'I was not expecting to get four A*s in A-levels'

Leo Crowe said he and he family planned to celebrate with a chippy tea

A Manx student has said he "really wasn't expecting" to get four A*s in his A-levels after receiving the results of his end-of-year exams.

Leo Crowe who studied at Ramsey Grammar School (RGS) said his high performance meant he had secured a place at St Andrews to study mathematics, which "didn't feel real".

He said he had to "graft quite a lot" while studying, but now plans to celebrate the fruits of his hard work with a "chippy tea" with his family.

It comes as the overall pass rate of 340 Manx students receiving their A-level results has risen by 1%, to reach 99% in 2025.

Head of Sixth Form at RGS Stuart Curran praised the success of his students and said "we're really proud of them, they've excelled".

He said it had been "one of the best years we've had" for results, which had been "marginally better across the board all in all".

Among those receiving their results was Amy Gelling who said she had a "a bit of sleepless night" ahead of getting her results of an A* in biology, and A in maths to add to an A in chemistry received a few days earlier.

Amy Gelling is set to study medicine at the University of Leeds

Ms Gelling said the journey to A-level results day had involved "so much hard work", but she had "plugged away every day".

Off to the University of Leeds to study medicine for five years, she said she now was "very excited" to make the move from Sulby.

After work experience at Noble's Hospital and a GP surgery on the island, the 18-year-old said she had "loved working with patients and finding out how to treat them" and was looking forward to learning more.

Fynn Stigant will study in Newcastle after getting the results he needed

After opening the envelope with his results, fellow student Fynn Stigant from Laxey has accepted a place on Newcastle University's product design degree course.

Revising for "hours and hours a day" had "been a lot to manage at once", he said.

But achieving two Bs and a C had been "slightly above expected" and so he was "relieved" to be going to his university of choice.

"I'm really happy with what I got."

Rising grades

The Department of Education, Sport and Culture (Desc) confirmed the number of students earning grades A* to E had steadily increased from 97% since 2023.

Provisional results from the island's five state-funded high school showed pupils achieving grades A* to C band were up by 3% to 79%, while those in the A* to B had risen by 7% on 2024 to 55%.

A Desc spokesman said early indications suggested that around 80% would progress into higher education "with the majority of others moving directly into employment or apprenticeships".

Desc Minister Daphne Caine said results day was "a proud moment that reflects years of hard work and determination".

"Whatever the outcomes, there are many routes to success", she said.