An unprecedented time in our history has seen the majority of Uxbridge College students receiving the A Level grades needed to progress to their chosen universities, including Durham, Bath, Warwick and York.
The college performed in line with last year’s strong results, with more than 70% receiving high grades A*-C and 98% achieving at A*-E.
No exams at all were sat this year, with grades awarded using school and college student data, which was then standardised under an Ofqual system formulated in response to the Covid crisis. Results were collected on site at college by students on a socially distanced basis.
Student success stories at Uxbridge in 2020 included:
Munraj Bhangra (top right) who was Uxbridge College’s top performing student with four A* grades in Maths, Further Maths, History and Chemistry, is going to Bath University to study Economics. He said: “I would have preferred to have done exams - the way they awarded the grades this year made me feel more anxious. You don’t really know how they have calculated it, it is a bit surreal. I am excited about going to university though.”
Joseph Hodgkinson, who got three A grades in History, Media Studies and Law, is on his way to Durham University to study Law. He chose to come to college instead of continuing at his school as he preferred the college environment.
Pawandeep Kataria (pictured second left) is going to Birmingham University to study Maths after achieving an A* in maths, an A in Further Maths, and a B in Physics. He said: “I feel good about getting to uni – I’m going to enjoy it - but I feel like I don’t know if I deserve the results I’ve got.”
Vlad Badicel (pictured far left) is going to York to read Physics after getting an A* in Physics, an A in Maths and a B in Biology. He said: “I think I could have done better, it was harder to work at home during lockdown and we did not get a chance to sit the exams. I am happy I am going to my first choice of university though”.
Hristina Grebcheva (bottom right), who has been at Uxbridge College for three years as she took her GCSEs there before progressing to A Levels, was expecting to study Business at Warwick University. She achieved A grades in Business, English and Media Studies and said: “It’s been a little bit stressful - you’re in less control than when you sit exams. It would have been much more social towards the end of term as well if we had been able to come to college too. It has been a real journey spending three years at Uxbridge College and it’s a little bit sad to be leaving. I’m really excited to be going to Uni though.”
Dr Darrell DeSouza Group Principal of Uxbridge College and HCUC said: “I would like to say a massive congratulations to all our A Level students this year for all their hard work and achievements, despite what an unbelievably challenging time it has been for everyone. I am extremely pleased that so many of them are going to their first choice of university and also the college has performed strongly yet again. In a small number of cases, the college may be submitting appeals for individual students, but it is a tribute to the robust processes applied by Uxbridge College that we are seeing so much consistency in our outcomes.”
This year's A Level results put us in a strong position to maintain our place in the top 10% for ‘Value Added’ for A Levels for all schools and colleges nationally, and top 5% for colleges and Sixth Form colleges nationally. Value Added scores measure how much progress students make during their studies, compared to their peers nationally.