Thursday 18th August 2011

It's been a successful day for over 2,700 local students who picked up their A level results today. Provisional results from all 28 schools and academies in the county, which offer post-16 education, show that results have improved for the sixth year running.



It's been a particularly bumper year for boys too - with 100 more than last year taking an A level or equivalent. They have also been shown to take a greater number of qualifications at level 3.

Data for each school or establishment is still being analysed in fine detail but, on the information so far, Councillor Mike Longden, Derbyshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Education, told us that he's very proud of the county results, "The average points score per student is 774 which is 14 points above last year, which is fantastic news.

"The achievements that have been made on an individual level - and by our schools - are very impressive.

"The overall effect is that students across Derbyshire will be in a good position to access University, apprenticeship, further and higher education and employment opportunities.

"I'd like to congratulate students, staff, governors, and parents as well as the local authority support team on this success.

"A number of students will have been affected by the problems with the UCAS and university websites, and the best advice is to continue to persevere until the websites are fully operational.

"For any students who might not have got the results they want, whether that be for university, apprenticeships or any other training or further education route I would remind them that it isn't the end of the world and they can get help and advice from their school, and Connexions adviser."

One of those success stories is Chesterfield College, which yielded a 98.3% pass rate from students - up from last year.

Today though is all about the students themselves who saw their results for the first time and learned whether their place at Uni was assured. It's been a nervous day for them and we popped along to the College this morning to see first hand students getting their results and to chat to them about what the future held.

One very happy student there was Aidan Press (pictured left) who had fantastic results this morning - gaining the 2 A's and a B needed to take his place at Warwick University where he'll study Politics and International Studies. He also gained an A and a B at AS.

He was thrilled to bits and looking forward to University, "I'm the first one in my family to go to uni, my granddad is very jealous as he wanted to be first! My parents are very proud - my dad especially as he didn't get to go to university and didn't have the opportunities that I did. He'll be very proud that I've made the most of the opportunity I had."

He's enjoyed his time at college and has this advice for students about to embark on further education there, "It's different to school, but work at it and get what you want - it's not school and you have to work really hard."

Hopeful of a career in politics he has views on the difficult choices facing students of his age regarding university saying "It's an important choice but there are other options - apprenticeship and Open University - personally I support the tuition rise - what we don't want is people going and taking degrees which will lead no where and break their hearts even more."

Politics is his life, and he can't wait to get started on a career within Westminster, "I've stood in the District Council in May and am now Deputy Chair of our constituency party. Hopefully I will get elected into the youth wing of the party - and after that possibly work with an MP."

Two other notable successes for the college today were Pooja Modi who got 3 A's and will now go on to do Dentistry at Sheffield. She is very excited and delighted

Rebecca Swindell got 2 A's and a B and is off to do Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Lancaster University.

Stuart Booker is Head of 6th form at the college and is over the moon with the results, "98.3% is fabulous - we're really so pleased. Students have worked so hard and the staff have done a wonderful job in preparing students for exams."

He acknowledged that it's a hard time for students, saying, "One of the key things is that we have students here who maybe haven't done so well at school and coming to College is a new start and they thrive here. One of the key messages to students is make sure they know what they're doing their A levels for, are they picking the right A levels for the career they want - it's a big motivator if they know what they're working for."

Despite the success overall there were one or two students who were unsure about their grades and their offered place at University. Stuart explained what was being done to help them, saying, "We have lots of career advisors here and our own staff helping students. The system has crashed, so there are difficulties getting onto the UCAS system to see whether the place is still theirs with the grades they have."

He has this advice for any student tonight who is still looking for a University place after receiving their grades today "Don't panic - the UCAS
Helpline is very good - we're always happy to help and advise students. It may well be that another year is what's needed, explore all options and don't despair."

James Eadon is a lecturer in politics at the college and Vice Chair of the Union UCU and also on the National Executive. He says that this year more than any other students face a difficult task getting into university, "It's an important day for young people across the country getting their A level results and getting the prospect of going to university - but the pressure this year is more intense because of university fees."

He added, "The prospects of students coming out with far higher levels of debt because of tuition fees next year mean that normal ways of re sits or gap years aren’t an option this year so there's a lot of pressure on students. With the figures out yesterday showing that youth employment is also an issue means that students have done a lot of hard work but they face a difficult period now."

He admits that there are difficult times ahead for families of young people making choices about he future but says, "It's a difficult decision, but it is still the case that graduates have more employment prospects than non graduates - we have to defend the Higher Education system, it's an important part of a person's learning process and leads to a more civilized and more educated society. The campaign has to continue to make access open to all."

He went on, "Governments make their claims about the level of support for students but the prospect of levels of debt and that debt hanging over you through mortgage and pension payments . It's a problem and young people will have to struggle to meet those challenges. Young people face many challenges and I think we should salute them and the way they campaigned against student fees."

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