Strong picture for science GCSEs at Harrow College

Harrow College students are celebrating strong results in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) at GCSE, with many progressing to Level 3 subjects, along with students on the whole range of subjects offered.

This year’s GCSE results are in line with the national picture, and compare favourably to both the teacher-assessed grades awarded over the last two years, and pre-pandemic results.

Further Education colleges offer GCSEs over one year – as opposed to two years in schools – supporting young people through re-sits or to take GCSEs for the first time, as well as running Maths and English alongside Level 3 studies in line with national requirements.
Harrow College was celebrating an overall pass rate of 99% for students on the full-time GCSE programme, with high grades (9-4) at 89% overall, including 97% for both Chemistry and Physics, and 93% for Biology.

Jo Withers, Principal of Harrow College, said: “We are thrilled with our results here at Harrow College, particularly in science, where so many of our Biology, Chemistry and Physics students have excelled and achieved such high grades. We are really pleased to see our brand new state-of-the-art labs being put to such good use!

“Our successes in both STEM subjects and the rest of our offer this year are testament to the high quality of teaching, learning, assessment and support on offer – especially this year, where students have not taken exams previously, due to the pandemic. We are also very pleased to see results comparable to pre-pandemic levels, and so many students progressing into further study or work.

“I am extremely proud of all our students and staff who have every reason to celebrate – I will definitely be doing the same!”

Students collecting results on the day at Harrow College included:
Cheinelli J Fernandes. Cheinelli arrived in the UK from Goa, India and has studied GCSE triple science at Harrow College for the last two years. She has achieved fantastic results ranging from 7’s, 8’s and 9’s in Physics, Chemistry and Biology – the equivalent to A* and A grades under the old grading system. Cheinelli wants to pursue a career in medicine and will be studying Biology, Chemistry and Psychology A Level’s at Richmond College before pursuing a higher education degree here in London.

Level 2 results in vocational qualifications such as BTEC, UAL, and OCR were also collected by students, many of whom will be joining GCSE achievers in progressing to Level 3 courses at College, including at the specialist STEM Higher Education provision West London Institute of Technology, which is run under the banner of the merged college group HCUC (Harrow College Uxbridge College). The work-based Apprenticeship programmes and new T Level qualifications are also a popular option.

Many students also take GCSE English or maths alongside a vocational course to enable them to progress to further study, including university and apprenticeships, or employment.  Results for these were comparable to the last time exams were sat in 2019.