Bradford College

Bradford College Celebrates A Level Success

The AS and A2 results for Bradford College Sixth Form Centre are in and the College is celebrating fantastic results including the success of 11 A Level students who have achieved A* grades!

272 learners followed A Level programmes at the College’s Sixth Form Centre during 2009/10 and 271 have achieved grades at A-E, with 207 achieving grades A-C.

20 out of 21 Subjects areas achieved a 100% A-E pass rate and 7 subject areas achieved a 100% A-C pass rate. These fantastic results mean that 99.63% of Bradford College A Level students achieved A-E grades (2.03% above the national average, 2010).

Amongst the bustling results hall, Paulina Pejka squealed with delight as she opened her results to find two A*, an A and a B. Paulina arrived in the UK three years ago from Poland and with limited English she enrolled at Bradford College Sixth Form Centre. Paulina overcame communication and social barriers and applied herself to her studies in: World Development (A*), Sociology (A*), English Language/Literature (A) and History (B). Paulina is delighted to accept her place at Oxford to read Japanese studies. Talking about achieving such fantastic results, Paulina said: “I’m so pleased with my grades. These results mean that I’ve been accepted into my first choice university to study Japanese. I’m delighted in not only achieving an A and 2 A* but that I managed to get a B in History which was my weaker subject. I’m looking forward to celebrating my results and then relaxing as I’m going on holiday tomorrow.”

Waiting in line to collect his results, Kamran Mahmood looked calm and quietly confident – although he later revealed that he was a bag of nerves! Ripping open his results his smile said it all as he informed friends he had achieved an A in Business, an A in Sociology and a B in Media Studies. Head of Sixth Form, Tony Laycock was on hand to congratulate Kamran and to reassure him that he had achieved his place at Manchester to study Business and Economics. Talking about his results Kamran said: “I’m feeling happy about my results as originally I spent a year in 6th form at school and it didn’t work out. I decided to leave and enrol at Bradford College and haven’t looked back. College has been so fantastic for me, I’ve matured in the two years I’ve been here and now I’m ready to face life not just university. My tutors have been brilliant and I’ve connected with college life. I’d recommend anyone to give it a try. It’s been a really good experience; I’ve developed from achieving average marks to passing my A Levels with great grades. I’m very happy.”

At the far end of the hall Matthew Denton an AS student sat quietly before opening his results. Shaking with surprise Matthew revealed his results: an A in Media Studies, A in Psychology, B in Maths and C in English Literature. Matthew is a former Buttershaw High School student who despite suffering a learning difficulty has worked incredibly hard to achieve superb results that will put him on course to continue his A Levels and go onto university. Matthew’s tutors were extremely proud of his achievements and look forward to helping him achieve his goal of studying to become a primary school teacher. Talking about his results Matthew said: “I’m still in shock. I’ve put in so much effort and now I’ve exceeded my own expectations. I need to now think about my plans for after College. My long term plans are to be a primary school teacher so hopefully these grades will set me on the right path. Bradford College is a great place to study and college life suits me. Being here with fantastic support from my tutors has enabled me to get these grades.”

Samadul Haque modestly celebrated his results with his tutors and close friends. His results were no surprise to his tutors and although Samadul hoped for good grades he was still nervous opening his envelope. Achieving an A* in World Development, A in English Language/Literature, A in Government and Politics and an A in Media Studies Samadul will accept a place at the prestigious School of African and Oriental Studies to read Politics, making him the first person in his family to go to university. Talking about his achievements, Samadul said: “I am so pleased with my results – I didn’t have the best start in life and my time at school was not a positive one. My results prove that it is important to overcome personal barriers and make the most of every opportunity that comes your way. Although I have some academic gifts I have still had to apply myself and work hard. I am inspired by the support and encouragement I have received from Bradford College and my tutors; whenever I had a problem or needed to talk my tutors doors were always open. I believe that success comes from persevering and finding a way around obstacles in order to move forwards and achieve. I studied subjects that will help me to make a difference in the world. Politics and Law interest me greatly and I cannot wait to accept my place at university and start learning skills that will help me to make an impact on society.”
 
Other key achievers include: Bushra Farooq who obtained A*BB (Business, ICT & Psychology); Sara Hopkinson who received AAB (Biology, Chemistry, Physics); Samera Hussain who achieved AAB (Biology, Psychology, Chemistry) and Damilola Olagunju who obtained ABB (Maths, Chemistry, Physics).
 
To help people without a place on a higher education course, the college will open a limited clearing service from 19th August. This year there is limited number of places available, principally on the BSc (Hons) in Ophthalmic Dispensing with Management, Business and Management and Law degree courses. A small number of places may be available on courses in other subjects*.  While there are limited places available for full time study, the college has a wide range of subjects and courses available for part-time study. For more information about clearing please contact the college’s Higher Education Admissions Team on Tel:  01274 433333 or Email: admissions@bradfordcollege.
 
Bradford College is proud to provide a rich mix of academic and vocational education. As an autonomous institution incorporated by Act of Parliament the college has the freedom to innovate and respond flexibly to the needs of individuals, business and communities.

There are currently 352 Colleges in England and 424 in the UK as a whole. This includes 35 colleges in the Yorkshire & Humber Region (including 11 in the Leeds City Region).

Every year Colleges educate and train around 3.4 million people. One-third of A-level students aged 16 to 18 study at a College, and Colleges provide 38% of entrants to higher education. The average A-level or equivalent point score for Sixth Form Colleges is 800.1 (compared with 761.6 for maintained school sixth forms).
 
831,000 16 to 18-year-olds choose to study in Colleges compared with 423,000 in maintained schools, academies and city technology colleges.

•  Students Celebrate Success on A level results day…