6th form students at Dyke House, Thorp and Walbottle Academies have performed well in their A level and vocational qualifications this summer.

Northern Education Trust has 6th form provision at three of its academies – Dyke House Academy in Hartlepool, Thorp Academy in Gateshead, and Walbottle Academy in Newcastle. The trust is pleased with the results for its A level students this year, with some strong outcomes for students, enabling them to progress to universities and apprenticeships. The majority of students have achieved the grades required to allow them to access their first choice university placement, some of whom had unconditional offers. The small number of students who will need to go through clearing will be fully supported by the academies.

There were particularly strong performances in several subject areas: Health and Social Care, Criminology, English Language and English Literature.

Additionally, Art and Photography, Biology, Business and Finance, History, Law and Sociology all performed well.

Several students achieved particularly good results, enabling them to progress to their Russell Group university of choice:

Dyke House Academy student Taha will study Mechanical Engineering at Durham University; and Katy will study English Literature at University of Oxford, both having achieved A*, A and B grades.

Thorp Academy student Sam will study Language and Cultures at University of York; Lewis will study Physical Sciences at University of Birmingham, both having achieved A* and A grades. Sam is ecstatic about his results and hopes to attain a career working in speech and language development. Sam has been a tremendous student whose unquestionable passion for his subjects also led him to support his peers with their studies, by providing extra revision materials. The best advice he can offer future sixth form students is to “select subjects you care about because you will put all your efforts into studying them properly.”

Lewis said that he is very happy with his results, so much so he was pleasantly surprised by his A in Physics, following a difficult paper. Lewis has been an exceptional student who has been highly commended for his work ethic and commitment to his studies by both staff and students. Lewis is looking forward to having the independence that University offers and learning course content that he couldn’t access from home.

Walbottle student Emily will study Chemical Engineering at University of Cambridge; Michael will study Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry at University of Newcastle; Alex will study Criminology at Durham University, all having achieved A* and A grades. Emily said that she is really pleased with her results, especially her A* in maths and is really looking forward to all of the new opportunities and exciting things that she will learn at university. She hopes to become an engineer working in energy generation in connection to climate change. Emily advises future students to “work hard and learn to use the academy effectively.”

Alex said that she is feeling really pleased and relieved with her results as they are helping her onto the next stage in her life. She is excited to attend a prestigious university like Durham and aspires to becoming a police detective. Alex’s advice to new sixth form students is to revise early and apply to university as early as you can.

Rob Tarn CBE, Chief Executive, said: “We are pleased with the A level results this year, following the first set of external examinations this cohort of students have sat due to the pandemic. They have worked extremely hard – their results are testament to that effort, and they have performed well, as we expected. We are very proud of them, and their results enable them to progress well-equipped to the next stage of their lives. I am very grateful to our dedicated staff for their relentless focus on ensuring these young people achieve their best possible outcomes to enhance their life chances, and I know they join me in wishing them every success for their future.”