Am-A-zing Success ​​​​​​​

Students at The Sixth Form College, Colchester are celebrating exceptional success in their A Level examinations this summer, with results that continue to place the College among the top-performing sixth forms nationally.

College Principal Jo Cadman praised the achievements of the 2026 cohort:

“Our students’ achievements are once again very impressive; indeed we’ve seen a significant increase in top grades year on year: I congratulate them for their levels of engagement, resilience and hard work. This has been a great year for the College and its students – they make a huge contribution to our OFSTED ‘Outstanding’ provision and reputation and it’s really pleasing to see all of their hard work rewarded with such fantastic results. It’s especially pleasing to celebrate these achievements in a summer where the College is already celebrating the news that we’ve just been awarded £4m to fund a whole new additional building on the site, giving us even more room and facilities to help further generations of students to share in their success”

Key Highlights:

• The overall subject pass rate was well over 97%, with 100% pass rates achieved in 20 subject areas, including Ancient History, German, Spanish, Electronics, History of Art, Classical Civilisations, Dance, Media Studies, Music and Art.
• Many students have secured places at Oxford, Cambridge, Russell Group universities, medical schools, conservatoires, and drama schools.
• Others have progressed into degree apprenticeships and employment with training, reflecting the College’s commitment to diverse and successful student outcomes.
• The College anticipates a strong ‘value-added’ score, demonstrating significant academic progress from GCSE to A Level.

Jo Cadman added:

“Huge numbers of students from The Sixth Form College have now obtained the qualifications they need to proceed onto university degree courses in a wide range of subjects including medicine, veterinary science, dentistry, engineering, maths, computing, modern foreign languages, economics, architecture, law, English and history. Their success is a testament to their hard work and the dedication of our teaching and support staff.

Most importantly, as government data published only this week shows, we don’t just help them to achieve fantastic grades; we also help them develop into confident, independent, resilient young people who fly when they get to university or the workplace. Of our students who progress to university, something like a third achieve a first class degree – a figure well above the national average. For those who join prestigious Russell Group universities, a stunning 93.3% achieve first or upper second class honours degrees– again, a figure far higher than national averages. So, I’ve every expectation that our students haven’t just done well today, but that they’ll continue to impress for years to come.

Photo:  India Hanson with Lotta

They’re both delighted with the news that India is going to Essex University to study Literature and Creative Writing, having achieved an A and two B grades at A Level

India’s achievements are especially impressive, as her schooling was really disrupted. She started on our Advanced Foundation Programme and worked extremely hard to reach her goals – she said “I’d like to make clear how important these opportunities have been, both to me and to other students”.