College's results improve despite national grading concerns
Students at The Henley College have received their A Level and vocational results today, after an unprecedented year of school closures, remote learning and cancelled examinations.
At present, the College’s overall A Level results are showing an improvement on last year, with a 99% overall pass rate, a 1.3% increase on 2018/19, and an A*-B pass rate of 51.4%, a 12.3% increase on 2018/19.
A*-C grades were 77% with 25 A Level subjects achieving a 100% pass rate, an increase from 21 subjects in 2019. 76.5% Photography students, 80% Art Textile students and 67% Further Maths students all achieved an A*-B grade.
Vocational grades were also celebrated across the college with a 100% pass rate and 44% of students gaining a distinction or above, equivalent to 3 x A grades at A Level.
90% of our students have received an offer of a place at university, including two students at the University of Oxford with a small number in clearing. Some students are progressing into high level apprenticeships, including with world-leading technology company, Cisco.
Students Bernard Earnshaw from High Wycombe who gained A*A*A* in Mathematics, Media Studies and Physics, and Emily Foster from Goring who achieved ABC grades in Drama, English Language & Literature and Ancient History, featured on television BBC London South News along with Principal Satwant Deol on results day.
Saoirse Coveney who lives in Goring and came to Henley College from Langtree School achieved an A* in Geography, A in Biology and B in Chemistry.
She said “I am really pleased with my results as I feel they reflect the hard work I have put into each of my subjects over the past two years and have enabled me to meet the offer conditions for my first choice university.
Saoirse, who will be going to Imperial College London in the autumn to study Geology with an integrated Masters added “I’m extremely lucky to have been taught by some great teachers who are enthusiastic and passionate about their subjects and are always willing to go above and beyond to help me out, even more so during lockdown. The college is excellent at offering support to students which is something they continued to do despite the pandemic. The student services team and staff have all been fantastic at helping me with any issues I have had during my time at Henley.”
“During my time at Henley the college has been subject to government cuts in funding for further education this meant that as an A-level student I received a reduced amount of lesson time in my second year in comparison to my first year, amounting to a loss of 40 minutes per subject each week. Despite this, I have still received a fantastic education due to the dedication and hard work from my teachers and all the staff at Henley, who have gone above and beyond to support us in the face of these challenges.”
In the absence of examinations, the College had to provide Centre Assessment Grades for students, following the process outlined by Ofqual. Having been inspected by Ofsted as recently as October 2019 under the new Ofsted framework and graded Good, the College were fully expecting to see the improvements the student and staff had made during the year reflected in students’ achievements.
Some examination boards have been unable to issue the College with the full results in a timely manner, so the final outcomes are yet to be confirmed. However, 33% of exam entries saw the Centre Assessment Grade moderated down by at least one grade, and overall achievement moderated to be broadly equivalent to the College’s overall A Level achievement for the previous year.
On a national level, exam regulator Ofqual has confirmed that 39.1% of grades in England were lowered from teachers’ predictions.
Jacob Andrews from Twyford, who gained a triple distinction in his BTEC Extended Diploma Level 3 Business said “I feel delighted to have achieved my predicted grade as I have put so much effort and dedication into my coursework over my years studying at The Henley College. Thanks to the assistance of my tutors I have been able to complete all my work at home through Microsoft Teams in the early part of lockdown.”
Jacob, who has accepted a job to become a resource controller apprentice at Softcat PLC in Marlow added “Over the two years I have been at college, there have been so many supportive people who have helped me with my studies and helped me decide where I would like to be in the future. Julia Lock the careers advisor has been really helpful in making sure I had somewhere to go after I finished college.”
The Henley College Principal, Satwant Deol, has said: “Our students and the country’s students deserve a better outcome, particularly after what they have gone through this year. Today should be a celebration and yet many hardworking students have been left distressed and uncertain by their grades. We will be supporting those who wish to appeal their results.”
“The Henley College’s faith in our students and their abilities has been, is and always will be strong. We are here today at the college to support incredible young people who have shown us the way during this pandemic, have been creative, resilient and strong and we need today to remind them that they are capable of even more as they take their next steps.”
Further reading:
Cisco degree apprenticeship: https://www.henleycol.ac.uk/news/dream-degree-apprenticeship-for-rhiannon/
