Students at The Sixth Form College, Colchester have achieved really excellent A level results in this summer’s examination series. Grades are ‘up’ from the strong A level results achieved by students at the College last year.

 

The year group of just over 1300 upper sixth students who studied A levels at the College in the 2017-19 period achieved a subject A* to E grade pass rate of over 98% and an A* - B ‘high grade rate’ of close to 50% - ‘up’ by 1.5%.  90% of all the 18 year old students at the College have achieved 3 or more A level or Applied General Extended Certificate (A level equivalent) qualifications in their sixth form studies – a level of achievement which, once again, will be very significantly above the national average level in sixth forms at schools and colleges across England and Wales.  The cohort of students at the College are also believed to have again achieved a strong ‘value-added’ level of achievement i.e. when students overall package of results achieved by the end of their sixth form studies is related to the package of GCSE results achieved at age 16.  A large number of students from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds or who have experienced personal difficulty have achieved really well.   100% pass rates have been achieved in 17 separate A level courses including in Classical Civilisation, French, German, Spanish, Italian, History of Art, Music, Drama, Electronics, Product Design and Textiles with most other subjects achieving 98% or 99% pass rates.  The average level of achievement of the College’s top 100 upper sixth students is equivalent to grades A* A* A at A level and these ‘top end’ results, it is understood, will again exceed the results of the top 100 student achievers in nearly all of the selective grammar or independent schools in the country.

Applied General results achieved by students at the College are also very strong with the Extended Certificate results (A level equivalent), resulting in a 99.8% pass rate.  In July, the group of upper sixth students who studied for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma heard that they had been awarded excellent IB results (an average of 32 points – approx. 10% higher than the international average).

   

The overall A, IB and Applied General qualification results achieved by the cohort of students this year are described by Ian MacNaughton, the College Principal, as “Really excellent.  Our students’ achievements are very strong and they must be very warmly congratulated for their levels of engagement and hard work.  We are really pleased with how well our students and staff have responded to the demands of the Government reformed and harder A level and Applied General courses that have arisen from the government reforms.  We are pleased that so many students who experienced difficulties have achieved really well”.

Well over 1000 of the upper sixth students from The Sixth Form College have now obtained the necessary qualifications to be able to proceed onto university degree courses including a very large cohort of students who have now achieved the grades required for offers for places on prestige degree courses including, Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry, Engineering, Maths, Economics, Architecture, Law, English and History, or have achieved places at Oxford or Cambridge or Russell Group Universities or Medical Schools or for other highly competitive universities or degree courses.

Amongst a large cohort of high achievers are:

Alfred Wilson achieved 4 A* grades in A level Maths, Physics, Geography and an EPQ, and also achieved an A grade in Further Maths.  He has now achieved his offer of a place at Jesus College, Cambridge to study for a degree in Geography.

Deborah Ogunbamowo achieved A* grades in A level Biology and Religious Studies and A grade in Chemistry and Extended Project Qualification and she has now successfully achieved a place to study Dentistry at the University of Bristol.

Harry Doubleday achieved straight A* grades in A level French, Economics and Spanish and has achieved his offer to study a degree in French and Spanish at Worcester College, Oxford.

Luke Williams achieved 4 A* grades in A level Biology, Geology, Environmental Science and Extended Project Qualification and has now achieved a place to study a degree in Environmental Geoscience (with a year abroad) at the University of Bristol.

Jake Belton achieved straight A* grades in Advanced Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry and has now secured his place at Kings College, London where he will study a degree in Mathematics.

Amber Inman was also amongst a cohort of students who achieved 3 A* grades at A level (Biology, English and Psychology) and will now study Psychology at Kings College, London.

 

International Baccalaureate students at the Sixth Form College Colchester were last week celebrating another year of success.

 

Sixteen years ago, The Sixth Form College enrolled its very first cohort of students on its newly established International Baccalaureate Diploma course. The prestigious course provides a different approach to A-Level, for those who wish to study a broader range of subjects with a distinctly international flavour, as well as get involved in a range of creative and charitable pursuits. Although it was new to the college at the time, internationally it has a far longer pedigree than A-Level and carries significant international prestige.

 

Many of those first generation of students went on to considerable success at university, and in employment and beyond and we are sure that they would be glad to see that their successors have continued to build upon their achievements, with another set of outstanding results achieved this summer.

 

We are really proud of the students' successes this year. As a group, the 18 year old students at the college who passed the diploma have achieved a very impressive achievement level of an average of 32 points and a pass rate of over 96% - even better than last year’s cohort. The IB is a global qualification, taken by students all over the world and, in this context, the achievements of our students compares extremely well to the international average of 29 points and a pass rate of just 77%.

 

We are delighted to see a number of students achieve excellent grades. For example, Jess Wallis achieved a stunning 39 points, and is now taking up a place reading Law at Worcester College, Oxford in the Autumn.

College Principal Ian MacNaughton congratulated the students and said : "The students should be very proud of their success. It is pleasing to see so many of them moving on to such a wide range of opportunities, including places upon some of the very best university courses – proving once again, the value of the International Baccalaureate in developing students’ outlook and skills.