The waiting is over. Throughout England and Wales 18-year-old school leavers have spent the last few weeks trying not to think about their A and AS-Level results, which are now published.

For the vast majority of our students, their hopes will be realised as they get the news their grades have qualified them for their place on their chosen course at their chosen university.

For the majority it has been a happy and hard working two years, studying in the face of media hype about grade inflation, lowering standards and poorly-skilled teenagers.

The A-Level subjects they chose have been rewarding, engaging and fun and enabled them to refine their ability to put forward an argument, hone their intellectual skills and improve their ability to communicate effectively.

At Oxford High School, the current leavers from Year 13 have added a huge range of extra-curricular activities to their academic studies and developed strong personal skills, making them very desirable future undergraduates at the top selecting universities.

These young women are poised to take full advantage of the opportunities available to them as they study for their degrees and many see their mothers as role models, managing careers and families with energy and intelligence.

We know that the support of parents as well as school, is a crucial factor in success at this stage.

Whether it is geography or engineering at Cambridge, medicine or classics at Oxford, or international relations or modern languages at Durham, the drive, commitment and initiative that characterised each girl’s approach during her time in the sixth form at OHS will continue during her university years, making her a very desirable graduate student and employee in the future.

We are very proud to be specialist educators for girls and the success that brings to our students.

For a few, their results will mean more decision making as previous choices become unavailable and other opportunities beckon. Good advice and support at this stage is paramount and, at Oxford High School, the head of sixth form and the head of careers are on hand to guide and help students research the possibilities available.

We know each one of our students very well and we tailor our advice to meet individual needs. While it is the case that there are fewer university places this year, we are confident all our young women will be successful in finding the right course at the right institution.

From our alumnae we learn that the positive support offered at this crucial time has made a real difference in helping them find their way. They emerge stronger and more capable after this unlooked for time of uncertainty.

For all, as they look back on their time at school, these few days mark a real turning point between childhood and adult life.

The hours spent in the school orchestra, or playing sport with team mates, the time rehearsing and then performing in drama productions, and the occasions when their name was called to go on stage and receive a certificate amid the applause of friends and teachers will all be happy memories, and the topic of conversations with fellow students in years to come.

Now, the confidence and ability to work and think independently gained at school will carry them through their first few years away from home, whether studying, travelling or working for a living. We congratulate all our Year 13 leavers on their success and wish them good fortune in whatever they have chosen. We look forward to hearing their news as they come back and tell us about their lives.