BMet celebrates bumper number of GCSE achievements
The overall pass rate of 97.6% for students studying maths, English and sciences is an increase on last year. There was particularly good progress made in mathematics at 98.5% and the 97% pass rate in English is consistent with the previous year.
Of the 1,870 entries this year, there was an increase in both the number of 16-18 year olds and adults who were achieving passes.
Andrew Cleaves, Principal and Chief Executive at the college, said: “I am delighted that BMet continues to be a place where anyone can come to achieve their dreams.
“Gaining GCSEs is the main route to expand individual career opportunities for adults, with a pass at grade C in maths and English being essential for many roles in areas such as public services, health and education. I am especially pleased that the college, in just over 90 hours of study time, has helped support many 16-18 year olds to gain the critical C grades they have struggled to achieve at school.”
Anthony Dennant, Head of Mathew Boulton College, part of BMet celebrated with his students today. Commenting on their performance he said: “Our results are a reflection of the college’s mission to inspire people to think differently about their futures and then help them achieve their dreams. I never stop getting a sense of satisfaction that we work well with students to have a better and more rewarding future. “
Adult learner, Evelina Grobovaite, is embarking on the next steps towards a career in nursing after gaining an A* grade in Maths and a B in English. Lithuania-born Evelina said: “I’ve always been interested in medicine and now I have the qualifications I need to pursue my dream.” The 31-year-old is heading to the University of Birmingham to study nursing. She continued: “I did my GCSEs with an Access to Health and Social Care course at Matthew Boulton College. It was a demanding course, but I always felt I was in a good, supportive environment.
“I was a bit surprised by my GCSE A* but I feel very proud that all my hard work has given me the chance to follow a career I know I will enjoy.”
It was third time lucky for student, Priya Panesar who achieved a C in English Language. The 17-year-old Business Studies student said: “I didn’t do as well in English as I could have at school. My communication and understanding of language is good, but I haven’t always been confident about my writing skills. If I was asked to write a letter or a review of something, I’d get nervous. This time round, I made sure I pushed myself during my classes and found that I could write well. I was pleased with the two pieces of coursework I produced, one of which was a short story and the other, a critique of two literary texts.
Priya Panesar pictured above
“Achieving my GCSE means I can keep working towards my ambition of going to university. I’m so happy I passed.”
There were also double celebrations for Victoria Wilson’s family after both she and her brother-in-law Stefan Bramble gained their GCSEs in English Language at Grade C.
Victoria who is now enrolling on an Access to Science course at BMet said: “I studied my GCSE in the evenings after work and found the teaching to be excellent. My ambition is to be become a paramedic. I’m looking forward to starting my new course.” Brother-in-law Stefan is also returning to BMet to begin a teacher training course.
Birmingham Metropolitan College is currently taking applications for September admission in A Level and vocational subjects. Higher education courses are also available at the college.