Results | UCS Hampstead

Pupils at UCS benefit from demanding yet supportive teaching. Throughout the curriculum, they develop excellent study skills – gaining much from both formal instructions on critical thinking and philosophical approaches which inform their study habits and techniques for learning.

Intellectual curiosity, breadth of study and independence of mind are intended consequences of this enlightened vision of education, which, together with well-balanced personal development and academic excellence, produced highly impressive publicly examined results for the school in 2023.

However, our first priority always remains our pupils’ happiness and wellbeing. We believe that academic success is something that will follow only when our young people are content and self-confident. This crucial aspect is what pleases us most whenever their hard work – and that of our dedicated teaching staff – gets its reward in terms of elite grades.

Bumper crop

In 2023, 73% of GCSE grades gained by our Year 11 boys were either 8s or 9s, while 90% were 9–7 and 42% were grade 9. At A Level, 93% of grades attained by UCS pupils were A*–B, 72% were A*–A, and 29% were A*.

The GCSE exams mark a climactic moment in a pupil’s passage from Lower School and through Middle School; this part of the UCS experience pertains to a single-sex education in which our boys learn, develop and excel free from certain social pressures which they can negotiate with more confidence and maturity from age 16.

Results summaries

We are understandably proud of our outstanding track record in public examinations but the key to this success lies in establishing the right balance for each and every pupil between their academic ambitions, their pastoral needs and their interests outside the classroom and beyond.

73%

of GCSE grades were 8–9 in the 2023 results

pupils achieved straight 8s and 9s at GCSE

pupils registered straight A*–A grades at A Level

90%

of all GCSE grades for 2023 were 9–7

93%

of all A Level grades were A*–B in 2023

84%

of pupils took up places at 1st/2nd-choice university

Breadth of study

Our pupils are encouraged to nurture their own academic specialisms as they move up the school while also benefiting from the avowedly rounded education in which we offer more than 22 subjects at both GCSE and A Level.

The independence and initiative which characterise our approach to lessons and academic enrichment subsequently lend themselves perfectly to the two years at our co-educational Sixth Form, where student engagement often seems to be at undergraduate level.

Our leavers then move on to a variety of the UK’s leading universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Imperial, Edinburgh and St Andrews, as well as prestigious overseas institutions such as Duke University, the University of Miami and New York University.

UCS was graded Excellent – the highest descriptor that can be awarded – in the Educational Quality Inspection carried out by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in November 2021.

There is a lot of guidance from subject teachers, House Masters and other people in the school to help pupils get it right in terms of GCSE and A Level subject choices. Stewart FitzGerald, Assistant Head (Head of Middle School)

We deal with things on a case-by-case basis and want our pupils to recognise that while we may be on their case sometimes, we are always on their side. Andrew Wilkes, Deputy Head (Pastoral)

The standards are super high but the teachers don't leave people behind and instead bring them up to the level of the rest. The pupils all want to do well and that desire is helped by the teachers pushing us. Ellie Afek, UCS pupil, 2021–2023

Academic enrichment is a fundamental feature of the UCS education: our staff go above and beyond to organise fantastic events for pupils, attesting to the school's dedication to providing the highest quality education. Mark Reiderman, Head of Enrichment

Teachers were always willing to explore questions beyond the syllabus and this made lessons enriching and enjoyable. My teachers showed I could do things I wouldn't have thought myself capable of. I am so happy I studied at UCS. Daevasyaa Murraletharan, UCS pupil, 2018–2020