Exam  Results and Leavers’ Destinations

Benenden students consistently achieve outstanding academic results, in addition to all their co-curricular and personal and professional achievements. Here we summarise the latest exam results:

A Level Results 2013-2023

2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
A*/A% 57% 64% 83% 73%^ 56% 63% 60% A*/A% 74% 66% 62% 72%

*From 2017, A Levels changed nationally to the more rigorous linear model.
^Grades awarded in the absence of exams being sat due to pandemic.

GCSE Level Results 2013-2023

2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Level 9-7 %* 82% 90% 89% 82%^ 79% A*/A %(or equivalent*) 81% 81% 83% 78% 88% 80%

*Taking into account the national reforms from the A*-G grading system to the 9-1 system.
^Grades awarded in the absence of exams being sat due to pandemic.

Exam  results

Why  we don’t appear in league tables

You won’t see Benenden in the league tables, and we thought it would be helpful to explain why we have chosen not to submit our results for inclusion.

We have not taken this decision because we are not proud of girls’ results, or that we have anything to hide, or that we lack confidence in how well Benenden would perform – we are incredibly proud of our students’ achievements and of our latest results.

There are three main reasons we have taken this decision.

Firstly, the top HMC schools are increasingly not submitting their results for league tables, which means that a number of Benenden’s peers do not appear in them. Therefore, league tables are increasingly becoming unreliable ways of judging schools against one another.

Secondly, different league tables apply different criteria for assessing schools – some will exclude certain qualifications or choose different measures by which to rank schools – which again can be very confusing for parents who are trying to make an informed choice about a school.

However, there is far more to a Benenden education than just exam grades. The data shows that we add a tremendous amount of value to a girl’s academic potential (on average each girl achieves around one grade higher at Benenden than she would otherwise have expected). League tables do not take this into account, which is why they are such a poor indicator of a school’s performance.

Further, league tables do not take into account the impressive higher education destinations of leavers; the wonderful array of leadership opportunities they experience here; the exceptional co-curricular experience they receive; how prepared Benenden girls are for the workplace and later life; the compassion, confidence and enthusiasm they have for life, for their careers, their friends and their families.

Independent schools, and especially a boarding environment such as ours, are about so much more than sheer academic results. We will help girls to achieve the very best they are capable of, but we strongly believe that schools should not be judged purely on exam results – nor indeed should young people. It is important not to confuse an education with a syllabus.

Samantha Price

Headmistress

Leavers’ Destinations

2023 Leavers’ Destinations

81% gained First Choice Institution

73% Russell group Institution

7% International destination

43% Top 10 UK University*

15% Top 10 World University**

*THES University tables 2022,
**QS World University rankings 2022

The higher education destinations of our 2023 leavers are listed below:

Institution Subject
Cambridge, Trinity HSPS
Bristol English
Edinburgh Economics
Durham Business and Managements
Exeter International Relations
Bristol Ancient History
York English and Art History
Manchester Ancient History and History
York History and Politics
Bristol Theatre and English
St Andrews Art History
UCL Management Science
UCL Politics and IR
LSE Law
UAL Fashion Styling and Production
Exeter English
Oxford, St Hugh’s Classics and English
UCL Architecture
Leeds History of Art
Newcastle Computer Science
Loughborough Geography
Edinburgh History of Art
Cardiff Religion and Theology
Edinburgh Medicine
Bristol History
UCL Biomedical Sciences
Manchester Modern Languages
Bristol Economics and Management
Courtauld History of Art
Exeter Business Economics
York Social and Public Policy
Columbia/Barnard, USA Liberal Arts
Surrey Sociology
Columbia/Barnard, USA Liberal Arts
Columbia/Trinity, USA/Ireland Liberal Arts
Boston, USA Liberal Arts
UCLA, USA Liberal Arts
Glasgow Medicine
LSE Economics
Warwick Accounting and Finance
UCL Pharmacology
Oxford, Pembroke Biology
St Andrew’s Environmental Earth Sciences
Oxford, Oriel Medicine
Durham Japanese Studies
Oxford Brookes Business and Management
Exeter Drama
Durham Business and Management
Cambridge, Robinson Veterinary Medicine
Durham Anthropology
Bournemouth Photography (with foundation year)
Canada Toronto or UBC Liberal Arts
King’s Liberal Arts
Newcastle Combined Honours
UCL Nutrition and Medical Sciences
UCL Philosophy
Leeds Theatre and Performance
Bristol Physics with Innovation
Durham Classical Civilisation
Royal Holloway History of Art
Bristol Biomedical Science
Strathclyde Computer Science
Leeds Zoology
KPMG Degree Apprenticeship
Durham Sociology
UCL Psychology
Edinburgh Psychology
Notre Dame, USA Liberal Arts
Edinburgh Philosophy and Theology
Edinburgh Philosophy and Theology
Leeds Theatre and Performance
Durham Climate Science
Oxford, St Anne’s English Language and Literature
Manchester History of Art
Keele Law with a Foundation
Plymouth English and Creative Writing
Edinburgh Ancient and Medieval History
Bath Computer Science
Cambridge, Queens History
SOAS Chinese and History of Art
Durham Politics and IR
Leeds Geography
Glasgow Art Foundation
Bristol International Business Management
Edinburgh Geography
Royal Agricultural University International Equine and Agricultural Business Management
Edinburgh Philosophy
Manchester International Business, Finance and Economics

Come and
Visit Us

Book a visit

Register
Your Child

Find out more

Benenden
Boarding

Learn more