18 August 2011

Outstanding A level results at Wales’ Colleges 

The A level pass rate as well as the higher A*-C pass rate at a string of further education colleges in Wales are well above the UK average and some individuals have achieved truly incredible results, including five A* for one science student.

Gower College Swansea, Coleg Sir Gâr, Deeside College, Pembrokeshire College and Neath Port Talbot College all report A level pass rates at the higher A*-C grades that are well above the UK average of 76.2%, as well as Coleg Menai with a highly noteworthy 82% of its entries achieving A*-C.

St David’s Catholic College’s Honours Programme for its gifted and talented students is reporting phenomenal results. 61% of students gained A* or A grade, with 82% gaining A*-B grade at A2 level. In total, five students from the college have been successful in gaining entrance to Oxbridge.

Joining them at Oxbridge will be:

budding female engineer Emily McAllister from Neath Port Talbot College with 3 A* grades

• Ben Jones, a 23-year old mature student from Gower College Swansea who takes his A*AA grades to Cambridge to read Education & History
• Keyron Hickman-Lewis from Coleg Gwent who is going to Oxford with straight As in Geography, Geology, Maths and Physics
• Gower College Swansea’s Curtis Bonnell, a former pupil at Ysgol Gyfun Strade, whose A*A*A*A* secure him a place reading Natural Sciences at Cambridge
• aspiring barrister James Preece from Deeside College whose A levels in Law, Maths, Psychology and Physics, have got him a place at Cambridge University
• Sheena Loeffel from Coleg Sir Gâr who takes her 4 A levels to Oxford to study Chemistry
• Mared Gwyn Jones from Coleg Llandrillo who will study Modern Languages at Cambridge
• Tamara Williams from Yale College whose three A* grades has a secured place at Cambridge to read Natural Sciences.

A clutch of students are also bound for medical college, including Jessica Roberts from Yale College Wrexham, Stefan Merrix from Pembrokeshire College and Luke Treharne, captain of Coleg Sir Gâr’s award-winning rugby team. But competition for places is clearly intense, with one star pupil at Coleg Menai with four A* grades failing to secure a place at medical school.

Star families are in evidence this year. Twins Freya and Portia Rees-Jones from Gower College Swansea both achieved A*AA in the same subjects: Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. And two sisters at Yale College Wrexham and their mother are all set for making a big name for themselves in the male-dominated engineering sector: Zara Sheady is off to study Aeronautical Engineering at Swansea University, younger sister Rhian is going to Nottingham University to study civil engineering, and their mother Sharon this year was crowned apprentice of the year and is being sponsored to move to Uganda to renovate schools.

Ensuring strong support for the whole range of A level candidates, Coleg Gwent’s A level flagship Crosskeys Campus has achieved a 99.4% pass rate for A*-E grades and Neath Port Talbot College is celebrating a pass rate of over 99% for the sixth year in succession. 44 of the A level subjects offered at Coleg Gwent have reaped 100% pass rate, with 42 subjects at Neath Port Talbot College achieving the same and 36 at Coleg Llandrillo.

Colleges have supported the traditional 16-18 year old full time A level students as well as mature students, part-time students and second-chance students to great personal successes. For example:

• Kosovo War volunteer Hywel Phillips left school at 17 having passed all his GCSEs but he didn’t have the motivation to succeed at sixth form. Now 22, he is delighted that he decided to enrol at Cardiff and Vale College two years ago and is now on track to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather by studying Chemistry at University, starting with a four-year MChem at Southampton University.
• Zambian born Isaac Mangala came to Wales with his family in 2003 at the age of eleven. He was understandably disappointed when he didn’t do as well as expected in his GCSEs. Now, following GCSE resits and fast-track A level studies at Cardiff and Vale College whilst earning at the same time to finance his studies, the 18-year old is hoping to study Computer Science at university.
• 37-year old Claire Gilder had left school after GCSEs and then dedicated herself to being a Mum, never having the time to develop a career. When she was made redundant two years ago she enrolled for three A levels at Deeside College and is now looking forward to starting a degree in English with aspirations of becoming a teacher.

Chief Executive of ColegauCymru / CollegesWales, John Graystone, said: “It is an immensely proud moment to report that the A level pass rate at so many Welsh colleges outstrips the UK average at both A*-E as well as at the higher A*-C grades. A few colleges are particularly large providers of A levels, giving these outstanding results nation-wide significance.  There were 1,834 A level entries at Gower College Swansea, 1,121 entries at Neath Port Talbot College and 925 at Coleg Gwent. 

“The larger tertiary colleges have demonstrated that their most highly talented students achieve with the best. Achieving at least three A grades were 22 students at Yale College Wrexham, 21 students at Coleg Gwent and 18 students at Neath Port Talbot College including one student, Reuben Maclean Quin, who achieved a remarkable five A* grades.

“I am delighted to congratulate the highest performing students who are going to the most prestigious universities. I am particularly delighted at those students who have achieved less startling results on a national level but results which were nonetheless beyond their wildest dreams when they first entered college. Many who had left school with poor or mediocre results who feared being branded as failures have turned their lives around by enrolling at college, working hard, and reaping strong A level results and university places.

“My sincere congratulations go to the students, and their teachers and the staff at colleges across Wales who have supported them on their way to success in the A levels, AS levels and of course, the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma which has also today returned record-breaking results.”

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Contact: Sylvia Davies on 029 2052 8384 or 07968 771913.

Notes to editors:

1. ColegauCymru / CollegesWales was previously known as fforwm. It is a national educational charity that represents all 21 further education (FE) colleges and institutions in Wales. Its mission is to raise the profile of further education with key decision-makers to improve opportunities for learners in Wales. For further information about ColegauCymru / CollegesWales, and the colleges it represents, visit www.colegaucymru.ac.uk or www.collegeswales.ac.uk
2. Press contacts for the colleges named in this release:

• Coleg Gwent: Kim Spurr T: 01495 333507 M: 0772 0380545
• Neath Port Talbot College: Fay Harris T: 01639 648006
• Coleg Sir Gâr: Amanda Rees T: 01554 748118
• Gower College Swansea: Allison Lowe T: 01792 284262
• Cardiff and Vale College: Ffion Chard Tel: 029 20250250 Ext. 3442 or 07904229169
• Deeside College: Claire Nicholson or Vicky Barwis T: 01244 834531 M: 07889820631
• Pembrokeshire College: Geoff Elliott or Charlie Royal T: 01437 753100 or 01437 753148
• St David’s Catholic College: Alwyn Lloyd T: 029 2043 1879
• Coleg Menai: Carl Mather T: 01248 383324
• Yale College: Jane Rayner M: 07904 125 924 or Angela Witter T: 01978 317321 ext 2033
• Coleg Llandrillo: Nick Hill T: 01492 546666 ext 484