THE year 2017 was another exceptional one for Alton College with an outstanding set of exam results (99.2% pass at A-Level), an innovative new college day providing up to 50 hours more teaching each year and a 10am start for students, and a new enrichment programme for extra-curricular activities.

Damian Hinds, Minister of State for Employment and MP for East Hampshire, congratulated the college.

“Alton College offers students first-class tuition in an environment of great achievement and purpose and this is reflected each year in its exceptional exam results. We are fortunate to have such an outstanding academic institution in our area preparing young people for their futures as the perfect bridge between school and employment and higher education.”

RESULTS

Alton College celebrated another exceptional year of outstanding results with a 99.2 per cent pass rate for A levels and 100 per cent for vocational courses. The national average is 98 per cent. More than three quarters of A-Level subjects achieved 100 per cent pass rate with more than a quarter of students being awarded A*-A while more than 77 per cent achieved A*-C. All students passed the BTEC and Cambridge Technical Extended Diplomas, which are the equivalent to three A-Levels, and 61 per cent of those achieved the highest grades of three distinction*. All students who studied the Extended Project Qualification achieved A*-C grades, with 94 per cent achieving A*-B.  

NEW COLLEGE DAY

From September, the college day changed with the adoption of a new timetable to provide what is believed to be “a better way of learning by providing better study time with increased teaching time for students and longer lessons which bring academic benefits for students”.

A college spokesman said: “The new timetable means a better use of the day. A later start means that students are ready to learn, it avoids students having periods of trapped time between lessons, it enables blocks of time for students to study, or undertake work experience, enrichment activities or part-time employment, and it is more respectful of their other commitments and less school-like.

“The new initiative provides better preparation for the future. The longer sessions give students more time to develop their independent study skills, more time to get support and better prepare them for university and employment.”

ACE

The Alton College Experience (ACE) is the new programme for extra-curricular activities for students. The programme has been specially designed to provide students with the opportunity to enhance their skills and personal qualities and to give them an edge when applying for university or employment. The new college day and flexible timetable allows all students to work on their ACE skills alongside their academic courses.

As part of the wide range of extra-curricular activities available to students, a group of staff and students, led by Dr Libby Smith, curriculum manager for biology, travelled to Dominica as part of Operation Wallacea – conservation research through academic partnerships. The expedition ran over two weeks with the group spending their first week in a forest camp where they worked alongside an international team of academics who are collecting data on biodiversity of key taxa (birds, bats, various aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate groups) and examining the impact of invasive species. During the second week, they stayed in student accommodation in a renovated British fort where they completed a PADI open-water dive training course, they also learned about whale research taking place just off the coast of the island.

As part of another enrichment course, a team of Alton College students took part in the annual Citizenship Foundation bar mock trial competition at Guildford Crown Court for the 10th year in a row. The students presented fictitious cases in front of real judges, with students acting as barristers, witnesses, jury members and court personnel. This is a challenging experience that involves a lot of preparation, yet it provides an insight into criminal trials and the opportunity to meet legal professionals.

OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP SKILLS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

The college has entered into a partnership with Unloc Enterprise, a programme that enables schools and colleges to inspire, motivate and develop the enterprising mindsets of young people and to encourage them to work as a team to create and explore business ideas.

NATIONAL CITIZENSHIP SERVICE

This year, Alton College has partnered with the National Citizenship Service to offer sport and public services students the chance to develop their skills on residential activity weeks and days as part of the curriculum.

STEM

More than 7,200 students from around the UK took part in the UK British Biology Olympiad competition and only the top performers receive awards. The first stage of the competition took place at the college and involved a two-hour multiple choice exam covering material from a range of A-Level biology topics. A number of students achieved exceptional marks and were awarded silver and bronze awards, others received commendations for their achievements.

UNIVERSITY

Twenty-one Alton College students graduated with honours on two foundation degree courses run in partnership with the University of Portsmouth this summer. This was the first group of 10 FdEng students to graduate after studying at Alton College for three years for a degree in engineering. All the students achieved excellent grades, with six students achieving distinctions and two students achieving merits. In addition, Joshua Hall was awarded a prize for outstanding achievement. Several of the students plan to continue their studies at the University of Portsmouth on undergraduate or masters programmes.

At the same time, 11 students from the FdA early years care and education course also collected their FdA degrees. Special mention goes to Jo Cannings, who was the only student to achieve a distinction grade on this course across a number of different centres. This is the 13th year that Alton College has celebrated the graduation of students on this course and many students have gone on to careers in teaching, social work, local education advisory services, or special educational needs.

A group of first-year A-Level PE students visited the University of Portsmouth where they had an opportunity to take part in several exercise physiology tests in their sports and exercise science labs.

MATHS

The maths department this year launched the junior team maths challenge, designed to stretch more able students. Teams of Year 8 and Year 9 pupils from Eggar’s School and Amery Hill School worked with A-Level students in the newly-designed challenge which consisted of several rounds including cross numbers, a shuttle round, and a relay round.

Lucy Bayliss, previously at Amery Hill School, and Sara Garanito, who went to Calthorpe Park School, took part in this year’s mathematical olympiad for girls. More than 1,700 girls nationwide participated, with the top 25 per cent receiving a certificate of distinction. Sara received a certificate of participation and Lucy a certificate of distinction after scoring a perfect 10/10 for one of the questions.

One hundred maths students from Alton College competed in the senior maths challenge, with nine earning a gold award, 31 a silver award, and 29 bronze. The college’s top scorer was Peter Morris, previously at Eggar’s School, who scored 109 out of 125 which means he goes through to the first round of the British Maths Olympiad.

MUSIC

A group of students from the music department took part in the annual Southampton Solent Sound Music Festival at Solent University. The festival saw nine colleges across Hampshire and Wiltshire enter a ‘battle of the bands’ competition with a first prize of £200. Alton College entered one of the bands from the BTEC rock and pop music course – Haze – who were the runners-up, scooping a prize of £100.

ART

Art students have formed an exchange partnership with Danish students from Naerum Gymnasium College which started in 2016 while working on a creative brief with the Tate galleries and the Red Cross. Alton College was the first to receive students and saw 24 placed in home stays, and working alongside their Alton peers to produce a final installation piece based around the idea of communication.

SPORT

Alex Scarborough, previously at Freemantles School near Woking, represented GB at the 11th Special Olympics World Winter Games in Schladming, Austria, in March. He competed in the Alpine skiing category, winning bronze in the slalom and silver in the Super G class.

The Alton College rugby team finished off a successful season by winning the under-18 Hampshire Birch Plate earlier in the year, beating Farnborough 6th Form College 27-23 in the final in Southampton.

Talented art student Imogen Horrocks, previously at Bohunt School, Liphook, is part of the British Youth Bouldering Team and, following an audition, is the featured climber on a television advert for the new Honda Civic.

WELCOMEFEST

New students starting in September from more than 50 different schools across four counties were given a taste of studying and daily life at Alton College’s annual WelcomeFest event held on campus in July. The morning was designed to enable students to explore their subject areas through inspiring taster lessons and practical hands-on activities, while the afternoon provided free barbecue lunch and ice cream while current music students performed on stage for the chance to play on the ButserFest Stage at Victorious Festival in Portsmouth in August.

SCHOOL LIAISON

The annual Gifted and Talented programme for school pupils began with creative and critical thinking workshops and a talk from Dr Robert Wilkins from the University of Oxford in March. This was followed by a competition for Year 10 high achievers which provides pupils with a taste of the extended project qualification.

The ‘Above and Beyond’ competition’s theme was “2016: A Pivotal Year in History”. Pupils worked in teams of four or five to prepare an extended project qualification-style project at school for example an artefact, presentation or performance. The winning team from each school then competed in the final on campus where they gave a presentation on the investigation outcomes followed by a five minute question-and-answer session on the process of their research.

The team from Mill Chase Academy in Bordon scooped first prize in this year’s competition with their subject relating to prejudice.

ALUMNI

Laura Jurd, a former college student and jazz teacher, was shortlisted for this year’s Mercury Music Prize for her band Dinosaur’s debut album Together, As One.

Talented musician and former Alton College student Ollie West returned to Alton to perform at the Assembly Rooms in February as part of his Portraits album project. West is studying at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and returned south with his band to visit some of his old haunts.

Benedict Vigers graduated with top marks and a first-class honours degree in geography from King’s College, London, and was offered a place at the University of Cambridge to study a research MPhil in architecture and urban studies at Christ’s College.

GENERAL

An integral part of studying public services at Alton College is to gain real life insight into different aspects of the public service sector. Students took part in the Hampshire Constabulary rural crime prevention initiative, attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst parade, and took Royal Navy psychometric testing during a visit to campus.

Is prison a place for punishment, retribution or rehabilitation? A group of sociology, law and public services students considered this at Behind Bars, a conference run by True Life conferences. The day featured released prisoners discussing all types of crime.

Two talented media students have been wowing international audiences with their independent film Something Blue. Jonny Crawford, previously at Weydon School, and Joe Johnson, previously at Stepping Stones School, travelled to the Cinequest Film Festival in March to screen their piece in front of other industry professionals. Jacob Davies, previously at Robert May’s School, helped with the cinematography. The film has been screened at another 14 festivals locally and internationally.

The Alton College debating team, consisting of students studying philosophy, politics and law played host to Queen Mary’s College in the first inter-collegiate friendly debate.

VOLUNTEERING

Extra-curricular and enrichment activities that broaden students’ experiences are strongly encouraged at Alton College. Second year student and volunteer Scarlett Aylen, previously at Alton Convent School, completed an incredible volunteer human rights placement in Ghana as part of Projects Abroad. The organisers said of Scarlett: “Her superb contribution will have a tremendous, long lasting and positive effect in the village she visited.”

Scarlett said: “The aim of the project was to help teach children and adults their basic human rights, an education that we take for granted in the UK, but which is vital to developing countries such as Ghana. I would certainly describe it as a necessary trip to make, and definitely a life-changing experience, and encourage others of my age to sign up to volunteer.”