13th August 2015
St Brendan’s Sixth Form College is today celebrating another year of great A-level results. It is the only Sixth Form College and the biggest A-level provider in the Bristol-Bath region and a total of 690 of its students sat A-level exams this summer.
This year the A-level pass rate was an impressive 97.3%, with over 70.2% of students achieving A*- C grades in their exams. St Brendan’s provides students with a huge choice of over 50 A-level courses, and this year 30 of those subjects are boasting a 100% pass rate.
Michael Jaffrain (Principal) commented; “These results, together with the 100% achievement in the International Baccalaureate and the Extended Project Qualification, and the overall 99.4% BTEC passes, are outstanding. Our excellence in academic results combined with high quality support and a whole range of opportunities inside and outside of the classroom provide an ideal platform for our students’ futures and we wish them all the best for their life after College”
A large number of students have excelled in all of their respective subjects and 21 of them are toasting the fact that they have been awarded A*s or A grades for three or more of their A-level subjects. Jenny Chambers, Elliot Maidstone and Alice Cave are amongst St Brendan’s star performers this year and have all secured 3 or more A* top grades in their A-levels.
Jenny, a former pupil of St Mark’s School in Bath, achieved 4 A*s in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Product Design. These results along with a fifth A* which she earned in her Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), have earned her a place at Cambridge University to study Engineering.
Elliot, a former pupil of Oasis Academy Brislington achieved his A*s in Biology, Chemistry and Geography, and will now move onto The University of Bristol to study Biochemistry. Alice, a former pupil of Bristol Cathedral Choir School, scored her 3 A*s in Fine Art, Graphics and Photography, and will now progress to Norwich University of the Arts.
Identical twins Brooklyn and Madison Halladay were also amongst the College’s top achievers. Both of these former Chipping Sodbury School students studied exactly the same subjects at A-level – English Language, English Literature and History, along with the EPQ, and both achieved all A*s and As in their results. The two will now progress together to the University of Birmingham where they will both be studying English and Creative Writing.
Not all students are heading on to University though, many are also taking a Gap Year or moving on to a range of apprenticeships. Friends and officers on this year’s Students’ Union, Michelle Udoh and Fiona Sim are going to spend the next year doing some invaluable and selfless work on a CAFOD gap year. CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and works with local churches across the world to combat poverty and injustice. Meanwhile, Media student Phoebe Smart is delighted to have secured a job with 3AAA Recruitment - after impressing consultants at the firm so much when meeting to discuss her apprenticeship options, they recruited her themselves to work as an IT Apprentice and she has already started her Foundation Degree in ICT.
Michael Jaffrain finished by commenting, “We will stay in touch with our 2015 A-level cohort of students through our Alumni Association so that we can continue to support them and in turn have them share their success with future cohorts of St Brendan’s Sixth Form College students.”
