Nelson and Colne College maintains place as one of country’s leading colleges

Nelson and Colne College has maintained its place as one of the leading colleges in the country, across a range of academic measures. 

This year, Nelson and Colne College placed as the number one FE college in the country for A Level progress, and the leading college nationally for GCSE Mathematics progress, and third in the country for GCSE English progress. This indicates that our leaners achieve better results based on their GSCE grades than they would do in any other college in the country. 

Now the college has been named as number one in Lancashire for 16-18 Advanced Apprenticeships and is placed second in Lancashire for 16-18 classroom achievement in the newly published National Achievement Rate Tables. These new results are all the more exceptional as they now combine Nelson and Colne College and Accrington and Rossendale College results, following their successful merger in November 2018. The performance at the Nelson campus exceeds that of the group overall.

The publication of the Government data confirms what has been another excellent year of academic performance at Nelson and Colne College, which saw it achieve a stunning rise in the highest A*-A grades at A Level in 2019, and a five percentage point rise in the number of students achieving coveted A*-B grades. 

Record numbers of A Level students progressed on to Russell Group and other leading universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, from Nelson and Colne College in 2019. The figure could be higher in 2020, with an even greater number of A Level and vocational students receiving conditional offers from Russell Group and leading universities, including Oxbridge.

Students who enter the college without a high grade in Mathematics or English GCSE will resit those qualifications. The success of those students in achieving these essential qualifications for university entrance or to get a good job is more than twice the national average, unlocking many higher level opportunities throughout life. The college has been shortlisted for a national award for its outstanding GCSE resit provision and the announcement is due in October. 

Principal Amanda Melton said: “When you look at what Nelson and Colne College has achieved over the last 12 months, it’s absolutely outstanding. We have consistently been at the top end of the National Achievement Rate Tables for classroom achievement and Apprenticeships for several years, and we have never been higher in the performance tables with our A Level and GCSE progress.

“The consistent high-quality standard of education we are renowned for has been successfully sustained during a period of significant change for the college too with our merger with Accrington and Rossendale College just over 12 months ago, which makes our achievements even more impressive.

“Our continued success is testament to a whole college effort, and in particular our phenomenal teaching team who truly are the very best in their field. They ensure that students who attend Nelson and Colne College exceed their potential year in, year out.”

As well as academic measures, Nelson and Colne College is also the number one college in the country for student satisfaction, according to the latest FE Choices Learner Survey.

Michael Bromilow, 18, formerly of Park High School, is studying Computer Science, Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics. He said: “I have offers from Bath, Edinburgh, Lancaster, and York and I’m looking at going to study Natural Sciences or Maths and Physics.

“Computer Science is probably the subject that comes to me most naturally, but there is something about Maths and Physics that I really enjoy – they are the foundations of everything.

“I’ve loved my time at College – the teaching is excellent, I find the resources very good, there are places to study or socialise, and I’ve made some really good friends. The extracurricular offer is great too. I found the robotics good for my learning and I’ve really taken to archery, which is something I’ve never had the opportunity to try before.”

Marium Shafique, 21, began her journey at College on an ESOL course in 2015, before progressing to Level 1 Business and then straight to Level 3 when her tutor saw her potential. She now has offers to study at Lancaster, Liverpool and York universities.

Marium said: “When my family first moved to the area, Nelson and Colne College was recommended to us as the number one college. I have loved my time here and I have progressed so much in that time.

“I will miss it greatly when I go to university. I’ve loved the course content in Business, my teachers are brilliant and I never thought when I started I would gain offers to study at some leading business schools in the country.” 

Applicants looking to apply to Nelson and Colne College or Accrington and Rossendale College still have the time. Contact 01282 440272 or visit www.nelson.ac.uk or www.accross.ac.uk to apply.