Students at Cokethorpe School in Witney are celebrating a strong set of A-level results, with the independent school reporting its best Sixth Form performance in recent years.
The 2026 Upper Sixth cohort achieved 18% of grades at A*, while 48% were awarded at A-A* and 77% at A-B*. The most commonly achieved grade was an A.
The results mark an improvement on the school’s 2025 performance, when 44% of A-level grades were awarded at A*/A and 69% reached A*/B.
Cokethorpe said the results reflected the hard work of pupils alongside the support and expertise of teaching staff. The school also highlighted the performance of students following its BTEC Extended Diploma pathway, with every student achieving either a Distinction* or Distinction.
The school said the achievements of its Year 13 students extend beyond their examination grades. Members of the cohort have contributed to school life as peer mentors, prefects, sports captains, musicians, artists, actors and student leaders.
Their activities have included supporting younger pupils, helping to organise house events, arranging a charity clothes swap and taking part in school debates.
Dr Sarah Squire, Head of Cokethorpe School, said the results were a cause for celebration but stressed that the students’ wider development was equally important.
“We are immensely proud of our Year 13s and all they have achieved,” she said. “These results reflect their hard work and commitment, and are a great cause for celebration.”
She added that the cohort had enriched the school community through their wider contributions and said the school was “equally proud” of the different journeys its students had taken.
The 2026 results continue a positive trajectory for Cokethorpe’s Sixth Form. In 2025, 69% of A-level grades reached A*-B, compared with 77% this year. The proportion achieving A* or A also increased from 44% to 48%.
The longer-term improvement is also reflected in the school’s 2024 results, when 10% of grades were awarded at A* and 27% at A*-A.
The school’s 2026 GCSE results, announced the following week, also showed strong attainment, with 12% of grades at Grade 9 and 27% at Grades 9-8.
Read more: Cokethorpe pupils celebrate strong GCSE results after record Sixth Form performance
Cokethorpe is a co-educational school for pupils aged four to 18 at Cokethorpe Park near Witney. The school is set within 150 acres of West Oxfordshire parkland and has a Sixth Form offering academic and vocational pathways.
For the West Oxfordshire education community, the results provide another local example of strong post-16 attainment as students prepare to move on to university, employment and other next steps.
