Exeter College students on technical and vocational advanced level programmes are celebrating another year of excellent results. Adding to the celebrations, the country’s first cohort of T Level learners have also received their results today.  

These students, alongside lots of other vocational learners, use technical or vocational subjects as their passport to university, to an apprenticeship, to their next level of study or directly into employment. 

Students have achieved excellent results across a spectacular range of programmes from Aerospace Engineering to Art and Design. 

John Laramy CBE, Principal and Chief Executive, said; 

“I am absolutely delighted with this year’s results in technical and vocational disciplines. Students have had additional challenges to overcome during the last two years, for example trying to develop technical skills while navigating periods of lockdown and enforced isolation. Once again, our students have shown the excellence that I see every day as I visit different areas of the College. Our first cohort of T Level learners have been true pioneers and achieved amazing results. I would like to congratulate the students and thank the staff who have worked so diligently to enable students at the College to learn and thrive.” 

Jade Otty, Vice Principal, said; 

“I am delighted for our vocational and technical learners. They have not only mastered practical skills, but alongside our academic learners they too took the first national exams they have ever sat this summer. We are so proud of the range and standard of our vocational and technical offer. It means that whatever technical profession or trade you aspire to join we have a brilliant course, teacher and facility for you. This is only possible because of our fantastic highly-skilled vocational teaching staff. I want to thank them so much for how hard they work to pass on their industry insights to our learners alongside the academic support they give.” 

The College’s Art and Design learners truly excelled in their UAL Extended Diploma in Creative Practice. 72% achieved a high grade (merit/distinction), with 28% achieving the very top grade of distinction, enabling a record number of students to progress to top London Art Schools.  

In the BTEC National Extended Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science 25% of students got the very top grade of a triple Distinction*, with 84% of students gaining top grades of three Distinctions, or higher. 

In the BTEC Extended Diploma in Engineering, 47% of students achieved at least one Distinction, and in the specialist Aeronautical pathway taught in the College’s Future Skills Centre over half of the students achieved at least one Distinction.  

Harley Stuckey took a BTEC in Public Services and achieved triple Distinction*. He is now progressing to Durham University to study Criminology. 

“My time on the course at Exeter College has been a memorable journey, with the transition from school to college being made easy by staff. The decision to take a BTEC course was an excellent choice, equating to three A Levels and supplying me with extensive knowledge in a field society depends on – Public Services. The use of coursework assessment has developed my personal qualities, particularly self-discipline and communication. In addition to this, the Jazz Project Enrichment helped me to become more social through my passion for music. I have been accepted to study Criminology at Durham University and I am applying to the UOTC (University Officers Training Corps) Northumbia as a part time job. I will then wait for career opportunities, made available from the degree completion.” 

First T Level results in the country  

This year sees the first-ever set of results for T Level learners, a new type of technical programme. Exeter College is the largest provider of T Levels in England and was hand-picked by the Department of Education to be the only provider in Devon that was permitted to deliver T Levels in 2020. 

T Level learners have achieved truly excellent results, with a 96% pass rate across the three subject areas currently being delivered, significantly ahead of the national pass rate for T Levels of 92%. This is an impressive feat considering these new rigorous qualifications were launched during the pandemic and require the equivalent of a day a week working in industry. 

Sam Hillman, Assistant Principal, responsible for technical and vocational programmes, said; 

“I am exceptionally proud of our T Level learners today. They have excelled in a demanding course that has required academic prowess alongside an industry placement that has given them meaningful experience of their future profession. They have navigated this alongside the challenges of covid. A great many of them have so impressed during their industry placement that they had already been offered jobs even before the brilliant exam results they received today.   

“A huge thank you to all our amazing staff who have admirably risen to the challenge of delivering this brand-new qualification and also to our amazing employers, who continue to support us on our T Level journey.” 

In the Construction T Level, which focuses on Design, Surveying and Planning, every student achieved the full T Level qualification, with two students doing so well that they have secured graduate placements with Willmott Dixon. 

Josh Dyer collected his T Level results today for Digital Production, Design and Development. He was one of the top performers nationally, achieving the highest possible grade of Distinction* on this T Level. Speaking about the course he said; 

“It’s an amazing course, all the teachers are very open and supportive. The way they teach the T Levels is so different, it’s been a really good way of teaching for me. I have dyslexia and the way it is taught is very hands on which has really suited me.  

“I’m currently working at Teignbridge Propellors as a Junior Software Developer who offered me the role after my placement. From here I hope to build my CV up and get a few years under my belt.” 

Exeter College students logged on this morning to find out their AS/A Level results. They have worked incredibly hard, and today the wait is over. The class of 2022 has achieved the best results in Exeter College’s history. The record-breaking results mean that the College have bucked the national trend, continuing their trajectory of year-on-year improvement in results.     

In a year when students had no previous experience of externally set and marked exams, they have excelled. An incredible 69% of Exeter College learners achieved high grades at A Level (A*-B), way ahead of the national average which fell to 62%. The College’s overall A Level pass rate of 99.3% was significantly ahead of national average (98.4%), continuing the legacy of outstanding results at Exeter College. 

These results demonstrate how well Exeter College students were supported to embrace the various ways of continuing learning throughout the disruption of the pandemic. The results also endorse the College’s approach of teaching students face-to-face whenever possible. This student success is testament to their hard work and the staff at Exeter College going the extra mile to support learners during an unprecedented time.  

A record number of students achieved an A or A* grade across all their subjects, with a staggering 27 students achieving A* grades in every subject they took. In total, nearly 200 students achieved straight A or A* grades across A Level and AS Level. 

John Laramy CBE, Exeter College’s Principal and CEO said; 

“In a normal year, these would be brilliant A Level results, but in a year when students have taken exams for the first time and had to navigate lockdowns and periods of isolation these are simply stunning results. I would like to congratulate all our students, who have shown why we are an outstanding college. I would also like to thank all College staff, these results show that we do have exceptional staff, who dealt with the challenges of the last few years with care, talent and tenacity.  

“At every stage our staff have tried to ensure that students stayed safe, well and engaged – these results show how effectively the College achieved this feat – so to our staff and our students I simply want to say thank you and well done.” 

Exeter College’s Vice Principal, Jade Otty said; 

“I am delighted for our learners and want to thank our incredible teachers and support staff for all they do to ensure that learners at Exeter College continue to flourish. The skill and dedication our staff have put in to ensuring our learners could take their first-ever national exams with confidence is phenomenal. We are so fortunate at the College to have such brilliant subject-expert teachers.”   

Billie Stokes, Assistant Principal with responsibility for academic programmes at the College, said; 

“We are exceptionally proud of our A Level learners. For all of them these were the first national exams they had ever sat, so it is extraordinary that they have become a record-breaking cohort for the College. The resilience they have shown is amazing and will stand them in great stead for whatever they are moving onto.”   

There were stand-out performances in every curriculum area. For example, in A Level Law a quarter of the students achieved the very highest grade of an A* and in total half of the cohort got an A or an A*. Maths continued their legacy of excellent results, with over 40% of students achieving an A or A*. 

A Level student, Erin Fraser-Smith, collected her A Level results today for Maths, Physics and Chemistry. She said she loved the independence and support she received from the College. She achieved a triple A* and is now progressing to the University of Oxford to study Medicine. She said; 

“I’ve had an offer for deferred entry to Oxford University. So, I’m having a gap year then going to Oxford to study Medicine and then a career as a doctor. Exeter College has put me in a good place for that. I’m very grateful to them to be honest.” 

In the Arts, Graphic Design and Fine Art cohorts both achieved 23% A* grades, with nearly 80% of students achieving high grades. 

Business Studies achieved excellent results, with 78% achieving high grades. Economics, more usually offered in selective and independent schools, also achieved 78% high grades with nearly 40% of these achieving A/A*.  

In Philosophy, statistically one of the most challenging A Levels, 43% of students achieved an A or an A* grade. In Music, also a very demanding A Level, 50% achieved an A or an A*. 

The two largest A Level cohorts at the College, Psychology and Biology, achieved truly excellent results. Over three quarters of students in Psychology achieved high grades, with 44% securing an A or A*. In Biology 69% achieved high grades, with 44% achieving an A or an A*. 

In A Level Physical Education, 20% of learners secured an A*, with 73% in total achieving high grades. In addition, one of the College’s students, Lily Brooke-Tomlinson, achieved the outstanding accolade of being the top-performing student in the country in that subject, which includes selective schools, private schools and all other schools and colleges. 

Lily achieved A*, A*, A in her A Levels in Physical Education, Biology and Maths and now plans to attend Loughborough University to study Sport and Exercise Science. She said: 

“I’m really shocked but really proud that all my hard work has paid off and I’m excited for university and what I can do next. The College has supported us so well in everything from the staff to the LRCs. I was also in the netball team and we became the first team to win a treble including the national championships, so it’s been an amazing year.” 

These impressive results follow equally outstanding results from International Baccalaureate students, released earlier in July. 

Exeter College and the College Governors would like to thank and congratulate the class of 2022 and thank staff, parents and partners for making this a year to celebrate.