One in two A Level students at York College gain an A*, A or B grade on Results Day 2023
YORK College & University Centre are celebrating a “really positive” Results Day 2023 with one in two students achieving at least one A Level A*, A or B grade.
Despite the proportion of A Level students gaining top grades having fallen by more than a quarter in England this year, 26 of the College’s students also received three or more A* or A grades and the overall pass rate was 99 per cent.
For a second successive year, meanwhile, the College recorded a 100 per cent T Level pass rate.
The technical-based qualification was introduced across the UK in 2020 and is intended as an alternative to the A Level route that prepares students for work, further training or further study.
A pass rate of 98 per cent was achieved by Level 3 Vocational Qualification students too, with more than half securing Distinction*, Distinctions or Merits.
Commenting on the results, York College & University Centre Principal Lee Probert said: “There’s been a lot of speculation in the national media about the suppression of results this year, but we’ve seen really positive outcomes for our students. We’ve had a 100 per cent pass rate on our T Level provision for a second successive year, 99 per cent on our A Levels and a strong proportion of our vocational students have gained Distinction* or Distinction grades too.
“Many of the students getting their grades will have not sat their GCSE exams due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so we are particularly proud of their efforts given the inevitable repercussions of that period on their education.
“I’d like to wish everyone who is leaving us all the very best for the future and look forward to welcoming back any returning students next month. I also want to take this opportunity to thank our teaching staff, whose hard work has been reflected by this positive set of results.”
Among the students who gained top grades was Connor Clarke, who has secured a place to study Maths at Oxford University’s Hertford College after gaining four A* grades in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
On his remarkable results, Connor – a former student at Breckenbrough School in Sandhutton, near Thirsk – said: “I knew I had worked hard and I was well prepared because the College’s teaching was very good but, even though I felt the exams went well, I was a bit worried by the national news suggesting it would be harder to get the grades you wanted this year, so I was very pleased with my results.
“I’m really looking forward to going to Oxford now. I love the city and the university’s reputation is obviously so good that it feels like a massive achievement and somewhere that it’s very nice to say you have been.”
Former Manor School student Eve Wardley is also celebrating having secured a Distinction in her Education and Childcare T Level studies and taken her next step towards a teaching career.
She said: “I chose to do the T Level as I want to become a primary school teacher and it’s a course that’s more hands-on with placements included, so you are learning by being in the school which helps massively with the content in exams. I loved helping children learn and grow and I can’t wait to start my Primary Education course at York St John University now.”
Dominic Taylor, from Huby, has no regrets, meanwhile, about changing the direction of his academic journey, having gained a Distinction in Level 3 Computer Games Development today.
“I originally started A Levels but decided to change my path as I really enjoy coding and have always been better at creative studies,” he explained. “I particularly enjoyed my final project which was making a horror game.
“I chose York College because I was ready for a different and more adult environment, and I am now going to Teesside University to study Games Programming.”
