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National rankings reveal high student achievement rates

3rd Apr 2019

The Government’s latest National Achievement Rates Tables (NARTs), released on Thursday 28th March, have revealed Abingdon & Witney College as one of the best performing colleges in England for overall student achievement. Over 200 colleges and providers from across England are included in the 2017-18 report, which is commonly used to track performance and student progression across a number of categories.

Over 90% of the college’s 16 – 18 students achieved their qualifications, ranking the college 4th of all colleges in England and first in the South East region. For Level 3 courses (equivalent of A-levels) specifically, more than 93% of students achieved their qualifications.

College students also performed incredibly well in GCSE English and Maths. Students will often arrive at college needing to re-sit English Language and Maths GCSEs after failing to get a grade C at school; the NARTs data ranks the College 5th in England for A*-C Maths achievement, indicating outstanding success in supporting students during their studies.

Last week, the College was delighted to attend the sector’s Annual Apprenticeship Awards, where they were the only College shortlisted alongside two private training providers for the national apprenticeship provider of the year, and the good news continued for the college apprenticeship team this week. The NARTS ranked the College 12th in England out of all colleges that provide apprenticeships, and the best performing college in the Thames Valley.

Di Batchelor, Principal and CEO at Abingdon & Witney College, said: “We’re delighted to see that our achievement rates continue to increase and place us amongst the very best performing providers for further education in the country, despite the tough climate the sector currently faces.

Our teachers and apprenticeship team work very hard to provide high quality learning to each and every student so that they can become high achievers. This is clear to see in some of the excellent rates that we’ve seen published.

We are always looking for ways to showcase how studying at this level can provide a legitimate alternative to A-levels in the way they are taught, structured to develop a student’s skills, and the progress that can be made towards a rewarding career.

The NARTs are an important benchmark for doing just that.”