City of Bristol College students had a much different A Level results day experience on Thursday 13 August when, instead of making the trip to the college to pick up their results, were logging in to their emails with their fingers crossed.
Despite an incredibly challenging year resulting from the global coronavirus pandemic, City of Bristol College is celebrating a rise in its performance with 96% of A Level students securing an overall pass rate (A*-E), a two per cent rise from the previous academic year.
Ten out of 18 A Level subjects delivered at the college achieved a 100% pass rates, including: Art and Design, Computer Science, English Literature, English Language, Film Studies, Geography, Maths, Media Studies, Politics and Sociology.
This year has been unlike any other, with students switching classrooms and whiteboards for Microsoft Teams and online learning. Exams were scrapped across the nation and teachers put together results based on overall performances.
However, this did not stop students from achieving their full potential with 59% securing A*-C and 31% obtaining the higher grades (A*-B).
Applied Level 3 students also saw success this year with 87% securing an overall pass rate in their chosen qualification.
Principal and chief executive Andy Forbes said: “Due to the pandemic, qualifications were assessed differently this year. This is a process which has never been attempted before. We are very pleased with the success of our students this year, many of whom have got the grades to go to the university of their choice. However, it is disappointing that after the effort our staff made to calculate grades that so many of them have been altered and therefore, we feel they are not a true reflection of our students’ hard work.
“Wherever this has had an impact on students moving on to their next port of call, we will be supporting them by making appeals on their behalf against the gradings and we will hope to see some positive results through that process. Given the stress and disruption the students have endured this year, it would have been better to trust the teachers’ grades and not force them to overcome an additional hurdle. However, despite all of this we are very pleased that our results have improved overall.”
The results the students received today will have the same standing as any other award in previous years.
A Level student Dexter Hill, aged 18, formerly from Bristol Hospital Education Service, earned grades A*, A and B in Film Studies, English Language and Art and Design. He said: “I am so chuffed with my results, it is an amazing feeling. This is everything I wanted and more. The A* was such a shock and the B in Art and Design was also a big surprise as you never know which way it is going to go as it is much more subjective.
“My time at the college has been amazing and it has been a real learning curve, and I feel I have achieved so much since I started here. I was ill for a long time and missed some secondary school so to finally have that journey and get my GCSEs and now to get these A Levels results, having missed so much school in my life, it is quite amazing.”
Dexter is planning to return to City of Bristol College next year to study the Level 3 Creative Media (TV and Film) before considering moving on to university.
Ellie Hayes, aged 18, earned two Distinction* and a Distinction in Computing and was ‘over the moon’ when she opened her results. She said: “I did really well and I am really happy with my results. Being here has been a really great experience and I have enjoyed my time overall and made some good friends.
“All my teachers have been really supportive and I have been able to approach them for any support needed. I knew I could send an email and I would receive a response back sometimes within 10 minutes with the help I needed. I would strongly recommend the college to anyone thinking of coming here, my sister will actually be enrolling for September after I suggested it so that is exciting for her.”
Ellie originally planned to have a gap year but is now looking at continuing her studies in Computing at a university in Norway.
A Levels and other Level 3 technical qualifications offer an excellent springboard to higher level learning. City of Bristol College offers a range of university level courses, higher level professional qualifications and a degree apprenticeship. The college holds the Silver TEF Award which is a government-based assessment of undergraduate teaching quality across all higher education institutions in England.
To keep our students and staff safe, we’re reducing the number of people in our buildings at one time. To achieve this, most of our courses will include sessions taught at the college supported by online learning to help you reach your full potential. Find out more about how we’ve adapted due to COVID-19.
Students at the college’s University Centre benefit from smaller class sizes, expert tutors who are para-professionals in their subject fields as well as lower tuition fees.
In the NSS Survey 2020, 90% of students agreed they had received sufficient advice and guidance in relation to their course while studying at City of Bristol College – which was 10% above the national benchmark. While 80% of students were satisfied with the quality of their course, which is an increase on last year’s results by five per centage points.
Ninety per cent of students also agreed they have had the right opportunities to work with other students as part of their course, besting the national bench mark by seven per centage points.
To find out more about our HE courses, visit our website or call our Student Services team on 0117 312 5000.
Enrolment for A Levels and higher education starts in September. It’s not too late join the college.
