GCSE success for Activate Learning’s Guildford College students 

Students at Activate Learning’s Guildford College are celebrating today after collecting their successful GCSE exam results.  

This year, 447 students passed an English and/or maths at GCSE level, with the college achieving a 97.2% pass rate overall. 

Many of the college’s GCSE students are learners who need to retake maths, English or both, in order to continue in education or progress their career.  

These can include young people who are retaking their exams alongside studying their further education subjects or those who may have missed the chance to go to university first time round and want to study at degree level. 

Cheri Ashby, Deputy Chief Executive of Activate Learning, said:

“GCSE results day is such a special time for us at Activate Learning as often we see our students overcoming the barriers they have encountered in their studies previously, to improve their grades and succeed where perhaps they thought they would not. 

“Once again, this year I am delighted to see so many students improving on what they have previously achieved, and to do so in the first public exams for two years – and for many of them their first since they were in Year 6 – is a real achievement. 

“I’d also like to take a moment to celebrate our older students who may have returned to education to get their mathematics and English GCSEs to advance their careers. I’ve heard some amazing stories about some of our mature students and I really want to shine a spotlight on their achievements, especially given the demands many of them faced in terms of juggling family commitments, busy home schedules and coming into college. 

“In particular our mature students studying English and mathematics GCSEs fully online have experienced tremendous success today. This is a tribute to the way our teachers have embedded our Learning Philosophy by supporting our students to develop and build their confidence, keeping them motivated through helping them understand the relevance of their learning to their career pathway and having lots of opportunities to practise their skills and improve through ongoing feedback. 

“I would like to also express my thanks and appreciation to all our staff who have worked tirelessly over the past year to ensure our students achieve their qualifications.

“For those students that are due to join us next year, I hope everyone has done as well as they had hoped. Please remember that if you have not, we are always here to help you work out what you can do next and talk through your career options with you.” 

One of this year’s top performing students, Bex Burrow, was delighted to achieve a grade 7 in English. Bex, a mature student, needed her GCSE in order to accept her offer to study midwifery at the University of Kingston having successfully passed the Access to Nursing programme at Guildford College.

Bex, 40, said:

“I am really pleased with my English result, it’s a huge relief that I passed with such a good grade! The college have been fantastically supportive, the tutors always going above and beyond to offer their help at any time of day. I always knew I had someone to turn to if I needed advice, so I always felt that I could achieve to my best potential.” 

Also thrilled with a grade 5 in maths, student Mel Robertson, 38, is delighted to be progressing on to Surrey University to study Paramedic Science. Single mum of five, Mel, has worked incredibly hard to also achieve 45 out of 45 Distinctions in her Access to Nursing alongside her GCSE programme.  

Mel said:

“My experience at Guildford College was amazing. I have made so many friends here and we’re all taking our next steps together which is really exciting. My tutors at Guildford College have been phenomenal, they have been so supportive all the way through. I am so relieved to have passed my maths GCSE at last!”  

Lance Crawley-Young, 17, is a current Performing Arts student at Guildford College and is progressing on to Level 3 Performing Arts in September.

Lance, who achieved a grade 4 in English, said:

“I am proud of my achievement and really excited to be coming back to college next month.”

Megan Melville, 29, passed her maths GCSE with a grade 4. Mel sat her exams whilst her two-year-old son was in intensive care in hospital, so her achievement today was an especially proud moment.  Megan has an offer to study Midwifery at Surrey University.

Megan said:

“I am so relieved to find out that I have passed my maths GCSE! A huge thanks goes to my tutors who were so supportive during a really difficult time in my life. They were there for me the whole way through, and I don’t know if I would have been able to achieve what I did without their help.”

Activate Learning in Guildford provides a wide range of vocational qualifications across many subject areas including hairdressing and beauty therapy, construction trades,  health and social care, media, travel and tourism, ICT and performing arts, to name just a few. Additionally, our extensive network of business partners means that we provide outstanding apprenticeship opportunities. 

This year, we are providing information, advice and guidance at the college on the GCSE results day, and throughout the end of August and early September.