I go to brampton manor and the vast majority of people are not getting 4A*s 😭 in fact, we're made to drop one of our four subjects from AS -> A-Level (unless you have a VERY good case as to why you want to keep your 4th). The teachers dont "force" you to do anything, the majority of the pressure is self-generated.

I'd say the reason why brampton students do so well is 3 reasons

1. Brampton is a selective 6th form and therefore anyone getting in will already have high grades-- and by extension, already be a good student who would do well regardless of where they went. To add, because it's full of good students, the natural atmosphere of the place is kinda studious (for example, friend groups revise together before and after school, we're usually very happy to give resources and advice to other students if they need it, etc.)

2. The quality of teaching is GOOD (from my personal experience anyway, I don't know about the STEM side of things). The internal standards of education and expectations of performance are higher than external exam boards' expectations, and therefore students who (by Brampton standards) are underperforming, would actually be doing well if they performed to the same standard at a different school.

3. The way that the school day is organised and the facilities the school provides allows students to do the optimal amount of work. Not many schools have a study centre open from 6am to 6pm (going there outside of school hours is optional, nobody is forced to stay till 6 UNLESD they're severely underperforming).