Local pupil secures Natural Sciences place at Cambridge
A Thomas Mills High School student from Framlingham has secured a place to study Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge after achieving three A* grades and one A in his A‑levels. The result, announced on A‑level results day, coincided with his birthday and was highlighted by the school as one of several notable successes across Suffolk schools.
The student, Oliver Downes, is among a cohort at Thomas Mills High School that the school reports has continued to progress to higher education: the school says 75% of its students have gone on to higher education places at 33 universities across the UK, explicitly including Oxford and Cambridge.
"Our students have maintained their strong tradition of achieving well at Advanced Level with so many notable personal success stories."
The comment came from Andy Cann, head of Sixth Form at Thomas Mills High School, reflecting on what he described as a year of strong individual performances.
Regional picture: other schools report robust outcomes
Across neighbouring schools, results shared on the same day indicated generally positive outcomes, though the distribution of top grades varies.
- Farlingaye High School: 17% of grades at A*–A, 37% at A*–B and 70% at A*–C.
- Felixstowe School: 13% of grades at A*–A, more than one third at A*–B and nearly two thirds at A*–C.
- Woodbridge School: reported a record performance with 42% of grades at A*–A, 77% at A*–B and a 100% pass rate.
Headteachers and heads of school quoted in reports emphasised not only the grades but the personal development of pupils. Farlingaye headteacher Peter Smith said results day was about "much more than a set of grades" and reflected pride in students moving on to the next stage of their lives. Felixstowe headteacher Emma Wilson‑Downes and Culford's head of school Shona Norman made similar remarks about the cohort and the role of support from staff and families.
What this means for Cambridge and local students
For Cambridge, offers to students from local schools are a routine but significant part of the university's annual intake. Natural Sciences remains a competitive tripos and successful applicants from schools across the East of England continue to feed into the university's undergraduate population. For families and educators in the Cambridge area, these local results show continuing academic attainment in the wider catchment that feeds the region's higher education institutions.
At a practical level, the local schools’ published percentages provide a snapshot of attainment among cohorts that will form the next wave of applicants to universities, including Cambridge and Oxford. While a headline figure such as three A*s and an A for an individual pupil represents one outstanding outcome, the aggregated data from several schools offers a more general view of post‑16 achievement in the area.
| School | A*–A | A*–B | A*–C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Mills High School | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified (75% to HE) |
| Farlingaye High School | 17% | 37% | 70% |
| Felixstowe School | 13% | More than one third | Nearly two thirds |
| Woodbridge School | 42% | 77% | 100% pass rate |
Looking ahead
As universities prepare to welcome new undergraduates, schools in the region will be focusing on transition support and celebrating individual achievements. For Cambridge residents who are parents, teachers or prospective applicants, the results underline ongoing educational strengths in the surrounding counties and the continued flow of successful candidates to the city’s universities.
The personal nature of some of the headlines — a Cambridge place announced on a pupil’s birthday — provides a human dimension to the statistics, while the broader dataset points to variable but encouraging attainment across several Suffolk schools.
