Top marks! Elliott Hudson College students open Vocational Exam Results

Elliott Hudson College was delighted to hold their OCR Cambridge Technical Exam Results Day on Thursday 16^th March.

With 178 students collecting 221 results across Applied Science, Health & Social Care and Information Technology there was a tangible mix of nerves and excitement as they waited to get hold of their envelopes.

Andrew Stead, Curriculum Leader for Vocational & Technical Qualifications at EHC, said

“I always have a level of confidence that, overwhelmingly, our students are going to have a positive experience on results day. I know that such is the dedication of the staff that teach and lead on our vocational courses, every student that applies themselves and models our core values will achieve success.”

The headline figures saw EHC students significantly outperform the National Average data right across the board. In IT, 25% of students secured the highest grade possible compared to 10% nationally and in Applied Science their pass rate was 25% above national data.

In Health & Social Care, and the Unit 7 Safeguarding exam specifically, every single student got at least a Merit (compared to 60% nationally) with nearly 40% getting a Distinction (25% above national average). Falak Aslam, a Y13 Health & Social Care student, achieved Distinctions in both the exams she sat in January, just 3 days apart, and is now on track to secure a double Distinction* grade overall.

Mr Stead added, “As a cohort, our students have absolutely smashed it!” he went on to clarify, “let’s not forget, the majority of students sitting these exams are Y12 students that we have only been working with for 4 months; every single student got a grade in every exam, sadly that is not the case for all young people that sat the same exams nationally.”

Both Health & Social Care and Information Technology have been run successfully for a number of years at the college but, for Applied Science, this was their very first set of exam results.

Meg Donovan, Subject Leader for Applied Science, said

“It’s always challenging bringing in a new course but, such is the experience of delivering vocational courses within college, we were confident students would succeed.”

One of the highlights in Applied Science was the result secured by Y12 student Faiza Baten, the grade she secured puts her in the top 2% of students nationally!

Mr Stead added, “Not every student can get the top grades, that’s not how exams are supposed to work. “There are always going to be a handful of students that are personally disappointed but, we have carefully selected courses here that enable success for every student. The pathway is still very much open for every student to secure a final outcome that is stronger than the one they got in this exam window.”

Ridah Abed, Year 13 IT student, was disappointed to miss out on a Merit by 1 mark in her Unit 2 exam last year, a decision that Mr Stead appealed but the exam board rejected. She has shown incredible resilience to come back and resit the exam this January to supersede the Merit she needed achieving a Distinction; as such, she is now on track to secure a Distinction* this summer!

Lee Styles, Principal at Elliott Hudson College, commented,

“The strength of these results today serves as a great reward for the hard work that staff and students have committed. They should feel exceptionally proud of their achievements. Furthermore, it justifies with great confidence, our decision to expand our course offer next year to include five new vocational courses, widen the offer in Applied Science and Health & Social Care along with the exciting inclusion of two new T Level qualifications in Business and Digital Support Services.”

Mr Stead added, “One of the best aspects of teaching and leading vocational and technical courses is being able to celebrate our students’ achievements on a number of occasions across the two years they study with us, not just once in the summer when they have already left. The motivation this gives students on their journey cannot be underestimated!”

Mr Stead concluded, “Yet again, I am immensely proud of our students and the wider work that we do to support them through the academic examination components of their vocational qualifications. Today was an amazing day!”