me and my ability to do well in the subject. All my thanks to such a great school."

Congleton High headteacher, Mr Jim Barlow, said: "There is no questioning that the last five months have been extraordinary for all of us, so greeting these young people as they came through the door on Results Day was extra special this year.

"I have been both impressed and inspired by the way that our students and staff have navigated their way through this very unusual set of circumstances, working successfully and consistently from home, enabling students to achieve a strong set of results.

"These Sixth Form students have demonstrated that they are more than capable of working independently, building on the strong subject foundations already in place before lockdown.

"This is a life skill that will benefit them greatly as they progress on to university, apprenticeships and employment.

"Teachers have worked tirelessly to maintain our expected high levels of education and ensure support for students, both academically and emotionally.

"We have communicated with our Year 12 and 13 students daily via a Sixth Form Bulletin, which has kept them updated with all relevant information to help them with their current courses and future pathways, including virtual university open days and career opportunities.

"I am very proud of these students and of each and every member of our school community and hope that we are all able to grow and benefit from this experience. I wish these students every success in their lives and careers and look forward to hearing great news of them in the future."

Laetitia Eichinger: "I'm delighted to have been accepted to Durham University to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics. I hope to go on to study a Master's degree afterwards, and am currently interested in Diplomacy or Journalism as careers.

"I've sat on the Congleton Youth Council for years and taken part in debate society at sixth form, both of which helped me to improve my verbal communication and debate skills, which I'm sure will be incredibly useful at university.

"I've also read widely during lockdown to prepare for my course. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the incredible staff at CHS, who have supported me so amazingly over the past 7 years, both academically and personally. I am truly grateful to have had your constant support, encouragement and guidance.

"I would especially like to thank the amazing History and Maths departments, who supported me through my A Levels. Every single teacher from these departments went above and beyond to support and encourage me in everything I did, even if that meant staying behind after school to discuss university or solve maths problems. I couldn't be more grateful and I thank you all!"

Inspired by the work of our fantastic NHS, many CHS students have secured places on different types of health-related degree courses such as:

Mia Millward: "I'm going to Staffordshire university to study midwifery. To get to where I am now and to come out with the grades I achieved came from the amazing support and guidance from Mrs Airey.

"She advised me to volunteer at Macclesfield Hospital which helped me massively to get to where I am today and I can't thank her enough - she's been amazing and will miss her very much and this goes for all my teachers at CHS."

• Cara Cooper - Children's Nursing at Staffordshire University
• Sophie Dodson - Midwifery at Salford University
• Kodi Stahl - Paramedic Science at Sheffield Hallam University
• Meera Shanati - Physiotherapy at University of Salford

Many students opted to take the STEM route and have secured places on degree courses including:

• Seth Randall - Physics with Astrophysics at University of Leeds
• Stuart Coutts - Geology and Physics at University of Aberdeen
• Eleanor Graham - Maths at University of Leeds
• Daisy Tranter - Maths at University of Leeds
• Alice Pickin - Mechatronics and Autonomous Systems at Liverpool John Moores

Ever popular, a number of students opted to study Psychology at degree level such as:

• Samantha Cowling - Manchester University
• Maisie Beauchamp - Newcastle University

Elliot Benke studied both English Language and English Literature and so an English related degree course was an inevitable choice for him; he will be reading The English Language and Linguistics at Bangor University.

Other more varied courses include:

Dylan Massey - Film Studies at University of Salford: "I was pleased to find out I had secured a place at Salford, my first choice university. The Film Studies course reflects my specialist interest in this area and is ideally placed within Media City at Salford.

"I worked incredibly hard to get to this point, overcoming many challenges and have certainly valued the help and support of my teachers at Congleton High School, especially Miss Boulton."

• Amelia Speed - Zoology with Professional Experience at University of Reading
• Evan Stanway - International Business at University of Derby
• Ebony Brown - Fashion Photography at Falmouth University
• Holly Whiteside - Global Sustainable Development at University of Warwick
• Ellie Shaw - Primary Education with QTS at Edge Hill University

Apprenticeships are another fantastic pathway to securing a promising future and, hopefully, employment.

They have, however, been difficult to come by in the current climate but many CHS students had strategically planned to take this route and sought out opportunities to gain relevant experience, supported by the Sixth Form Team, to help them on their way, including:

Chloe Williams - Registered Adult Nursing Degree Apprenticeship at NHS and Keele University: "I did a lot of voluntary work in nurseries and a nursing home to support my application, as well as completing studies outside of school and doing additional reading.

"I cannot thank Mrs Airey, Mr O'Brien, Miss Boulton, Mrs Sanders, Mrs Sadat-Shafai and Mr Calogirou enough for all their support in getting here."