A day to celebrate: GCSE results and new beginnings

Students returned to Abingdon & Witney campuses today to collect their GCSE results and enrol onto their courses for the upcoming academic year, as the College celebrated another strong set of English and maths results, alongside some inspiring individual success stories.

Congratulations to all our students who received their results this morning, and to the dedicated staff who have supported them throughout the year; contributing to another positive year of achievement for the College.

The College has seen further progress in GCSE English and Maths achievement for 16 to 18-year-olds, which makes up the majority of the College's GCSE entries, reflecting the continued hard work of both students and staff.

There have also been some notable successes across our Level 2 vocational programmes, reflecting the dedication of both students and staff. Media, Music, Performing Arts, Business, Sport and Agriculture all recorded increases in achievement, while Health & Care sustained its strong results. Particularly impressive were the outcomes in Media, Music and Performing Arts, all of which achieved a 100% pass rate. Music and Performing Arts also recorded 100% achievement, meaning every learner successfully completed and achieved their qualification.

Celebrating individual achievements

As always, the results include a number of individual success stories that highlight the determination and resilience of our learners. Here are just a few of the learners celebrating success today.

Chloe, a Gateway 16+ learner was excited to achieve the grades she needs to progress on to a Hair & Beauty course.

Laura, her Study Programme Lead said: “I remember how nervous Chloe was when she first came to us and how worried she was that she wouldn’t make friends or achieve anything. To see her now, achieving a grade 1 in Maths and a grade 2 in English, is amazing. She should be really proud of herself because I’m extremely proud of her. Chloe is also an amazing nail artist, and I can see her going extremely far – this is just the first step for her.”

Chloe added: “I’ve found my time at the college really good. The support I have received has been amazing, and I’m really pleased with my results. I’m hoping to go on to study Hair & Beauty and focus on nails, which is something I really enjoy. After College I want to go on to do an apprenticeship in tattooing or nail art.”

Another inspiring story is that of Zulaikha, a Fast Forward student who moved to the UK in January from Afghanistan, speaking very little English, who has worked hard to achieve impressive results, and is going on to study Health & Social Care. She said:

“I’m really happy with my results. When I first moved to the UK, I didn’t know much English, so at the beginning the language was difficult, but I gradually got used to it. This was my first time taking my GCSEs and I achieved a grade 5 in both Maths and English, which I’m really proud of. I’ve had so much support from my tutors, who were always there to help whenever I had questions.”

Adult learner Laura is another example of how education can open new opportunities. After moving to the UK from Mexico last year, she returned to learning and achieved a Grade 5 in English.

“At 30, I decided to return to learning because I wanted to improve my English and it had been years since I’d had the opportunity to practice, so starting the course felt like a really important step for me. The support I received was amazing, and the course helped me gain my confidence back. Because of that, I was able to secure a job in marketing, which I’m now really enjoying. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity - it’s had such a positive impact on my life.”

We also heard from Emily, a Beauty Therapy Level 2 student:

“I’m really happy with my results, I honestly thought I was going to fail, so getting a grade 4 in English felt amazing. I’ve really enjoyed studying Beauty and have felt supported throughout the course, both by the Beauty team and my English and Maths tutors. The course has helped prepare me for the industry, and I’d definitely like to continue working towards a career in beauty in the future.”

From our Witney campus we spoke to Jack, a Plumbing student:

“I got a 3 in Maths. I wish it could have been better, but the biggest challenge for me was actually sitting down and learning. I can’t stay focused for long enough, but I found the teachers really helped me, and I preferred doing it here than at school - 100%. I’m going to continue studying Plumbing and going to give GCSE Maths another go.”

Jacqui Canton, Principal and Chief Executive of Abingdon & Witney College, welcomed the results, saying:

"Level 2 Results Day is always a special occasion because it is filled with stories of success, perseverance and ambition. It is a privilege to see students receiving the results they need to move on to the opportunities they have been working towards. At the heart of what we do is helping people realise their potential and build bright futures, and today is a wonderful reminder of the difference education can make. I would like to congratulate all of our students on their achievements and wish them every success in the next stage of their journey."

Adult learners celebrate success in first GCSE Spanish cohort

This year's GCSE Results Day also marks a significant milestone for the College, with the first cohort of adult learners completing GCSE Spanish.

Developed as part of the College's commitment to expanding nationally recognised qualifications for adult learners, the programme has supported 11 students, many of whom had not sat formal examinations for more than 30 years. The course was led by Spanish tutor Sandra Carrasco Fuentes, with support from the Oxfordshire Adult Learning team.

We are thrilled to report that all our Spanish GCSE students passed, with over a third of learners achieving a grade 9, which is an incredible result! We caught up with 2 of the successful learners, Karen and Daniel:

Karen: “I’m absolutely thrilled with my result. I was aiming for a grade 5, so achieving a 7 was much better than I expected. I’d only restarted learning Spanish shortly before beginning the GCSE, and I even completed one term online from Australia, joining lessons at 5am! It was an intensive course, but that was exactly what I wanted – it really pushed me to be more precise with my Spanish. Sandra was amazing at bringing everything together and supporting a group with lots of different experience levels. I’d love to continue learning and hopefully progress to A Level Spanish.”

Daniel: “Getting a grade 8 was a real surprise – I genuinely felt like I’d picked up somebody else’s results! It’s been a long time since I last did my GCSEs, and studying as an adult alongside work has definitely been a juggle. Becoming fluent in another language has always been on my bucket list, and Spanish is the one I want to pursue. Sandra has been fantastic throughout, and I’d love to continue my learning and hopefully progress to A Level.”

Trace Senior, Curriculum Manager for Oxfordshire Adult Learning added: “I'd just like to say how incredibly proud I am that this team has come together and taken a dream and made it reality. And it's given the learners some really happy times and hopefully a lot more to come.”

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all our students, whatever the result. Every student’s journey is different, and we recognise the hard work, determination and commitment shown throughout the year. Today's results mark both an achievement and a beginning. Whether students are progressing to further study, apprenticeships or employment, we look forward to supporting them as they take their next steps towards their future.

It’s not too late to enrol

If you have just collected your results and you are still not sure about your next steps, please drop into college to talk about your options with our team. Our subject specialist staff across all levels will be available on campus to answer any questions you have and help you to see what College could offer you.

We would also like to offer a warm welcome to all our new students who are coming to enrol for their courses, having collected their results at school this morning. We will have staff on-site at Abingdon and Witney every day until Friday 28th to help you enrol on your programme. See our Enrolment page for more details.