As thousands of young people around the country collected their GCSE results yesterday, adult learners also logged on to find out how they did. At Exeter College, adult learners take GCSEs in English, Maths and Biology every year. 

Sarah Mandeno, Head of Faculty for Adult Learning at Exeter College, said; 

“We are very proud of our adult learners’ progress and achievements this year. They have done brilliantly. 

“Our teachers deliver an amazing learning experience and learners today have been full of praise for the outstanding teaching and support they have received.” 

The College has also seen outstanding success from its 16-18 students who have collected GCSE results this week. 

Adult learner, Nathan Mitchell-Campbell (pictured left above) collected his results today and achieved a brilliant 7 in GCSE English and a high 4 in Maths. He now plans to take GCSE Biology before progressing to the Access to Science course at Exeter College with the hope to study Marine Biology at university. Speaking about coming back to college, he said; 

“I think as an adult, you have a much firmer choice and you’ve lived a bit, so you have an idea of what you’d enjoy and what you’d like to go into. I found as an adult I was able to make those choices more consciously and dedicate the energy where I needed it, compared to doing it when I was younger. 

“It was a very relaxed environment. If I needed help, I could ask and see where I went wrong. The teachers were very kind and knowledgeable – it was just two people having a conversation and that’s why I found it so relaxing and got the grade I did.” 

Alinu Dinu (pictured above) took GCSEs in Maths and English, achieving an incredible grade 5 and 4. Alinu, who currently works in care, hopes to do the Access to Science course with the aim of becoming a nurse. She was full of praise for the teaching and support she has received at Exeter College, saying; 

“The schooling here is completely different than in Romania. You receive a lot of support and encouragement. In the beginning, I found it very, very hard. It’s not my first language. But my teacher, she was amazing. She supported me the whole time and gave me extra things to study, so I can improve myself. Thank you to our teachers. We did it!” 

There is a variety of reasons for coming back into education, from wanting a change of career, to wanting to support children as they take their own GCSEs. 

One such learner is Donna Drew (pictured below left) who originally wanted to take GCSE Maths to support her son. She is interested in teaching and is considering taking a PGCE next year.  

Today she achieved a grade 5 in Maths. Speaking about coming back into education, she said; 

“The teachers are so supportive, aware of people’s different learning styles and skills. I’ve really enjoyed helping some of the people in my class with subjects I understood that maybe I could break down for them and that ignited that teaching bug again, approaching things from different angles.” 

This success follows on from the achievements earlier in the summer by the College’s Access to HE students. This year, 95% of learners completed their programme and achieved the full 60 credits available. 

In addition to this 100% of Access to Business, Healthcare and Science students completed and achieved the full 60 credits, while 80% of the Access to HE Humanities students achieved 100% Distinction credits. 

Find out more about GCSE courses at Exeter College or contact our Adult Advice Team on AdultAdvice@exe-coll.ac.uk or 01392 400170.