During the first major change in A levels in 15 years, Brampton College has achieved outstanding AS results with 65% achieving top grades versus the national average of 36%. In particular, we excelled in subjects such as English where we achieved 59% A grades vs the national average of 14.7% and Economics with 50% A grades versus the 19% national average. In Biology we achieved over 36% A grades compared to the national average of 18%.
This is in contrast to wide-felt concern before the results were published that we were to expect ‘more variation’ in AS level results in England this year. This concern stemmed from the fact that AS levels have been split from A levels since last September, no longer counting towards the final A level grade. Ofqual associate director, Cath Jadhay explains “We know that students tend to do less well in the first year of a new qualification…That, in part, reflects the time it takes for teachers to become comfortable with new content and assessment design.”
Brampton attributes its AS success to careful planning and preparation. Staff at the college
are all A level specialists. They have attended training courses and have understood the specifications clearly. This has ensured they know exactly what they are doing for the examinations and have prepared students well for them. Whilst AS levels will not be used by universities to make offers it will mean that the predictions Brampton makes will be based on a solid foundation.
Bernard Canetti, Principal, comments “It always takes time to get to grips with a new system but our results show the college has done this very successfully. I am aware of the amount of research and time that our staff have put into the development of new resources for these AS levels and am very pleased to see results that reflect how much students found this beneficial.”
