New College Pontefract has once again broken its enrolment record with over 2400 students choosing to study at the college from September 2017.
In the last 10 years numbers have risen from around 1500, an increase of 62%, adding within touching distance of 1000 extra students during that time. A raft of new buildings and facilities, an outstanding Ofsted report, increased course choice, excellent support systems and a track record of terrific results have all been factors on this year on year growth.
Major additions to the campus over recent years have included a three-storey Learning Resource Centre, Performance Academy (home to the 120 seat John Godber Theatre), and a Visual Arts Academy with state of the art photography, art and textiles facilities, as well as an extended and remodeled Students’ Union. 2017 sees the addition of an intervention and support centre, progression centre and achievement centre to further enhance the support offered to New College students.
Results were exceptional once again with an A-Level pass rate of 99%, a high grade (A*-B) rate of 54% and an A*-C rate of 81%. Level 3 BTEC pass rate was 100%, with a high grades rate of 81%.
Principal Richard Fletcher is delighted with this year’s buoyant enrolment and believes it’s a reflection of the passionate and committed staff working at the college.
“Our staff work tirelessly to ensure students at New College achieve the best outcomes, have an outstanding student experience and progress to the most prestigious universities. It is no surprise to me that the number of students who want to enrol at New College is increasing year on year. I believe it to be very much down to the outstanding student experience we provide, the number of Level 3 courses we offer and the results we achieve year on year.”
Neil Mumby, Assistant Principal, School Liaison, IAG and Transition, said: “Over the last few years, more and more students are making the decision to travel vast distances to access the provision that New College offers, opening up the chance for students from a number of new schools to study with us. A big factor in this is the additional bus routes that have been offered from areas such as Selby, Leeds and Barnsley. We are as excited as the students to be a huge part of the next step in their education and hope to be a stepping stone, seeing them progress on to university, a higher apprenticeship or employment.”
