Celebrations after results day brings top marks for A-Level and Vocational students at Ashton Sixth Form College.

2012 has proved to be another outstanding year for Ashton Sixth Form College, with a huge 7 out of 10 students achieving high grades (A* – C) at A-Level, and achieving top places at university in an increasingly competitive higher education system.

More students than ever are achieving high grades, and overall pass rates increased to 99% positioning the College as the best in the area. Students on vocational courses achieved some of the highest grades in the country, with the majority of students gaining Distinctions and a 100% pass rate overall, which is significantly above the national average.

Principal Dr Janet Nevin said “It has been a fantastic year for Ashton Sixth Form College. We had a glowing Ofsted report last year which focussed on our outstanding areas, have recently been crowned the best college in the UK for our vocational provision and our A-level pass rate is now the highest it has ever been. The notable increase in high grades this year also means that a significant number of students continue to secure those top places a university.”

Amongst the students celebrating significant achievements were Jonathan Deakin and Natalie Wood who both received some of the highest results in the College with all A* and A grades. Both students have been successful in gaining places onto competitive courses at Oxbridge – Jonathan (former Trinity Christian School) to study Maths at Jesus College, Cambridge and Natalie Wood (former Droylsden Academy) to study Biological Sciences at Somervillle College, Oxford.

Many others from Ashton Sixth Form College will be joining Jonathan and Natalie in gaining places at top, prestigious universities this year. This includes Sophie Goodwin (former, Hyde Technology School) who received the highest results in college with a record 5 A* and 1 A grade achieved at A-Level. She secures her place to study Molecular Chemistry and Physics at Nottingham University. Equally impressive was Jasmine Khanom (former Droysden Academy), who not only achieved 1 A* and 3 A grades needed to get on to her course at Manchester University to study Engineering but also secured a £4000 bursary from Hyde Engineering to encourage more young women in to this area of work.
Vocational course results have been equally impressive, with students achieving some of the highest results in the country. Ashton Sixth Form College was recently crowned the best college in the UK for vocational provision at a recent BTEC Awards Ceremony hosted by DJ Reggie Yates.

Amongst the majority of students achieving Distinctions and Distinction* success were Catherine Cooper (All Saints RC College) who completed a Performing Arts Level 3 Extended Diploma and will be studying Musical Theatre at UCLAN and twins Charlotte and Jessica Murphy (Fairfield High School for Girls) who are both off to universities in Manchester after studying a Public Services Level 3 Extended Diploma and Society, Health and Development Diploma. Charlotte will be heading to MMU to study Public Services and Jessica to Manchester University to study Mental Health Nursing.

Some students will be progressing on to the Higher Education opportunities offered at the College to avoid the high tuition fees charged by most UK universities. These include Foundation Degrees or HNDs in a number of areas including Public Services, Media Production, Health Studies, Education and Early Childhood Studies.
The recent success seen at Ashton Sixth Form College supports a recent study by the University of Southampton* which shows that specialist sixth-form colleges are more effective than school sixth-forms and general further education colleges at achieving top A-level grades. The university study found that sixth-form colleges are 7.2% more likely to get a grade A or A* than equivalent students in school sixth forms, and 8.9% more likely to get a grade A or A* than equivalent students in general FE colleges.

Principal Dr Janet Nevin said “It is fantastic to see so many of our students celebrating top grades which supports the recent report that sixth form colleges provide a much stronger environment than school sixth forms and general FE colleges for student success. It is an exciting time to be a student at Ashton Sixth Form College, with developments in our world class facilities and college campus and the outstanding A-Level and Vocational teaching by our experienced staff. Our students are achieving way above that of the other sixth form and FE providers in Tameside and I send my congratulations to everybody for all their hard work.”