Exam Results & Student Destinations
Academic success at KAS
KAS stands out from most other educational environments by achieving academic success without excessive pressure.
Our public exam results have been excellent in recent years, and this was recognised in our ISI Inspection Report from April 2025. This is in terms of the grades students achieved, which are well above national averages and in line with averages for the independent sector (despite the prevalence of highly academically-selective schools).
Value-added scores
A key metric for us is not just how well students do in terms of the ‘raw’ exam grades, but the progress that they make while at KAS. This is captured by our ‘value-added’ scores.
Figures from the national exam data published by the Department for Education (DfE) in February 2026 show that KAS has secured an impressive value-added (VA) score of +0.47 at A level in 2025. This result, also known as a student progress score, places the school among the top 3% of schools in the country.
We are proud that the KAS experience enables students to achieve significantly above their starting points at A level. Read more about our A level VA score here.
At GCSE our VA score is generated by The Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, owned by Cambridge University Press. This is the industry standard across independent and international sectors and, in recent years, KAS has consistently scored in the top quartile compared to other independent schools.
Exam result highlights 2026
A level
This year our Year 13 students achieved an amazing 30% of grades at A* in their A level or Level 3 qualifications. With almost half (43%) of grades at A* – A and over three quarters (76%) of the grades at A* – B, the results were way above the national averages and a real reason to celebrate.†
Importantly, the majority of students secured a pathway of their choice beyond KAS with destinations including Cambridge, UCL, York, and St Andrews in the UK. We also have students continuing their education at prestigious artistic institutions, including LAMDA, Guildhall and the Leeds Conservatoire; some of our students are taking up places at top international institutions, including IE (Madrid), University of Texas (USA) and McGill (Canada).
“That our students are displaying such ambition in their choices is testament to their levels of achievement as well as the support, guidance and advice that they have received during their time with us,” noted incoming Head Stephen Campbell.
Read the full news story for student and staff reactions to the impressive results.
GCSE
GCSE/ Level 2 results will be available on Thursday 20 August.
Full exam results & leaver destinations 2026
The complete results will be available here once all grade appeals have been heard and the final results table is available.
Exam results & leaver destinations 2025
Click below for summary and analysis of our 2025 cohort’s exam results and their destinations post-KAS:
2025 leavers destinations
Below are the destinations of students who applied through UCAS in 2025
| Institution | Course |
| NYU | Photography |
| Rønde Højskole, Denmark | Folk School Interdisciplinary Year |
| Hampstead School of Art | Art Foundation |
| Kingston School of Art | Art Foundation |
| Kingston School of Art | Art Foundation |
| Kingston School of Art | Art Foundation |
| Kingston School of Art | Foundation in Art, Design and Media Practice |
| University of the Arts London | Foundation Diploma in Art and Design |
| University of the Arts London | Foundation Diploma in Art and Design |
| University of the Arts London | Foundation Diploma in Art and Design |
| University of the Arts London | Foundation Diploma in Art and Design |
| Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts | Acting Foundation |
| South Thames College | Construction Management for England (HTQ) |
| City (City St George’s, University of London) | Business Management |
| Bristol, UWE | Filmmaking |
| Loughborough University | Economics |
| Oxford Brookes University | Psychology |
| Pointblank Music School | Music Production & Sound Engineering |
| University of Bath | Modern Languages (French advanced & Italian beginner) |
| University of Birmingham | Politics and International Relations |
| University of Bristol | Theatre and Performance Studies |
| University of Bristol | Theatre and English |
| University of Bristol | Mathematics with Study Abroad (MSC) |
| University of Glasgow | Business and Management (SocSci) |
| University of Leeds | Fine Art with History of Art |
| University of Leeds | Fine Art with History of Art |
| University of Liverpool | Communication and Media |
| University of Manchester | Philosophy and Politics |
| University of Nottingham | Criminology and Sociology |
| University of Oxford | Ancient and Modern History |
| University of Birmingham | Liberal Arts |
| University of Sussex | Law LLB |
| Guildford School of Acting, University of Surrey | Acting Foundation |
| University of Chichester | Introduction to Acting (Italia Conti) |
| University of Chichester | Musical Theatre (Music) |
| University of Nottingham | Economics |
| Loughborough University | Economics and Management (with placement year) |
| Oxford Brookes University | Urban Design, Planning and Development |
| University of Leeds | Music and Music Production |
| University of Leeds | Sociology |
| The University of Edinburgh | Social Anthropology |
| University of Birmingham | Drama and English Literature |
| University of Bristol | Law LLB (Revised to Unconditional Philosophy and Russian) |
| Falmouth University, AMATA | Acting |
| Falmouth University, AMATA | Acting |
| UCL (University College London) | Education, Society and Culture BA |
| University of Sussex | History |
| University of Leeds | Modern Languages and International Relations |
| Year 14 student destinations
(KAS students who deferred their entry to higher education for a year who are also taking up places at their chosen providers this September) |
|
| University of Cambridge | English |
| University of Exeter | Drama |
| The University of Edinburgh | Structural Engineering with Architecture |
| Leeds Beckett University | Filmmaking |
| King’s College London, University of London | Liberal Arts |
| LAMDA | Acting Foundation |
| Loughborough University | Politics, Philosophy and Economics |
| University of Manchester | Politics and Economics |
| King’s College London, University of London | Management and Modern Languages with a Year Abroad |
| UCL, The Slade | Fine Art |
| University of the Arts London | Film Practice |
| University of Sussex | Law and American Studies (with Year abroad) |
| NYU | Photography and History |
There is a growing appetite from young people to look for opportunities outside of the university route and support is there for Year 13 students to look for placements in their preferred industries or to go straight into work. We are proud to see KAS students using all the skills they’ve learnt here to take on new challenges.
