Fareham College was full of smiles as students collected their results - with principal Andrew Kaye admitting the results were better than expected as 74 per cent achieved high grades at merit to distinction*.
The Bishopsfield Road education provider was among a select few colleges across the country to begin delivering the new T Level qualifications in September 2020. The qualification offers a high level of industry experience and is equivalent to three A-levels.
The first cohort of T Level graduates have secured university places, jobs and places at college for further qualifications.
Mr Kaye said: ‘We expected the results to be good but they were particularly good and we are very pleased. I would like to extend my congratulations to all students and thank teaching staff.
‘The results achieved, especially those in our T Level courses, are evidence of the excellent quality of teaching.
‘Students completing exams this year will have done so for the first time since all exams were suspended during the pandemic and so students should be very proud of their achievements. They’ve all got exciting futures ahead of them.’
Student of the year Niall Dorrington, 18, recorded a distinction* in digital production design and will now go to Lancaster University to study software engineering.
He said: ‘I really enjoyed my course – we were the first ever people to do it. I was at Hampshire Constabulary on my work placement helping to build apps and website prototypes. It was very exciting to be given projects we were trusted with.’
‘The course gives you a foot in the door and some students now have jobs.’
Alannah Nolan, 18, scored two distinction* and a distinction in Level 3 business B-Tech and will now go to Surrey University to study international business. ‘The course was fun and is useful as it gets you ready for the work environment,’ she said.
Holly Windle, 19, got a distinction at T Level in education and childcare after carrying out 750 hours of on the job training and is now set for the University of Portsmouth. She said: ‘It gave me a good grounding of what it’s like in the industry.’
Jack Dimmer, 20, secured a pass in a personal training diploma and now has a job at Skylark Country Club in Whiteley. ‘The course gave me a job in a sector I wanted to work and was passionate about,’ he said.
Weronika Racznska, 18, scored two distinction* and a distinction in business Level 3 with an extended diploma at Fareham College.
She said: ‘I’m overwhelmed but excited. I’ve been waiting a long time and so it’s a relief to finally get the results.’
Sophia Cooper collected a distinction in Level 3 creative media allowing her to go into the second tier of the course next year. ‘My dream is to go to Solent University and do TV production and then go into the industry,’ she said.