Bracknell and Wokingham College have congratulated all of their students who passed their A Level qualifications today.
The college celebrates a 97.8% pass rate, 6.3% up on last year.
Eleven of the 13 A Level subjects at Bracknell and Wokingham College secured 100% pass rates, with an 18% improvement in A*-C grades.
The Bracknell and Wokingham College Law A Level subject maintained a 100% pass rate for the second year in a row, 6% above the 2022/23 national average.
Other notable A Level subjects that achieved a 100% pass rate include:
English Language and Literature that maintained a 100% pass rate for the second year in a row, 3% up from the 2022/23 national average.
Government and Politics achieved a 100% pass rate for the second year, 4% above the national average.
History achieved a 100% pass rate for the second year.
Physics, which was 6% above the national average.
Sociology, which was 3% up on the national average.
Media, which 1% above the national average.
Hannah O’Neill, Group Director of Academic Studies Faculty at Activate Learning, said: “We are immensely proud of our A Level learners at Bracknell and Wokingham College, who have worked tirelessly to achieve their goals. Many have overcome challenges along the way, demonstrating resilience and commitment to success. We wish every learner the best of luck for their next steps.
“I would also like to thank the fantastic team of teachers, support staff and managers who have nurtured our learners through their studies. Their hard work and dedication to our Learning Philosophy enables our learners to succeed and grow.
There will be students across the country who have not achieved their desired outcomes and feel disappointed, but I urge these individuals to use this feeling as motivation to keep working hard, and to be open to new opportunities to develop and learn.”
Rachel McKay, 19, from Ascot, was one of the college’s top performers, achieving an A* grade in Media Studies, a B grade in English, and a B grade in History. She will now take up an offer from the University of Southampton where she will study History.
Rachel said: “I feel quite good about my results. I’m going to study History at the University of Southampton, which I feel really good about as I got into university and that’s the main thing I wanted.
“I decided to come to Bracknell and Wokingham College because I thought it would be more relaxed than a sixth form and I enjoyed it more.
“I really enjoyed it here; I found it quite relaxing, the teaching was really good. You have a lot of freedom. I found it quite open and accepting.
“I have an EHCP, and I was supported really heavily by the ASC Centre team in my first year and Group Learning Support in my second year. They really helped me out, whenever I had an issue, they were there to sort it and if there was ever anything going on they were there for me. I genuinely just had a real safe space I could go to, and I didn’t feel afraid coming into college everyday like I did in secondary school. They made it a really enjoyable and safe space.
“I’d recommend Bracknell and Wokingham College as if you’re more independent with your learning, it’s really good as you get to take control of it yourself. You can manage it yourself and it’s less structured but it’s also more freeing, so you can study more of the stuff you like and take it at your own pace.”
Maia Dalpra-Scanlon, 20, from Tilehurst, achieved an A grade in Physics, an A grade in Biology, and a B grade in Chemistry. She will go on to study Medicine at either the University of Southampton or The University of Sheffield.
Maia said: “I feel conflicted about my results. I’m happy, it was less than I expected but I got into my course and that’s what matters because Medicine is all I want to do really. I’m really happy I got in.
“I work for St John’s Ambulance NHS Cadets programme where I work with teenagers, helping them to get into medicine and different healthcare careers, showing people different options, doing activities, building skills so I’ve got a load of students who are going into Medicine this year. I think that I’ve got about four going to the same university as me.
“I came to Bracknell and Wokingham College because I heard that it was a really close community, everyone knew each other.
“I saw a story a few years back about a previous A Level student, called Natasha, who had done really well here. I heard that there was a lot of independence given to people but there is a lot of support if you needed it.
“I liked the idea of being a student representative and I enjoyed doing that for both years.
“It was good studying here. The teaching was really friendly. I had one teacher for each subject and that teacher got to decide how to teach that subject across everything.
“It was really personal. I think it adjusted, you have some lecture-style lessons and you’ve got some practical lessons. A lot of conversational learning, which I really like. The idea that you come in and you play with that knowledge which gives a mindset which is really useful for later life, that learning is fun and it’s not all about memorisation and grinding down a notebook.
“In my previous schools it felt like they treated all the students the same, they don’t do that here. They support individuals, and the teachers are willing to give you their time outside of classes. I really would recommend it over sixth forms.
“I formed relationships with students and teachers who I didn’t even study with, in completely different courses which is due to the number of clubs they have, which is really helpful.
“I’m excited to go to university to study Medicine. I’ve still got disbelief but I’m very happy because I worked really hard this year. I had it in my head that it would take years and years because this is what I want to do with my life and I’m so glad that this is what I get to do now.”
Dumi Bodea, 18, from Arborfield, achieved an A* grade in Law, and B grades in History and Politics. She will now take up an offer from the University of Southampton where she will study Law.
Dumi said: “I feel pretty good. I’m happy overall as I got into university and that’s all I wanted to do. I feel good, I’m excited. I think it’s going to be a positive and happy experience.
“I decided to come to Bracknell and Wokingham College because of the independence at college. I liked it that it was a bit more independent from sixth forms so then I could be in control of my routine and learning.
“Both my teachers were great. Ed, I had for both History and Politics, I think he made learning a lot more fun and I really enjoyed the lessons.
“Roni, who taught me Law, offered me a lot of support, even out of college time, like at the weekend when I had exam questions, he was always up to help me.
“I think I would recommend the overall experience. I loved that we were treated more like grownups than children and the teachers put more responsibility on us. They talked to us like people, they didn’t talk to us like children. I think that was really nice as I’ve got a lot of friends who went to sixth form who have said that their teachers treated them like they were still in secondary school, so I really appreciate that the teachers treated us more like grownups. “
Aron Misiak, 18, from Slough, got three Bs for Biology, Chemistry and Psychology. He will now go on to study Genetics at the University of York.
Aron said: “My results are good. I came to Bracknell and Wokingham College because I heard the science department was good.
“It was good to study here. I liked all my teachers. They were very active and cared about the grades. The teachers had good lesson plans, and we got through the content pretty quickly.
“They gave me lots of online resources like websites I could use and documents to support my learning.
“I’m going to study Genetics at the University of York. It’s going to be challenging but a good time, I hope.”
Cheri Ashby, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Activate Learning said: “Today we are celebrating the fantastic achievements of so many of our A Level students who received their results this morning.
“The incredible effort, resilience and commitment shown by our students has been recognised today. On behalf of Activate Learning, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations and wish you every success in the next stage of your journey.
“We are particularly proud of the significant grade improvements this year across the Activate Learning group, which is a testament to the efforts of our students and teachers, overall:
97.6% of students that took an exam got a grade, an increase of 3.7% on last year.
High grades have increased – A* grades are 1.9%, A-B are 7%, and A-C are 14.5% higher than last year.
12 subjects achieved a 100% pass rate
“We are incredibly grateful to our hardworking managers, teachers and support staff for their dedication in supporting our students to achieve these excellent results.
“We are constantly overwhelmed by their relentless determination, energy and commitment to ensuring our students successfully progress onto higher levels of study or employment. They are inspiring Learning Philosophy role models for our students.”
