Principal’s pride as Richard Taunton Sixth Form College students shine in A Levels

RICHARD Taunton Sixth Form College Principal Paul Swindale paid tribute to students who overcame the challenges of the pandemic to achieve impressive A level results.

Speaking after 51.2 per cent of all students achieved A* to C grades in three or more subjects, he said: “It’s been really hard for these guys, this year group didn’t sit their GCSE exams as they planned and they had a disrupted Year 12. To get through to this point has been tough and it must often have felt like it was never going to come but they’ve done it and we are really pleased for them.”

Among the successes are Neyden Nedev, who achieved As in business, maths and computer science. He is now going to the University of Southampton to study software engineering. Ria Dutta was delighted to have done better than she expected and her A in sociology and Bs in modern history and literature will take her to university to study law.

Caitlin Hickman will be going to university in Southampton after achieving an A* in sociology and As in modern history and literature. Alex Pooley will be studying chemical engineering at the University of Bath after achieving A*s in chemistry and maths and an A in advanced biology.

Nathan Clifford will be studying humanities at university after achieving a B in sociology and Cs in literature and modern history.

Mr Swindale said: “Congratulations to all our students, they deserve this success because of the hard work they have put in over the past year. I am really pleased for the students and all the staff with the progress we have made and these results bear out the praise heaped on us by Ofsted inspectors.

“We have seen a 7 per cent rise in the number of students achieving the highest grades A*to B since the last time students actually sat exams in 2019 and we are thrilled with their performance. They can rightly take pride in their achievements.”

He said the college can help any student who didn’t get the grades they were expecting. “We are very keen to support any student that needs help with the University Clearing process and they must not hesitate to get in touch with the college over the coming days and weeks if they need to,” he said. Find out more about the college, its courses and the help on offer at richardtaunton.ac.uk.