City of London Academy Sixth Formers Celebrate Top Grades in South London 2026

Key Points

• Students across City of London Academies Trust sixth forms in South London achieved top national marks on A Level results day.
• City of London Academy Southwark in Bermondsey recorded its best-ever academic results for the third consecutive year.
• The City of London Academies Trust, funded by the City of London Corporation, achieved top national rankings for pupil progress.
• Ukraine-born student Maksym, who joined the academy in Year 10, secured top marks and is heading to King’s College London to study Computer Science.

Southwark (South London News) August 15, 2026— Sixth-form students across City of London Academy institutions in South London are celebrating after securing record-breaking A Level examination grades. The achievements have placed the academy trust at the top of national performance leagues for student progress.

Among the high achievers celebrated on results day is Maksym, a student who fled his native Ukraine before joining the academy in Year 10. Following years of academic dedication despite significant life disruption, Maksym attained the top grades necessary to secure a place at King’s College London, where he will study Computer Science.

The City of London Academy Southwark, based in Bermondsey, marked its best-ever set of A Level results for a third year running.

The educational trust—funded and sponsored by the City of London Corporation—continues to lead state-funded education performance metrics in the capital, placing top nationally for value-added student progress.

How Did City of London Academy Students Perform Across Southwark and Lambeth?

The latest A Level cohort across the South London academies delivered stellar outcomes across academic and vocational pathways. According to official data released by the Trust, a significant proportion of sixth-form graduates achieved top $A^*$, $A$, and $B$ grades, opening doors to competitive degree courses and higher apprenticeships across the United Kingdom.

At the City of London Academy Southwark (COLA), performance metrics reached an all-time high. The school demonstrated exceptional consistency in maintaining high academic standards post-pandemic, surpassing both regional borough benchmarks and national averages across key subject areas.

School leaders and governors commended the resilience and commitment demonstrated by young people across Lambeth and Southwark.

The Trust highlighted that a record number of students are set to matriculate at prestigious Russell Group institutions, including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, and King’s College London.

How Has Ukrainian Student Maksym Achieved University Success?

Maksym’s personal journey stands out as a focal narrative of this year’s results cohort. Having left Ukraine under challenging circumstances, he settled in London and enrolled at the Bermondsey-based academy during Year 10.

Despite having to adapt rapidly to a new educational system and complete his secondary schooling in a second language, Maksym excelled academically throughout Key Stage 4 and his Sixth Form studies.

His dedication culminated in outstanding A Level marks, enabling him to gain admission to the Department of Informatics at King’s College London for a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science.

Academy staff praised Maksym’s tenacity, noting that his success reflects both his exceptional personal drive and the targeted academic and pastoral support provided by the school’s teaching staff.

Why Is the City of London Academies Trust Ranking Top Nationally?

The success of the South London academies forms part of a broader trend of high performance under the stewardship of the City of London Academies Trust (COLAT). Funded primarily by the City of London Corporation, the Trust oversees multiple primary, secondary, and sixth-form institutions across Greater London.

National performance tables measuring pupil progress—which calculate the value added to a student’s educational outcome relative to their prior attainment at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4—rank COLAT among the highest-performing multi-academy trusts in England.

Educational analysts attribute this sustained performance to several factors:

• Structured academic interventions and rigorous curriculum design.
• Robust funding and resource investment from the City of London Corporation.
• Comprehensive university entrance support programmes tailored for socio-economically diverse student bodies across inner-London boroughs.

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Background of the Development

The City of London Corporation has sponsored education in London for centuries, but its modern multi-academy trust framework expanded significantly following UK educational reforms over the past decade.

The Trust was established to raise educational attainment in disadvantaged or historically underperforming urban boroughs, including Southwark, Lambeth, Hackney, and Islington.

In recent years, state schools across Lambeth and Southwark have faced complex structural challenges, including shifts in student demographics, post-pandemic learning gaps, and funding pressure across the London education sector.

Despite these broader system challenges, academies sponsored by the City of London Corporation have consistently delivered progress scores well above the national average.

The success of COLA Southwark in Bermondsey represents a dramatic long-term transformation. Once situated in an area with lower educational participation rates, the sixth form now routinely places dozens of pupils annually into Russell Group universities, STEM research degrees, and prestigious corporate degree apprenticeships.

Prediction: How This Development Will Affect the Local Community and Education Sector

The continued record-breaking success of City of London academies in Southwark and Lambeth is expected to produce significant long-term impacts across several key groups:

• For Prospective Local Students and Families: The sustained academic reputation will intensify demand for sixth-form places at COLA institutions in Bermondsey and surrounding boroughs. Local families will increasingly gain access to elite higher education pathways without needing private or selective grammar education.
• For Local Inner-London Communities: High attainment in subjects like Computer Science, Economics, and STEM will aid upward socio-economic mobility for young people in Southwark and Lambeth. This pipeline of talent is likely to bridge gaps between historically underserved inner-city boroughs and corporate employment opportunities within the City of London financial district.
• For Regional Education Policy and Competitor Schools: The Trust’s model will serve as a benchmark for secondary education across London. Neighbouring state schools and academy trusts in South London will face increased pressure—and inspiration—to adopt similar targeted mentoring, progress-tracking models, and university application support frameworks.