Congratulations to Upper Sixth student Ben Symes, who achieved an impressive Grade 9 in GCSE Japanese in November 2020 and A* in A level Japanese in October 2021. This phenomenal achievement is all the more impressive as Ben was self-taught whilst being supported by teachers at Pocklington School. His parents and teachers are understandably very proud of him.

What started as a hobby soon became Ben’s passion as he began studying Japanese in earnest in October 2019 and found he loved the language and has an interest in all things Japanese. 

The expected level of language does not quite compare to modern languages but with hard work and studying alongside eleven other GCSE exams and three A levels, Ben did fantastically well to achieve top grades at both examination levels.

Ben has a conditional offer to study Oriental Studies at the University of Cambridge and is looking forward to travelling to Japan in the summer.