Class of 2017 celebrates record breaking A Level & BTEC results

17 August 2017

Students at Birkenhead Sixth Form College are celebrating having achieved record A Level results.

More than 50% were awarded the prestigious A* - B grades at A Level and Distinction* or Distinction at BTEC, while the pass rate also set a new record of 99.4%.

Nearly 500 students sat their final year exams at the College this summer, and now 88% are set to head to university with other landing highly –respected apprenticeships at barristers’ chambers, professional services and more.

Click here to see a selection of Class of 2017 profiles

Eighteen-year-old Sam Pelan earned three A*s and has landed a place at Oxford University to study Philosophy.

Sam Pelan celebrates his three A*s

Sam said: “I’m so pleased. It’s been my ambition to go to Oxford for a long time and I put a lot of work into getting my results, but I still didn’t expect to do so well.”

Sam, who joined the College having previously been home-schooled, continued: “My parents were delighted. It’s been great to see so many of my friends doing so well too. I just can’t wait for September now!”

Fellow student, Emily Wagstaff, scored the highest number of UCAS points at the College having sat four A Levels rather than the standard three. Emily’s A*, two As and a B in Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics mean that she has confirmed her place at Liverpool University to study Medicine.

Emily Wagstaff (Right) enjoys her results with fellow students, Holly Scales (Left) and Emily Balmer (Centre)

Emily said: “The changes in the exams this year have meant that however hard you worked, you still couldn’t be sure that you’d do that well. I didn’t get any sleep at all last night, like most of us I think, but getting the results this morning made it all worth it.”

Emily, who was also Head Student during her time at Birkenhead Sixth Form College, said: “My mum and dad are absolutely made up. My mum believed in me even more than I did! I’m really, really happy with how everything turned out.”

Results Day is an emotional time for everyone!

Holly Scales joined the College from another sixth form having not settled in her first year, and is today celebrating two Distinction*s and a B at BTEC and A Level: a set of results that she did not expect having already experienced disappointment in her results at her previous sixth form.

Holly’s mum, Lesley-Ann, said: “We’ve been used to a few tears on results days but today there were tears for a whole different reason. Holly’s so happy that she’s still shaking with excitement. She’s into her first choice university of Liverpool John Moores to study forensic science and she’s aiming to join the police force. As a whole family, we couldn’t be more pleased for her, she’s done incredibly well.”

Tears of joy for Holly

Other success stories at the College include an Everton Ladies footballer who earned a scholarship at Fordham University in New York with her straight As, and a student who impressed so much during her performance in the Citizenship Foundation’s Bar Mock Trials that she was offered an apprenticeship at Elysium Law Chambers.